Coffee with chortles

Coffee with comedy seems like a whole new stand-up revolution. The concept is becoming consistently popular with more and more cafes in the city opening their venues to not only open mics but also full fledged performances and audiences seem more than open to the idea as well!

Comedy is a growing genre in the city and pubs are not the only venues hosting stand-up comedy shows. “We wanted to make space for more creative energy in the city,” says Perry Menzies, the founder of Urban Solace, one of the most popular venues for comedy.

“The response has been quite phenomenal over the years. And more cafes are opening up to comedy because the number of comedians in the city has increased drastically. Initially, there were very few stand-up comics as comedy wasn't seen as the best form of creativity. But now it has grown so much that newer platforms are opening to cover the vast field,” says the owner.

Encouraging new artistes seems to be the common factor for this trend. “People today have a number of choices as there are events happening every night. But we wanted to open up our café to encourage new talent as there are so many people who are interested in the field of comedy now.

The audience too seems to love it and it is a great way to blow off some steam at the end of the evening. The comedy scene seems to be expanding the way the music scene was, sometime back,” comments Matthew Harris of A Hole Lotta Love Café, another popular venue for comedy in the city.

Agreeing with Matthew, Shridhar Venkataramana, a comedian from the city adds, “I think cafes have realised that there is nothing like a bout of laughter for customers sipping on coffee. The crowd that frequents cafes is generally open to more art forms and are also very appreciative of stand-up talent.”

And while more cafes are playing host to comedians today, are they any different from pubs? “The aesthetics of cafes are completely different and their environment is more open. People in pubs generally want to have conversations over their drinks and are constantly distracted while the audience in cafes are definitely more attentive,” says Nasir Engineer of Improv Comedy Bangalore who prefers performing at cafes rather than pubs!

Rajesh Hinduja, another comedian adds, “Cafes have become great venues not only to try out our comedy but also perform.  Sometimes alcohol does help loosen up the audience but the people in cafes definitely have more patience and are willing to hear us out.” So Bengaluru, get set to put your laughing pants on and get cracking over conversations and coffee!