Beverley cocktail bar House of Bevs' comedy nights bring laughter to Yorkshire market town

They have both been bartenders for years and having previously managed a venue together decided to set up their own business.

Taking a step further, in August last year they started to pack the place out with their comedy nights – which are now on the first Monday of each month - attracting local amateurs and the odd professional.

Joe, 31, from west Hull, says: “It was never part of plan to be honest, it sort of happened organically. We bounce ideas around about what we could do, and when we hang out we'll just have a couple of beers and watch some comedy.

"So we thought: ‘What if we just tried a comedy night?’ We did a bit of researching and there wasn't really a lot going on in Beverley for comedy. There are shows that go on, but there was never anything consistently really happening in the area.

"We noticed Hull, they have their own comedy club, and Cottingham as well, so we thought: ‘Let's just set one up in Beverley’. And then it just immediately took off.”

Events started to become sold out weeks in advance, he says. He adds that promoter Mike Linwood, who books the acts, has comedians from around Yorkshire and further afield asking to get on the line-up for each event.

Beverley’s own Richard Stott is among the professionals who have dropped in to deliver a set, says Joe, but they intend to keep it open to amateurs.

"I wouldn't ever want to go down the line of 100 per cent professionals because I wouldn't want to take that edge away from it,” he says.

One of their punters is Dorian Cramm, who moved from Sheffield to Beverley in summer 2021 and was looking for places to go with his partner.

He became a regular at the comedy nights and, having never tried stand-up before, eventually plucked up the courage to perform himself. "They laughed in the places I hoped they’d laugh so as far as I was concerned it was a success,” says Dorian, 31.

He says that the comedy club is “invaluable” to Beverley and has been one of the highlights of his move to the town.

Joe adds: “Our biggest aim with the comedy night goes way beyond trying to pull people off the sofa on a Monday.

"It is incredible how tenacious comedians are towards live entertainment.

“These guys and girls travel for hours just so they can perform a 10 minute set and make people laugh.

"In fact, we once had a guy drive from Stoke to perform a short set and slept in his van over night.

"That sums up the determination and we want to support live comedy as much as possible.”