Speeches by Frith.

“Jessica, next month we are returning to the work that the Music Venue Trust and grassroots music venues have done on the challenges they face. In comparison with music venues and the challenges they describe so well, how are dedicated venues such as yours faring?”

“Something has always struck me about comedy: a band doing five years may well still play the hit that it has played forever, and plenty of bands pretty much trade on one hit and are brought back time and again, but that is not tolerated or indulged, let alone celebrated, in comedy. Why does a joke not get retold by the…”

“You have not met my mum.”

“Female comedians have described sexism and even sexual assault as a peril of the job. What is the industry and specifically the Live Comedy Association doing to change this?”

“Thanks for the offer. My ego wants me to take you up on it, but I don’t think I have the jokes. You talked about courses. Could you explain a bit about what is covered in the comedy courses people take? When you talk of the need for five to seven years of work, of training, of hours on stage, is that learning the preci…”

“How does the copyright concern strike creatives like you? Is it a very real threat?”

“On copyright, an enormous debate is going on at the moment about the rise of AI and the threat it poses to intellectual property. As people who create content and share it with the world, there must be a bit of an honour among comedians not to rip off each other’s jokes.”

“You have not met my mum.”

“How many reports does your venue get every week of sexual harassment or assault of female comics?”

“Female comedians have described sexism and even sexual assault as a peril of the job. What is the industry and specifically the Live Comedy Association doing to change this?”

“I have a question about audience habits for the rest of the panel. How are habits changing? What are your observations?”

“You made a point about plugging gaps in multi-use venues. If that opportunity is increasing, does it amount to direct competition with specialist venues like yours? Are you now increasingly competing with the multi-use venues that may come with different experiences for the comics as much as for the audiences?”

“Is it wrong to assume that the cost of putting on a live comedy show is relatively low compared with other forms of entertainment?”

“How much is it?”

“Will it see ticket prices go up?”

“I am not expecting it to be other than voluntary. Is it not something that the comedy sector could propose for itself, given that it is voluntary?”

“At the moment, it is a voluntary levy, right?”

“Jessica, next month we are returning to the work that the Music Venue Trust and grassroots music venues have done on the challenges they face. In comparison with music venues and the challenges they describe so well, how are dedicated venues such as yours faring?”

“Something has always struck me about comedy: a band doing five years may well still play the hit that it has played forever, and plenty of bands pretty much trade on one hit and are brought back time and again, but that is not tolerated or indulged, let alone celebrated, in comedy. Why does a joke not get retold by the…”

“Thanks for the offer. My ego wants me to take you up on it, but I don’t think I have the jokes. You talked about courses. Could you explain a bit about what is covered in the comedy courses people take? When you talk of the need for five to seven years of work, of training, of hours on stage, is that learning the preci…”