sydney comedy Stores to both close.

[unfrufru]

Comedy's fate is not funny - National - smh.com.au

Comedy's fate is not funny

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Richard Jinman
July 23, 2008


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SYDNEY is about to become a lot less amusing following the closure of two of the city's highest-profile comedy venues.
The Comedy Store in Parramatta heard its last punchline last week and the future of The Comedy Store in The Entertainment Quarter at Moore Park is also under a cloud.
Both venues are operated by Mick Roche, a comedy-scene stalwart, who bought the Moore Park business in 2003 and opened the Parramatta venue earlier this year.
Mr Roche has confirmed the closure of the Parramatta venue - just two weeks after its gala opening - but declined to comment on the future of the original store, which has been based at several venues since 1981.
The Comedy Store's website could not be accessed yesterday and Mr Roche did not return the Herald's phone calls.
A Sydney talent agent, Andrew Taylor, who represents comedians such as Peter Berner, Greg Fleet, Fiona O'Loughlin and Tommy Dean, said he had spoken to Mr Roche and "as far as I'm aware it's [The Comedy Store] dead".
Mr Taylor said the loss of the Moore Park venue was a huge pity. "It will leave a huge gap as it was easily the best comedy venue in the country in terms of its layout."
The closures will hit the nation's top comedians. "They're not going to get as much work; it's as simple as that," Mr Taylor said.
Darren Sanders, a comedian and co-director of The Laugh Garage in Parramatta, said the area was too small to support two comedy venues. But he believes Sydney's appetite for comedy is still strong and is confident a second Laugh Garage on the corner of Park and Elizabeth streets in the city will be a success when it opens in September.
"I don't think this [the closures] is about people not wanting to see comedy; it's about business," he said.
The comedy market's strength was confirmed by Karen Laing, the comedy club manager at A-List Entertainment, who said there had been an increase in inquiries from venues seeking to set up regular comedy nights.

[unfrufru]

my two cents. andrew taylor is a cock. nothing has been confirmed for moore park and he's throwing dirt on the grave

[op shop girl]

It's a shame that the Parramatta Comedy Store didn't make it. I went to one of the early shows and the audience was tiny, but that was when they were still mid-renovation. The gala night was a sell-out.
*sighs*
I had less than a month to enjoy having awesome Italian food, comedy, and the Bavarian Beer Cafe all on the one street. It shall be missed.

I certainly hope the Moore Park rumours aren't true. Losing the Big Laugh Comedy Festival and two comedy stores in the one year is too painful to imagine.

[unfrufru]

wait when did big laugh go>>>

[Mythor]

So it's closing down just 3 months after opening?
I wonder if the Laugh Garage want their old venue back.

Chortle says they've talked to Tony Bailey:

Originally Posted by Chortle

Tony Bailey, co-founder of the rival Laugh Garage, told Chortle that the Comedy Store had gone into voluntary liquidation, cancelled acts and laid off its staff.

He said: ‘It shut its recently opened Parramatta venue last week and this week has cancelled all shows at its Fox Studio [Entertainment Quarter] venue. It has already notified booked acts of the closure and has terminated floor staff.

The Comedy Store's website is down because it's not currently resolving for some reason. It's still delegated to their webhost so there's either some weird issue nobody's fixed yet or perhaps nobody paid the hosting bill when it was due...

[op shop girl]

Big Laugh Comedy Festival didn't go ahead this year. I asked a staff member last time I was at Riverside and she said she didn't know what happened. While the festival may no longer exist, from a few months ago, all comedy-related shows promoted by Parramatta Riverside Theatres have been advertised as "Big Laugh Comedy Attractions presents..."
(Speaking of which, Six Quick Chicks is awesome. Last time I went I had the pleasure of seeing Christa Hughes and Geraldine Quinn. *drools*)

[unfrufru]

so now we're left with mic in hand. sucks to be a comedy lover ni sydney.

we already bought tickets to a show in august at moore park, do u reckon they will give refunds????

[Gutter Monkey]

Jesus christ Sydney, what did you do to your comedy?

Hopefully some new rooms will open up to plug the holes.

[kebab_oner]

hey unfrufru - unless you physically went to the venue to buy your tickets, you won't have been charged.

and officially, moore park is closed for maintenance. the future is in doubt, for sure, but don't count the place out yet.

[Alisso]

Originally Posted by kebab_oner

and officially, moore park is closed for maintenance. the future is in doubt, for sure, but don't count the place out yet.

I've got my fingers crossed.

I'm sad to see the Parramatta Store close so quickly (it was so much EASIER to get to, and the staff were all so nice!) but to lose both would just be a disaster.

[unfrufru]

if they fixed up the line-ups at moore park i'd go more often. apart from hillsy and fleety (which i doubt would have gotten many in with the damn pope. OT but Fleety for the next pope) the line-ups haven't exactly been stellar.

[Laney]

Awww, that really blows. I was waiting until I had a free weekend before I got down to the Parra store to check it out.

Hope the Sydney store doesn't close down. I know I haven't been there nearly as much as I would like to these days, but as Unfy said, not exactly a stellar line up (and particularly for people who see a lot of comedy, seeing the same acts over and over, is a bit dull). But, if/when it does open up again, i'm going to try to get down there more.

[op shop girl]

From Time Out
Sydney's Comedy Stores close their doors

Is the closure of the Comedy Stores in Sydney and Parramatta bad news for the comedy scene or will it present an opportunity for a new club assume the mantle?
By Andrew P Street and Dan Rookwood
Sydney's comedy scene just got a lot less funny. Last week the news was made official: Sydney's best-known comedy club, The Comedy Store, was no more.

