LAugh Garage moving, comedy store taking over venue

[Sydneyguy]

http://comedystore.com.au/parramatta.press.release.pdf

The comedy store has taken over the Laugh garages venue, so the laugh garage is in limbo at the moment (they havent found a new location, but also WHERE would a good place be? in the city? if its not parramatta is there anywhere else out west that is appropriate),
i doubt they will stay in parramatta to compete, i really wonder how this will turn out. I congradulate the laugh garage for having the balls just to start up a comedy club in parramatta

I wonder how well the comedy store will go in parramatta, i have been to there shows at the laugh garage a few times and the crowds really vary but at worst its seems one tried full.

The laugh garage use to have shows on a thursday then changed it to only friday and saturday nights unless there was a special event on, i wonder what nights the comedy store will try to run.

[op shop girl]

I emailed the PR person and yes, it will be taking over the old Laugh Garage venue (although I'm positive I've seen some kind of signage on the opposite side of the street. I might walk past at lunch to make sure I'm not going crazy).

I really want to know whether The Parramatta Comedy Store will side with Cracker or Big Laugh. The Comedy Store at Moore Park has sided with Cracker in the past, but Parramatta is the home of Big Laugh...

We have to wait until early next year for that news.

I wish Laugh Garage all the best, wherever they relocate. I'd recommend staying out west - their success seemed to be based around catering to bucks and hens nights in a pub/RSL style environment. Not to my taste, but there's a niche for it out here in the west.

And I certainly hope The Comedy Store fit-out the new venue in the same style as the Moore park venue. It's amazing how a change of seating can change the atmosphere of a venue.

[Sydneyguy]

http://www.thelaughgarage.com/index_files/calendar.htm


the laugh garages reply to whats happening

[op shop girl]

Oooh, the claws are out, this is definitely going to be interesting.

I wish all the best to both venues. At the very least, it's bound to draw some more attention to western Sydney's comedy scene.

...we will be re-opening another room very close to the one we will be vacating and we will actively redirect our customers to our new location.

Maybe I wasn't imagining things when I thought I saw a sign above Liana's Italian Restaurant. Having two comedy venues directly across the road from each other will definitely be interesting.

[Mythor]

Someone posted that earlier (and deleted it) and I thought it was just a bad joke.
I can understand the Comedy Store wanting to expand, but if what the Laugh Garage is saying is true, it's a bit of a shady way to go about it, in my opinion.
Hopefully the public won't care and both venues will be full up each night they run... rather than having each venue be half-full and both having to close down.

[unfrufru]

this was my response from facebook that i will repost here

could be hard to say, the laugh garage was never going to succeed where it is, they rely purely on pub circuit comedians, i think only once or twice have i seen a bigish name on the board (like steddy eddy or jimoin). mainly because the big acts would perform at riverside theatre at the other end of the block, and also competing against big laugh and cracker in parra doesn't help.

[kebab_oner]

from what I hear what the laugh garage is saying is certainly a -version- of events, but missing a few vital details. word on the street is it's all a bit of a smear campaign.

the first sound you'll probably hear from the store (officially) about any of this will likely be when they open... which'll happen as soon as they've finished gutting and refitting the venue and advertising the hell out of their kickass programme.

or so I hear...

[sharleen]

Originally Posted by Mythor

I can understand the Comedy Store wanting to expand, but if what the Laugh Garage is saying is true, it's a bit of a shady way to go about it, in my opinion.

If you look at it from a business point of view though, obviously the owner of that venue is looking at bigger and more $$$ opportunities. Its well within his right to negotiate and get the best deal.

I think a little competition in Parramatta is a good thing. The population there is large enough to support two venues. Not going about it shady, instead using it as a chance to raise the profile of comedy as a entertainment option in the area. Give punters a choice of venues to attend, and obviously the comedians benefit from another venue to play.

If the Laugh Garage is actually going to do what it threatens to on their site (actively move people on from the Comedy Store venue to their own) I don't think its actually going to do much for their reputation.

[Mythor]

The owner of the venue has the right to choose who uses it, sure. I was referring to the way in which the Laugh Garage claims the venue owner wouldn't negotiate a new lease with them. That suggests that the Comedy Store people already had a deal in place with the owner, no actual negotiating involved, such as asking the existing lease holders if they would make a counteroffer. The first the Laugh Garage claims they heard of it was when they were told they couldn't re-lease the venue - if the venue owners were unhappy with the Laugh Garage people, why would they have promised they could do so previously? (Again, what the Laugh Garage claims.)
Now, maybe the Laugh Garage people are just bitter they couldn't match the dumptruck full of money from the Comedy Store people, I don't know. Without an official statement from the Comedy Store it's a little hard to weigh the two sides' stories.
And I know which one I find more reputable!

Originally Posted by sharleen

If the Laugh Garage is actually going to do what it threatens to on their site (actively move people on from the Comedy Store venue to their own) I don't think its actually going to do much for their reputation.

