The Glee Club

The Glee Club

The Glee Club logo
Location

United Kingdom

Owner Comic Enterprises Ltd.
Type Comedy club, music venue
Genre(s) comedy, music, spoken word
Seating type Theatre style
Capacity
  • Birmingham: 420 (Main Room), 150 (Studio Room)
  • Cardiff: 440
  • Oxford: 240
  • Nottingham: 400 (Main Room), 200 (Studio Room)
Opened
  • Birmingham: 1994
  • Cardiff: 2001
  • Oxford: 2010
  • Nottingham: 2010
Website
www.glee.co.uk

The Glee Club is a small chain of independent live stand-up comedy and live music venues in the UK.

The first Glee Club was opened by Mark Tughan in Birmingham's Chinese Quarter in 1994,[1] the first dedicated comedy club to open in the United Kingdom outside London.[2]

Refurbished in 2001 the Birmingham venue has two event spaces: a 420-seat main auditorium and a 150-seat studio theatre.[1]

A second branch opened in Cardiff in 2001 and is located in the Mermaid Quay development in Cardiff Bay. It has a seated capacity of 440 and a standing capacity of 600.[3] ITV Wales broadcast a series of eight stand up shows from the venue in 2006.[4] The Cardiff venue has won the Chortle Award for best venue (Wales and West) eight times since the awards began in 2002.[5][6]

A third club opened in Oxford in April 2010.

A fourth, two room club opened in Nottingham in September 2010. It is attached to a café bar called Café Glee.

In 2014 a High Court judge ruled that the TV show Glee 'diluted and tarnished' the reputation of The Glee Club comedy chain.[7]

In 2014 The Glee Club won the Best Comedy Club award at the Midlands Comedy Awards.[8]

Comedy show

The Glee's regular comedy show, most Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at both clubs, consists of three acts from the UK and international comedy circuits introduced by a compère. The Saturday shows are followed by a disco in some venues. All clubs also host tour shows by more established acts. Unlike many other comedy clubs, the seating for all comedy gigs is arranged in a theatre style[9] and the clubs' bars close during the performances.

Previous comedy acts include Lee Evans, Jack Dee, Michael McIntyre, Jack Whitehall, John Bishop, Sarah Millican, Russell Howard, Peter Kay, Frankie Boyle, Al Murray, Tim Minchin, Dylan Moran, Matt Lucas, Jo Brand, Dara O Briain, Rhod Gilbert, Jimmy Carr, Bill Bailey, Kevin Bridges, Micky Flanagan, Ed Byrne, Ross Noble, Jon Richardson, Alan Carr, Sean Lock, Milton Jones, Tim Vine, Lee Mack, Greg Davies, Chris Ramsey, Tom Stade, Chris Addison, Rich Hall, Alexei Sayle, Phill Jupitus, Mark Watson, Angelos Epithemiou, Shappi Khorsandi, Daniel Kitson, Tim Key, David O'Doherty, Bo Burnham, Marcus Brigstocke, Mark Thomas, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring, Mark Steel, Josh Widdicombe, Seann Walsh, Josie Long, Paul Foot, Robin Ince, Steve Hughes, Paul Chowdhry and The Boy With Tape On His Face.

Live music

The Glee Clubs have presented live music since April 2001. Music was initially brought to the Glee Club by promoter Markus Sargeant. Previous music shows include Antony & The Johnsons, Joanna Newsom, Feist, Bat for Lashes, Sufjan Stevens, Regina Spektor, Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling, Noah & The Whale, Lykke Li, Ben Howard, Michael Kiwanuka, Lianne La Havas, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Amadou & Mariam, Nouvelle Vague, Yann Tiersen, Lee Scratch Perry, Seth Lakeman, Mr Scruff, Ray LaMontagne, Iron & Wine, The Gutter Twins, Henry Rollins, Ani DiFranco, Low, Beach House, Adele, Richard Hawley, Imelda May, Melody Gardot, Rumer, Eddi Reader, Cerys Matthews, Nigel Kennedy, Supergrass, The Coral, Neil Finn, Roddy Frame, Gruff Rhys (SFA), A Camp and Paul Heaton.

References

"Could hit TV show Glee be about to vanish from our screens after High Court ruling?". Wales Online. Retrieved February 7, 2014. 

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