Bristol’s top fringe comedy venue launches into an explosive Autumn season

Bristol’s top fringe comedy venue launches into an explosive Autumn season

Posted on: 03 Oct 2023

The Room Above, a comedy venue located in the White Bear pub on St Michael’s Hill, is stepping up their game for the Autumn season.

The Room Above is one of the most exciting comedy venues in Bristol at the moment, serving diverse slices of comedy from across the circuit – but with a particular focus on hot, up-and-coming fringe and alt comedians.

Since its inception carrying on the legacy of the original Wardrobe Theatre in 2015, the Room Above has steadily grown in prestige and energy from year to year, season to season – Autumn is no different.

However, with such a huge, diverse Autumn programme, it can be hard to pick what to watch; here’s our top highlights of the Autumn season at the Room Above.

 

1. Jamie Hutchinson: Waterslide - 5th/6th October

Hot out the door, coming this week is “one of the most marvellous fuck ups, I've ever met” (Dan Nightingale), Jamie Hutchinson. Host of the Green Room Podcast – with up to ~30,000 listeners per episode – Jamie Hutchinson is one of the brightest sparks on the UK circuit. But from the outside looking in, some would say his life is pathetic.

But is it? Is it? Join him as he works through about an hour of chaos and decide for yourselves.

 

2. Pravanya Pillay: Item Girl - 13th October

Pravanya Pillay is a Bristol comic who has been steadily rising further and further and gathering more and more acclaim with her ridiculously surreal observational comedy.

An ‘item song’ is the bollywood trope of a plot-unrelated song usually there solely to provide a marketable song or, more likely, for the objectification of an ‘Item Girl’ – the performer of the song. Pillay presents a show all about, and all for, the Item Girl – so what if she’s completely irrelevant to the plot? She’s the best part of the film. She’s the Item Girl.

 

3. Carr Crash: Science Comedy on Tour - 27th October

Carr Crash are a father-daughter science-comedy powerhouse combining the skills and knowledge of father Leslie Carr (a professor of Web Sciences and confessional comedian) and daughter Ruby Carr (a multi-award winning standup comedian) to deliver a dizzyingly funny and insightful show on the human side of Artificial Intelligence. Learn and laugh!

4. Eleanor Conway: Talk Dirty To Me - November 3rd

With over 100 million views online, Eleanor Conway is at the forefront of modern comedy – and is keeping the momentum with this high-energy, sex-positive standup show.

In a world where women in heterosexual relationships still do the bulk of housework and childcare yet orgasm the least during sex – Conway asks are we really that far along in the fight for gender equality? Who really benefits from marriage and babies? And how can straight women finally negotiate equal pleasure in the bedroom?

5. Lies, Damned Lies & Buffy The Vampire Slayer - 10th November

Perhaps the most intriguing and esoteric show on this list, Ben Lund-Conlon asks questions no one else is asking: how many vampires did Buffy slay? And how many of those does she stake with a pool cue?

These questions and more will be answered through an unholy marriage of graphical statistical analysis and comedy – expect pie charts, line graphs, tree maps and flow charts.

Special Mention: The White Bear Comedy Club – Saturdays

It wouldn’t be right to talk about the Room Above without a nod to their fortnightly comedy club, The White Bear Comedy Club.

Hosted by MC Harry Allmark, the WBCC is a home for all of Bristol and beyond’s brightest comedy talent, from massive names to up-and-coming local stars, there’s no guarantee of what you’ll get – aside from cracking, top-notch comedy!

Check out all these shows and a hell of a lot more on the Room Above's website.

Read more:

Article by:

Patrick Bate

Patrick is a filmmaker with so much Bristol in his blood the white blood cells are graffiti'd. Educated at the Northern Film School in Leeds, he’s returned home to be a Videographer and Reviewer for 365Bristol and BARBI. When he’s not messing about with cameras, he enjoys playing guitar, spending far too much time on tabletop RPGs, and being an awful snob about cider. Have a look at his work here, or get in touch at patrickb@365bristol.com.