There had been rumblings: on Monday 21 July the Parramatta section of the Comedy Store's website had vanished. By Wednesday the entire site had been taken down with news that the Comedy Store Parramatta had shut its doors having only just opened them with a grand Gala Opening on Saturday 28 June.

Despite some initial suggestions that the Entertainment Quarter flagship venue would continue - there is currently a sign on the door that says it is "closed for maintenance" - the news just kept getting worse until everyone, from off-the-record insiders to comedy pundits and performers, acknowledged that it was all over bar the heckling.

Mick Roche, who bought the Comedy Store in 2003, is remarkably candid about what had transpired. "I have placed the company that controls Sydney and Parramatta Comedy Stores [Tearoc Pty Ltd] in the hands of a liquidator. This is as a result of a variety of reasons of which the main ones were that in the short period that Parramatta was open it was not projecting any signs of covering its operation costs on a weekly basis, let alone repaying any of the capital expenditure that was invested into the fit-out.

"And over the past eight months it has become obvious that the Australian economy has taken bit of a beating with interest rates, petrol and food produce prices continuing to climb whilst personal incomes have stagnated. I have watched revenues drop by 15 - 20 per cent, with indicators predicted a further drop of at least 10 per cent for the next 3 months.

"After placing Tearoc Pty Ltd into liquidation, several parties have expressed strong interest in purchasing the Sydney Comedy Store name and continuing its presence within the comedy scene."

The Comedy Store Parramatta opened up in premises formerly leased by the Laugh Garage, which is co-directed by local comedian Darren Sanders. "I don't think this [the closures] is about people not wanting to see comedy; it's about business," he said.

"I think at the end of the day there are business reasons that impacted on this," agreed Jorge Menidis, the man behind Sydney's Cracker Comedy Festival. "I'm not sure what the business reasons were behind what occurred - the operators had been in business for a while so it's not as though they were new operators who didn't know what they were doing.

"There's potentially more comedy now than there ever has been in Sydney and a lot more comedy being played in different rooms, but unfortunately the Comedy Store is such an institution and whatever the reasons behind it were, it's disappointing."

"I personally hope that someone will buy the name or fill the void," said Wil Anderson, a regular performer at the EQ venue. "Someone with a real love of comedy and a real understanding of business - but those things rarely go hand in hand.

Originally opened in Sydney in 1981, the Comedy Store brand is famous internationally. Such is the Comedy Store's standing that the news has already reverberated around the world. "I've only literally just landed from Montreal and the minute everyone over there [at the Just For Laughs comedy festival] heard, people were in shock a little bit, to be quite honest," said Menidis.

Not only is the Comedy Store Sydney's best-known name, it's also one of the few venues large enough for touring comedians. Just as importantly, despite venues like the Laugh Garage, the Fringe Bar and the Roxbury being firm supporters of comedy, the Comedy Stores were the only venues offering week-long runs for comics. "I just feel so bad for the comedians," laments Kim Shepherd, the Store's former publicist. "What are they going to do? It leaves such a hole."

"In the short term it will obviously affect who comes to town and how much work there is for working comics," said comedian Lehmo (Anthony Lehman). "It's a little like when the old mill closes and the town really hurts. What needs to happen now is that someone has to step up to the plate and breathe life into the Comedy Store name or present another premiere venue for this city."

The operators behind Laugh Garage look to be the people most likely to do that, especially as they are intending to open a venue on the corner of Park and Elizabeth Streets in the CBD in September.

So while this isn't likely to be a body blow for Sydney comedy, the general feeling about the closure of the Comedy Store can be eloquently summed up by Time Out reader Craig Murphy who sent an email on the subject with the simple, heartfelt message: "That sucks balls."

Reactions from Sydney comedians

"Oh. My. God. Way to break the news. I finally got my name above the door just before I left for the UK. But none of this is my fault. Is it? Not only was the Store was one of the best rooms in Sydney, it was my local, which is a bit depressing. But Sydney has a strong open mic scene, with new rooms opening all the time, so I don't think it's the death of Sydney comedy. Might be the death of decently paying local gigs, or it might be a chance for some grass roots renewal. I guess we'll have to see." Dave Bloustien

"It's a sad day for comedy in Sydney. The Comedy Store is - was - our only serious high profile purpose-built comedy room with the strength of brand and reputation to attract serious high profile international acts. It was our ‘humourversity' - that's where local comics aspired to perform, that's where they would learn from more established acts. Where do comics aspire to now?" Wil Anderson
"Standup comedy is cyclical, it has it's good times and it's bad times and I think it's having a dip at the moment. The crowds are going elsewhere at the moment but fresh, funny and relevant stand up comedians will always bring them back. You might find that "funny" younger potential comedians are getting their kicks creating videos online and not even contemplating stand up. It will rise again." Rosso (Tim Ross)


Save Sydney Comedy
Time Out will be following this story in the coming weeks and supporting those who step up to fill the void left by the Comedy Store. Tell us what you think.

Send your emails to Time Out Sydney - Your weekly entertainment magazine or leave a message on the
Time Out Sydney Facebook wall

[unfrufru]

right, well there goes the tickets to tripod we bought

maybe we should hold a memorial

[kebab_oner]

word is it's re-opening under new owners very soon - dunno if that'll all be sorted before tripod though.

in any event, it'd be a very big mistake of whoever may or may not be managing the place when it re-opens to not transfer or refund tickets sold to shows that didn't go ahead...