A YouGov poll in April found 44% of people in the UK think stand-up comedy should be eligible for government arts and culture funding.
London showed the most support for this statement by region, with 50% agreeing and only 25% of voters disagreeing.
This contrasts with areas like Scotland, where 33% of voters said stand-up comedy should not be eligible for arts and culture funding from the government.
Of the government’s £127.8million delivered by Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), £96million was allocated to 74 arts and cultural venues as part of their Creative Foundations Fund.
Of these venues, 16 are in London, but only three of them (19%) have upcoming stand-up comedy or similar events showing this year.
Even so, Britain is a nation of comedy lovers
Since its launch in March, Saturday Night Live UK has been hosted by comedy icons like Tina Fey, Riz Ahmed, Jack Whitehall, and Aimee Lou Wood.
The opening episode attracted 226,000 live viewers and many of the sketches have gone viral on social media.
The UK has also produced must-loved sitcoms including the original Office, Peep Show, Friday Night Dinner, and The Inbetweeners, to name a few.
But how can talented comedians be expected to thrive if they’re not receiving the funding?
Elaine and Graeme Blackmore are founders of Whole Lotta Comedy – a club covering south west London including Surbiton, Teddington, and Richmond.
Graeme said: “Stand-up comedy venues are an essential part of the development and craft of a comedian’s toolkit.”
This is where they get their immediate feedback, according to Graeme.
Elaine added: “Everything we do, we put back into actually developing the comedians.”
Whole Lotta Comedy frequently hosts development nights where new comedians can get their first taste of the comedy scene.
Elaine said: “For comedians, this is their apprenticeship – it’s where they learn their trade.”
Even with the popularity and success of online skits, social media is only half the game for the comedians.
Graeme said: “Social media has to work alongside their craft because in front of a camera you’re an actor, in front of an audience that’s when you become a performer.”
Elaine added: “It’s completely different telling a joke and making people laugh around a table, then actually getting up on stage and entertaining people, trying to get them on your wavelength.”
As with all live performances, audience connection is vital.
Earlier this year, another art form made headlines when Timothée Chalamet said in a conversation for Variety: “I don’t want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this any more’,”
Yet in 2024/25, the Royal Ballet and Opera recorded their second-highest figures for in-person and live-to-digital performances post-Covid with 635,800 attendees.
The highest was 646,200 in the 2022/23 funding year.
Royal Ballet and Opera received £5million in this year’s Creative Foundations Fund.
When asked about how stand-up comedy should be funded, Elaine said: “You’ve got to be really careful where it’s actually handed out.
“It can’t just be to serve a tick box.”
Both Graeme and Elaine stressed the importance of working with venues and promoters to come up with something that works best for the whole industry.
Graeme also suggested funding courses for comedians so they can hone their craft without as much of a financial barrier.
Working to understand why and how stand-up comedy should receive government arts and culture funding then is arguably the first step.
Stand-up comedy is an art – anyone who has pretended to laugh at someone else’s bad joke would surely agree.
The bottom line is, though, if the UK is looking to keep stand-up comedy alive then there needs to be a conscious effort to do so.
Feature image: Free to use from Unsplash
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