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26 March 2007
Cedar Room Backs Down on Charging to Perform
Power Scalded by Backlash
The Cedar Room will no longer charge its comedians to perform at its new comedy night.
What had become labelled as a "pay to play" scheme is now simply a stand-up competition at which participants can win £100.
Jack Power, organiser of the new comedy night at the Islington bar, has conceded to a public outcry against his idea for comedians to pay to perform and then receive winnings from the combined entry fee.
"I got an unfair backlash which meant people were intimidated to come and enter. A lot of the circuit were just putting pressure on, saying, ‘you’re an idiot if you enter,’" he told SSP.
The new event, which starts on April 24th, will also be free to attend.
"No one’s coming to comedy gigs in the numbers that they should be coming in," Power added. "You only have to open Time Out to see how many open mic nights there are, and the quality of that is never great and there’s never anyone there."
There will be a final competition at the end of the year for the funniest acts, which will take place at the Pigalle Club in Picadilly, for which Power says there will probably be an entry fee.
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