New Whitley Bay comedy club looks to fill the gap in North East scene
Felt Nowt are launching their new comedy night at Laurel's theatre
A new comedy club in Whitley Bay is hoping to fill the gap in the North East's comedy scene.
Felt Nowt is partnering with Laurel's Theatre to launch a new permanent comedy club in the town centre.
The group is an organisation run by local comedians for other comedians and comedy fans, in the hopes of highlighting talent around the North East and work to diversify the comedy scene, both here and around the country.
Since the club's soft launch in the summer it's seen performances from the likes of Carl Hutchinson - who's recently toured with ex-Strictly Come Dancing star Chris Ramsey, Lauren Pattison and Paul Sinha.
Si Beckwith is one of the directors of Felt Nowt and a stand up comedian, he tells us where the group came from;
"We all lost our incomes and our livings because of the pandemic, so two or three of us started having chats, and those chats became a group of 6, then 7 - which became the driving force behind Felt Nowt.
"We are a community interest company - we're not for profit - so it's about pouring that money back in
"We get to pay acts to do work, but there's no directors taking profits."
Si also explains the co-op nature of the group gives all comedians involved a voice, and that there are almost 50 comedians involved so far.
He says the money they make from shows will go back into Felt Nowt, and allow them to keep paying artists for their work, as well as running community outreach programs and workshops in more disadvantaged areas of the North East.
One of the other big ideas for Felt Nowt is providing a cultural space for people living along the coast - without having to travel into Newcastle.
Si tells us that while venues like the Stand in the city centre are fantastic, it can be a struggle for people living in places like Whitley Bay or North Shields, a gap which Felt Nowt and Laurel's are hoping to fill.
And, Si adds, it's been amazing to get the region's comedians working together for a common goal;
"This doesn't exist anywhere else - comedians - because we're in competition with each other constantly for gigs, it's against our nature to work together.
"It's against our best interests but actually when you look at it, it's really not!
"What we realised is, if we elevate each other and all work together and create more gigs and more opportunities, you're not going to lose out by the people you're normally going up against for paid gigs. It's better to work together.
"It's also much more fun and enjoyable - the stress and strain of working on comedy - we've opened up so many more opportunities by realising there's power in numbers.
"We've got a voice now."
And after Whitley Bay - what next?
Felt Nowt's second full time club will be at the Dun Cow in Sunderland, where Laurel and Hardy were rumoured to drop in back in the old days...
Shows will run on Friday and Saturday nights, starting on the 26th of November.
Felt Nowt will be running stand up shows at Laurel's Theatre in Whitley Bay, and the Dun Cow in Sunderland (from Nov. 26th) every Friday and Saturday night - you can find out more here.