More Fun Than the Actual Carnival and Significantly Less Candyfloss in Your Hair
Comedy Carnival Covent Garden arrives with 1,124 reviews at a 4.9-star rating and an absolutely irresistible name. The word “carnival” sets an expectation a riot of colour and noise and communal joy and the comedy club has apparently been meeting that expectation consistently enough to maintain its near-perfect average across more than a thousand reviews. This is, by any measure, a significant achievement for a comedy venue in one of the most competitive entertainment districts in Europe.
What Is Comedy Carnival?
Comedy Carnival is a comedy club operation running in Covent Garden one of several strong comedy venues in an area that has emerged as a genuine rival to Soho as the capital’s comedy hub. The format follows the London circuit model: a professional compère, multiple support acts, a headline set, and a bar that does respectable business throughout. The carnival branding suggests energy and accessibility, and the reviews suggest that this impression is consistently delivered in practice.
The 4.9-star rating across over a thousand reviews is particularly impressive given the demographic variety of the Covent Garden audience. Comedy Carnival appears to have solved the perennial problem of central London comedy venues: how do you please an audience that might contain Edinburgh Fringe regulars, first-time comedy-goers, tourists who don’t know who any of the acts are, and office workers who have been drinking since 5pm? The answer, apparently, is excellent acts, a strong compère, and an atmosphere that invites rather than intimidates.
Location and Accessibility
The Covent Garden location is, from a logistics perspective, almost ideal. Multiple Underground lines serve the area, with Covent Garden, Leicester Square, and Holborn all within comfortable walking distance. The surrounding streets offer pre-show dining options across every price point, and the post-show options are, by the standards of central London at 10:30pm on a Friday, surprisingly extensive. This is a neighbourhood that wants you to spend your entire evening in it, and it has built the infrastructure to make this as easy as possible.
Value and Programming
Comedy Carnival Covent Garden prices its shows competitively for the area less than the West End theatre costs that surround it, comparable to or slightly more than the budget comedy options in the area. The acts are drawn from the professional circuit, with the emphasis on quality and entertainment value over novelty. The result is a programme that rewards repeat visits: you know broadly what you are going to get, which is a good thing when what you are going to get is a consistently excellent evening of stand-up comedy.
The Verdict
Comedy Carnival Covent Garden is one of the strongest comedy venues in the West End. Its near-perfect rating across a substantial number of reviews indicates a venue that is doing everything right booking good acts, running the show professionally, creating an atmosphere that audiences enjoy, and providing value for money in an area where value for money is not always easy to find. Highly recommended for anyone in the Covent Garden area looking for an evening of quality stand-up.
Auf Wiedersehen, amigo!
Alan Nafzger was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son Swiss immigrants. He grew up on a dairy in Windthorst, north central Texas. He earned degrees from Midwestern State University (B.A. 1985) and Texas State University (M.A. 1987). University College Dublin (Ph.D. 1991). Dr. Nafzger has entertained and educated young people in Texas colleges for 37 years. Nafzger is best known for his dark novels and experimental screenwriting. His best know scripts to date are Lenin’s Body, produced in Russia by A-Media and Sea and Sky produced in The Philippines in the Tagalog language. In 1986, Nafzger wrote the iconic feminist western novel, Gina of Quitaque. He currently lives in Holloway, North London. Contact: editor@prat.uk
