Sustaining Nigerian Stand-Up Comedy with Comedy Clubs

In the early 2000s, the success of the Nigerian comedy industry hinged majorly on a prominent genre, known as stand-up Comedy. This was a specialized style of comedy, where comedians stood in front of people and made them laugh. To be successful at this, they developed essential skills such as spontaneity, time management, and a proper understanding of their audience, which helped in delivering an excellent performance.

Stand-up comedy was so popular that there were many stand-up shows, which besides thrilling audiences from across the country, existed to mint new comedians and spotlight established ones. Some of these shows include: Nite of a Thousand Laughs founded by Opa Williams, Laffs n Jamz by Basketmouth, and Stand Up Nigeria by Bunmi Davies.

As a result of the opportunities offered by these shows such as visibility and talent upskill, stand-up comedians were able to host some of the biggest comedy shows in Nigeria. Some of these popular shows include: Julius Agwu’s “Crack ya ribs”, AY’s “AY Live”, amongst others. These shows helped increase the reach of these comedians, and made them household names in the Nigerian comedy industry. Sadly, although there has been an uptick in the quantity of comedy shows over the years, we have constantly seen a decline in the quality of these shows, which has made the once burgeoning comedy genre take the rear seat.

For some, this was the consequence of massive internet penetration across the country, resulting in a shift from physical to digital comedy consumption. To others, this wasn’t necessarily the case, as a comparative approach to stand-up comedy in more developed countries like the U.S and Canada, is evident that the problem goes beyond technology’s role in democratizing comedy, but the lack of adequate structure in the Nigerian stand-up comedy industry.

What Are These Structures?

They include but are not limited to: Monetary and personnel investment from the government, the existence of tightly knitted groups for stand-up comedians, including subgroups that play specific roles in ensuring career growth of each comedian, and the establishment of fully furnished modern-day comedy clubs, across the country.

Comedy clubs in its most basic definition, are venues where comedians come together, most times, on a weekly basis, to perform for comedy lovers. Comedy clubs are essential for a plethora of reasons, core of which is, as a means of achieving progress as a collective, rather than as individuals. This is evident in the fact that by having an institution where people of like minds meet to promote their art to the world, there is a trickle effect on the whole, which makes their individual success, that of a group.

Impressively, the existence of comedy clubs in Nigeria, especially in Lagos, is not novel. The reason for this is not far-fetched, as Lagos, aside from its role as the economic hub of the country, plays an important role as Nigeria’s creative abode. It is also interesting to note that most of these comedy clubs are handled by some of the renowned stand-up comedians in Nigeria. Such as Laugh Out Live by Basketmouth and Buchi the comedian, JJC(Jokes, Jabs and Chillz) by S.L.K, and Laughter Cave comedy club; run by a collective as opposed to an individual host.

Comedy Clubs And Their Role in Sustaining Stand-up Comedy In Nigeria?

Comedy clubs serve as test grounds for comedians. At comedy clubs, comedians have the opportunity to test the quality of their materials before performing on bigger stages. Comedy clubs are usually small, with lesser attendance compared to comedy shows. Which means that as a stand-up comedian, you get the chance to try out your jokes before performing it to a larger audience. This helps with better delivery, and provides an exciting experience for the audience.

Secondly, comedy clubs serve as the perfect platform for emerging and renowned stand up comedians hoping to show off their skill to people from all walks of life. Hence, it is home to raw comic talents waiting for their next big break into the limelight. This in itself is a major advantage of comedy clubs, because there are higher chances of performing to a person who could play an important role in your career and pivot you to the next level. This provides an amazing opportunity for stand-up comedians and helps sustain stand-up comedy in Nigeria.

Lately, the Nigerian comedy industry has witnessed a transition by stand-up comedians from full-time stage performances, to online comedy in the form of skits. This is as a result of the higher financial incentive offered by skit making, compared to stand-up comedy.

Comedy clubs play an important role in addressing this problem. Comedy clubs run a weekly event system capable of providing a steady flow of income to stand-up comedians, which help in providing sustenance to not just comedians but to the comedy genre.

Finally, when stand-up comedians realize that there are well structured systems in place that allow them to take care of themselves solely from doing stand-up, it brings in new converts to the fold, and sustains the industry.

Chukwuebuka Mgbemena is a culture writer focused on telling didactic and entertaining stories