Comedy Club for Kids

My seven year-old and I did something different this month – we went to a Comedy Club for Kids at the Kings Lynn Corn Exchange. I’ve never heard of anybody running a comedy club for children before and we weren’t sure what to expect. But apparently it has been running around the country since it began at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2005 and they even run an academy and have written a how-to book to teach kids to be comedians.

It was held on a Sunday afternoon and the details said it would be just like an adult comedy club but “without the rude bits”. In my twenties, I went to Jongleurs in London a few times and here the set-up was similar. The usual chairs in the auditorium had been removed and replaced with chairs and tables laid out just as they usually are in a comedy club, in a semi-circle around the stage.

When we walked in, the place was packed. In fact, we struggled to find seats and joined a table with another family on it. They’d never been to a kids’ comedy club either and were curious. Then the compere Tim FitzHigham came on and warmed us up with some jokes, explaining what would happen. He was very funny and played comedy instruments, such as the kazoo and a horn.

Comic songs from Katie Pritchard

The first act was Katie Pritchard who was very amusing and must have been very hot, as she was wearing multiple costumes – including a gorilla suit. Her act included singing funny parodies of songs with a historical twist. She sang one about Joan of Arc to the tune of I Need a Hero. It was very energetic and subtly educational. The audience certainly enjoyed it.

The second act – besides being aimed at a child audience – was a more traditional stand-up act as you might expect when you visit an adult comedy club. Ben Van de Velde interacted with the audience, singled out certain members to tease and even baited them to a degree, speculating as to whom he might be able to take in a fight. My son was desperate to heckle/interact with him and must have held up his hand for at least 20 minutes, trying to get his attention. Eventually he had success when the comedian asked if any of the audience members had long hair and had a brief exchange with him.

It was a fun and interesting afternoon out. The only complaint really was that it could have been longer. We all found ourselves out on the streets of Kings Lynn on a Sunday afternoon after about an hour – much sooner than we expected – trying to find something to do and chatting about our experience.

Perhaps they weren’t sure how long the children would sit still for or perhaps they were afraid the comedians would get mercilessly heckled. It can be a hair-raising experience walking into a room full of hundreds of children, as any former teacher will agree. I thought the comedians were brave…