01/12/06
Smoke signals -
Categories: So, a date has been set. On July 1st 2007, smoking in public places in England will cease to be (source: BBC). In fact, Wales gets it first on April 2nd - the day after april fool's, so as to make sure the smokers don't think it's a wind up.
The potential ramifications for the stand-up comedy circuit are huge, and the news could easily portend major problems for the stand-up industry as a whole, were it not for the test beds of Ireland and Scotland, where I'm happy to report live comedy still exists.
Firstly, the facts; there is no 'private club' cop-out; all public places will have it banned. And no, the 'only places serving food' rule was just a suggestion, that's not true either. And the Mel Smith press opportunity from Edinburgh this year that was the 'Churchill cannot smoke on stage' uproar is equally apt here; acts who smoke on stage, can't. I can already think of about 5 comedians who will have to lose small routines based on their on-stage puffing, though in the grand scheme of things, this will be nothing compared to the wave of 'smoking ban' observations that will replace them on the circuit, for the short term at least.
When I first heard about the smoking ban, I had mixed emotions. I believe it's a good rule; when I think about all the people I work with in comedy clubs; front of house, barstaff, doorstaff, and the like, I find it hard to justify why they should be made to put up with that environment. But as a booker, I was genuinely concerned about numbers. I heard a rumour that the laughter lounge in Dublin shut down as a direct result of the smoking ban in Ireland meaning that audience figures plummeted below the level where they could still operate. I'm not sure if that's a true story, or if it was used to cover other failings, but it still hung heavily in my mind.
And in Edinburgh this year, I feel the smoking ban changed the demographic of where punters went. The rule allows smoking in open spaces; and this seemed to have some bearing on where people went. The Underbelly's passage, the Pleasance Courtyard and the Udderbelly's forecourt were all 'open spaces' and they were packed throughout the festival, as was the performer's-only terrace on the roof of the Gilded Balloon. Conversely, the cafe area of the Assembly Rooms and the interior bars of the Gilded Balloon Teviot were conspiciously quiet. Other factors may have been involved, but clearly the smoking issue was a major one.
But on the flipside, this rule - or elements of it - is already in place in some venues already. My club, at the Komedia in Brighton, only allows smoking once the show has started so people eating before the show begins can do so in a smoke-free environment. Nobody complains about this. And I was recently closing a gig at Carey's in Coventry - and before leaving home I heard that the venue was now completely smoke-free. We were also performing on a night of an England game. I drove up expecting the place to be empty, but it was impressively packed (and not just with football-hating health-freaks).
There are other side effects of the ban as well. Legendary comedy teacher Jill Edwards believes the smoky, gritty atmosphere in a club venue lends itself brilliantly to stand-up, and we'll be poorer without it. But then there might be legions of potential comedy fans out there who will now want to go see a night of stand-up, free from the discomfort generated by scores of carcinogenic punters.
Assuming it doesn't destroy audience numbers, personally, I think it's a good thing. As a reformed ex-smoker (according to my wife, the worst sort or non-smoker), I'm looking forward to being able to work in my place of business without inhaling vast quantities of 2nd hand smoke. The main advantage to me will be my throat and voice, which gets such a battering from my performance style as it is. And at least after a weekend away my suitcase will cease to smell like an ashtray. In Edinburgh, the smoke smell was completely eradicated - unfortunately being replaced with the smell of sweat, which for years it had been masking.
However, I am also expecting to be a touch tetchy through this. While I was away on my honeymoon last September, I started getting edgy about the fact that those three weeks was the longest I had not been performing in 9 years. I was desperately missing the stage, and felt a massive need to get up and do my thing. Initially I was thinking, "Hey, I must have comedy in my blood to be so needy of my craft!", but then the rest of me realised that I was addicted to the regular dose of passive smoking I get in this job. What my blood was actually craving, was nicotine.
The toughest job of all will be to get fellow performers to stop smoking backstage though - something I've never even attempted to ask people to do, and probably won't. Smoking and the rebel instincts of the more maverick elements of stand-up go hand in hand; look at Bill Hicks. On one hand, you could argue that if the ban existed in his day, he'd still be here. On the other hand, if the ban was there in the first place, the chances are he'd never have started performing anyway.
(blog subjects that didn't make it today: Christmas shows, my Alexander Technique lessons, people upset with this blog, the fall-out after Ray's gig on Saturday, my final Edinburgh accounts, the two Polish people who were apoplectic with the ribbing they got last night, and my cat's serious illness which is making me utterly miserable)
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Comments:
· http://myspace.com/anthologypage As for the "rebelliousness" of smoking -- there's nothing less rebellious than smoking. What's a smoker rebelling against? The generations that smoked before him? The massive corporations that encourage it? The compelling iconography that makes it seem so romantic?
Smoking's about as rebellious as a leather jacket. It's a rebelliousness costume; the truly rebellious don't smoke . (Like you.)
You'll see. It'll be alright.
Love,
Andrew
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02/12/06 @ 05:40 · http://www.TheComedyBox.co.uk You played my club The Comedy Box in Bristol just over a week ago. We have been a non-smoking venue since January (did you not notice?) and I would say we have benefitted from the self-imposed smoking ban already. Numbers, on average, have been up and we see a lot more pregnant women with their partners.
It was an agonising decision but after consulting our customers via email the vote was overwhelmingly in favour of the ban. Now I wouldn't have it any other way. New customers don't even complain. They just accept it as inevitable. Although smokers can smoke in the pub downstairs during the interval and prior to the show.
Steve Lount.
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04/12/06 @ 16:06 Permalink
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