Perhaps I read it wrong but I got the impression they were referring to telling any patrons who turn up for the Christmas Show (and any others before they close down) about the change in venue for the Laugh Garage next year. Surely they're allowed to tell their own patrons about a shift in location of their comedy nights? They're presumably not going there mainly for the venue but rather for the comedians they have on.
If they're going to stand around outside the Parra Comedy Store handing out flyers for the new Laugh Garage venue, that would be another thing entirely, of course. It didn't read that way to me though.

[Sydneyguy]

i didnt see the sign over liana's but i will look out for it next time!!

The one advantage that the new laugh garage will have is disability access. That was a barrier for one of my friends!!

It will be interesting where the laugh garage will be In the CITY!!
If they are more central to the city, i think they will have a good chance in terms of customers coming in!!
Comedy store is a little out of the way especially without transport there

Unfrufru i agree to a certain point, the bigger acts do goto riverside but thats rare, akaml/jimoin/scared weird little guys have performed at the laugh garage but they could of choosen riverside if they wished too
YES most of the comedians are so called pub circuit comedians but the general public wouldnt know one from the other.


Sharleen, i agree in terms of business is business, if i was a owner i would want more money too. I think competition is NOT good for parramatta, i am from the area and i think it will be the end of one place whichever one it is, i hope i am wrong though

i just wonder how this is going to EFFECT the comedians themselves, some have put there name as support, will comedians be pressured to go with one and not the other?

[unfrufru]

article in the paper about it this morning
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/...345080892.html

COMEDY is supposed to be a funny business, but the owner of a Sydney comedy club has not had much to smile about this week.
Darren Sanders, who started The Laugh Garage at Parramatta in May 2005, was preparing to vacate the premises yesterday after losing the lease in early September in circumstances he describes as "underhanded". The real punchline came a few days later when Mr Sanders discovered the Church Street venue had been leased to Mick Roche, the owner of The Comedy Store in the Entertainment Quarter at Moore Park, who intends to open a second club called The Comedy Store Parramatta early next year.
Mr Sanders says he feels "angry and betrayed" by Mr Roche's move, which he says will exploit the goodwill he spent two years creating. He has vowed to open a new Laugh Garage in Parramatta not far from his former premises and a second comedy club in central Sydney.
In an open letter on The Laugh Garage's website, Mr Sanders urges comedians to express their "disgust" at The Comedy Store's move into Parramatta via a petition. Signatories include the comedians Garry Who, Jimeoin, Akmal and Steady Eddy.
Mr Sanders concedes that few comedians will be able to boycott the new venue because the Sydney scene is too small.
"We're not telling people to not work at The Comedy Store because people have to eat," he said. "In all honesty, there's a fair bit of anger built up over this. I've got two kids and a wife and this place feeds all of us. To come in and do all of this … I don't know what sort of person he thinks he is."
Mr Roche, who bought The Comedy Store in 2003, sees the situation very differently. He says he was told by a "third party" that Mr Sanders wanted to leave the premises and saw an opportunity.
"I thought, right … if he wants out of the industry and is not intending to take up the option to renew [the lease] I would put an offer in.
"To say that I took the lease from behind his back is incorrect. He had the option to take it up and he didn't."
Mr Sanders said he did not take up the option to renew the lease because he wanted to negotiate better terms with his landlord. He believed he had accepted a counter offer from the building's owners on September 3, but learnt later that day that "all negotiations were off".
Mr Roche believes the audience is big enough to support two clubs in Parramatta and a new venue in the city. "Comedy in Australia is extremely poorly represented in terms of full-time venues compared to the UK and the US. So there is room for growth."
Mr Sanders disagrees. "This has driven a wedge into the comedy industry," he said.

[Prentiss]

the rumour mill has been working overtime on this for a while, its great to see some facts finally come out. i think some competition in the industry is only a good thing it might help liven things up a bit. i heard rumors ages ago about the comedy store expanding into parramatta and i didn't think itd happen coz i also heard that the guy was looking to buy or close some other rooms like the harold park or bar william to make room for the parramatta venue, because there wouldnt be enough comics or open micers to go around. maybe its bad eggs from the guys in charge of the laugh garage?

[kebab_oner]

you can watch a moving tribute to the laugh garage here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqhAj7sAYiM

[Louisa]

Originally Posted by Prentiss

maybe its bad eggs from the guys in charge of the laugh garage?

bad eggs alright. i heard on facebook that the comedy store got an anonymous threat this week about opening in parramatta. dunno what it said tho.

personally i cant wait for them to open in parramatta, more comedy and less travel time for me.

[Alisso]

It sounds like a legitimate business move on the part of the comedy store to me. But since legitimate business is not always kind or nice or considerate of others and their businesses, I can see why it feels like such an attack to the laugh garage people.

But taking advantage of any opportunity to defeat your rivals is the very essence of the free market economy. I'm not saying I like the free market economy, but given that it's what we have, you can hardly cry foul when someone plays the game well.

I don't think it will cause a huge problem, though...historically, the two rooms have each tended towards differing ends of the comedic spectrum, and logically would attract different sorts of crowds. I don't think the change of venue is likely to change that.