Although Bury St Edmunds has been well served by nights such as the popular Fat Cat Comedy Club, attempts to repeat this success in Ipswich have been less successful. But with recent gigs by Russell Brand and Ricky Gervais selling out The Regent, there seems to be a demand for live comedy in the town. That's certainly the belief of locals Martin Pike and Darren Cook, the two men behind Jokers. "The idea is simple," says Martin. "To bring the best available comedians from the national stand-up circuit to Ipswich. "Russell Brand started at places like Jokers, as did Peter Kay, Lee Evans, Jack Dee, and all the other big names you see coming to the Regent."  | | Geoff Norcott - Jokers' first compere |
Jokers aptly launched on April Fool's Day 2007 - with the line up of Ian Stone, Janice Phayre, Pierre Hollins and compere Geoff Norcott helping to sell out the 200 capacity Manor Ballroom. "The first one was a sell out, which was a huge relief," adds Martin, "but even a sell out audience can be hard work for a comedian. Thankfully, our audience were game for a laugh, and any fear we had of tumbleweed drifting across the room was quickly dispelled. "The Manor Ballroom is a gem of a venue. It's far from posh, but we think that's a plus for a stand-up comedy night. "It's big enough to allow us a decent budget and get the best comedians, but not so big that it feels impersonal." Despite having to turn people away from the first night, Jokers are reducing the capacity of future gigs by adding more tables - allowing those who preorder tickets to watch the show in comfort. A few standing tickets will still be available on the door. "To be honest, we're more concerned with putting on a good show than making money. We'd rather be known as the guys who lost money than the guys who put on rubbish comedy nights. "We were customers at the previous comedy nights in Ipswich, and apart from the Great White Horse event, we reckon they all had at least one flaw. We think we've addressed those, and from the ticket sales so far, so do our audience." With April's Jokers a complete sell out, and May's pre-sale allocation snapped up well in advance of the night, what's next for the new comedy night on the block?  | | Jeff Innocent is at Jokers in June |
"Firstly we want to nail what we're doing, and get ourselves a regular, lively and appreciative audience," Martin continues. "We've landed a real humdinger of a headliner for our June event - Jeff Innocent. "He is simply one of the most in-demand stand up comedians on the circuit today, and it's a real pleasure to bring him to Jokers." On top of this, Jokers are also keen to have local bands perform music whilst people arrive: "We're trying something a bit different with the local band thing in May. Local musician Con Meehan will be playing a live acoustic set from 7pm to 7.45pm. "It's just our way of providing a platform for local musicians who want an outlet, and something interesting for our audience." An interview about comedy wouldn't be complete without asking for a joke to round the piece off. Sadly our request fell on deaf ears. "There's nothing you could print here. Come along to one of our events and listen to the professionals!" Jokers Comedy Club is at the Manor Ballroom on the first Sunday of every month. Details of future gigs and an online ticket service are available from Jokers' website. | 
