Laugh in London

By the 1860s, London had more than thirty halls turning laughter into a profession.

The first purpose-built music halls opened across London in the 1850s, evolving from the singing rooms attached to public houses. Charles Morton opened the Canterbury Music Hall in Lambeth in 1852, earning him the title 'Father of the Halls'. These venues mixed song, comedy and variety acts, and by the 1860s there were over 30 major halls operating in the capital. Comedy was woven into the fabric from the start. The chairman would introduce acts, heckle the audience, and keep the beer flowing. It was raucous, democratic entertainment, and it established London as a city where you could reliably go out and be made to laugh.

Four young men from Edinburgh made London's educated classes argue about comedy over their morning toast.

The Establishment Club opened in Soho in 1961, founded by Peter Cook, and became the first London venue dedicated to satirical comedy. It followed the success of Beyond the Fringe, the 1960 Edinburgh revue featuring Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller, which transferred to the Fortune Theatre in London's West End in 1961. Together, they proved that comedy could be sharp, political and aimed squarely at the educated middle classes. This was the moment London comedy stopped being solely a working-class night out and became something the whole city argued about over breakfast.

Alexei Sayle compèred the opening night; Rik Mayall, Dawn French and Ben Elton followed close behind.

On 19 May 1979, Don Ward and Peter Rosengard opened The Comedy Store above a strip club in Soho. Inspired by the Los Angeles club of the same name, it offered a stage to anyone brave enough to face the audience. The early line-ups read like a who's who of British comedy: Alexei Sayle was the first compère, and the roster quickly included Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, and Ben Elton. The Comedy Store rejected the racist and sexist material that had dominated working men's clubs. In its place came something angrier, stranger and far more interesting. London's modern comedy circuit was born.

Six future television legends shared a Soho stage before the country had even heard of Channel 4.

In 1981, a breakaway group from The Comedy Store formed The Comic Strip and began performing at the Boulevard Theatre in Soho. The founding members included Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. Their debut on Channel 4's opening night in November 1982, with Five Go Mad in Dorset, brought alternative comedy to a national television audience.

The Comedy Store Players have been improvising weekly since 1985; no comedy show on earth has run longer.

After stints in various Soho locations, The Comedy Store settled into its purpose-built 400-seat venue on Oxendon Street, just off Piccadilly Circus, in 1994. The move gave London's flagship comedy club a proper home with decent sightlines and, crucially, air conditioning. The venue's weekly Comedy Store Players improvisation show, running since 1985, became the longest-running comedy show in the world.

London stopped having a comedy scene and became one.

The early 2000s saw an explosion of comedy venues across London. Jongleurs expanded into a chain, the Soho Theatre reopened in 2000 with comedy as a central pillar of its programming, and new clubs like the 99 Club and Angel Comedy sprang up in pubs and basements across the city. Lee Mack, Michael McIntyre, and Jimmy Carr were among the acts who built their followings on the London circuit before becoming household names. London was no longer a city with a comedy scene. It was a comedy scene that happened to also be a city.

Twenty thousand seats, one comedian. The arena show had arrived.

The O2 Arena opened in Greenwich in June 2007 with a capacity of 20,000, and comedians quickly proved they could fill it. Lee Evans became one of the first stand-ups to headline the venue. Peter Kay, Michael McIntyre and Kevin Hart followed, with McIntyre's 2012 run at the O2 breaking records. The idea that a single comedian could sell out an arena would have baffled the Comedy Store regulars of 1979.

From 50-seat pub rooms to the 20,000-capacity O2, London now hosts an estimated 300 comedy nights per week.

After the enforced pause of the pandemic, London's comedy scene returned with force. The city now hosts an estimated 300 comedy nights per week across venues ranging from 50-seat pub rooms to the 20,000-capacity O2. The Soho Theatre remains the tastemaker's venue of choice, while the Apollo Hammersmith and Eventim Apollo host mid-range tours. Netflix specials filmed in London have given the city's comedy scene a global audience. Corporate comedy hospitality has grown alongside the scene. Premium boxes at the O2, VIP packages at the Apollo, and private dining before shows at the Soho Theatre offer a way to experience London comedy that goes well beyond a pint and a stool at the back.