A Manifesto For Comedy:

Inspired by The Alternative Comedy movement of the 1980's, The People's Comedy (TPC) was formed in 2018 as a platform for grassroots 'socio-political' comedy in Bristol, with the core principle of paying acts for their performances.

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TPC gigs take place at the People's Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC) space on Jamaica Street on the first Friday of the month and at The Lion pub in Whitehall on the second Thursday. Open air gigs have also taken place in The Bear Pit (St. James Barton roundabout) and on Turbo Island in Stokes Croft.

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What is Socio-Political Comedy?

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Good question. The truth is we don't have a fixed definition, merely a set of ideas of what it might entail. Generally we platform comedy that offers a commentary on society, politics and culture from a broadly (though not exclusively) liberal perspective.

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Our gigs feature a mixture of acts from the local comedy scene and those from further afield. We attempt to have a variety of comedic styles, voices and perspectives present at each event, in order to ensure there is something for everybody.

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Paying Acts:

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We believe that the comedians who perform at our night deserve to be paid for performing. In order to do so we charge a small fee to our events.

 

At PRSC we charge £6 per person. Tickets are available on the door or in advance through our online store. We offer early bird tickets at £5, which are available up until two weeks before each event. We also offer group discounts for bookings of six people (£25 early bird, £30 advance). 

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At The Lion we ask audience members to make a donation which, combined with money we receive from the venue, we split between the acts performing. In normal times we also sell seat reservations but currently this is not possible.

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The Red Dot Scheme:

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It is important to us that all of our audience members are comfortable and enjoy our events as much as possible. We understand that not everyone attending will want to interact with the comedians on stage, for that reason stickers are available on the door at each of our events for audience members who do not wish to be spoken to by the comedians to wear in a prominent position. Comedians are asked not to interact with audience members wearing the stickers. However, be warned that if you are wearing a sticker and speak to the comedian on stage, they will probably reply.

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The People's Comedy Team:

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The People's Comedy team consists of Henry Palmer, Jon Matthews and James O'Donoghue.

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Henry Palmer is a Bristol born and bred comedian, activist and author. His unique comedy style was born out of his love of all things Bristol, his passion for the surreal and a desire to follow in the footsteps of his comedy heroes.

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Jon Matthews is an insightful stand up comedian who is 'extravagantly bearded and nicely silly' (Bath Echo). He cut his comedy teeth on the ex-pat scene in China and is known for 'jokes you can feel smart for getting' (Chortle).

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James O'Donoghue is a left-wing, Jewish comic book fan. He is also an actor, impressionist and comedian with a charismatic flair and an incredibly likable stage persona and natural charm.