We looked inside Sheffield's newest comedy club, Steel City Comedy Club, under the Beaten Track, formerly Wig and Pen, on Campo Lane
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00:00So, in looking for a new house, I was told by the estate agent, when you get this surveyed,
00:08make sure that you look for any damp that is in the building.
00:13We're in the north of England, though.
00:15I mean, that's like looking for a piece of hay in a haystack, you know.
00:22This is the Beaton Track pub on Campo Lane.
00:27It used to be the Wigan Pen, but it's recently re-opened.
00:31Now it's also going to be the base for a custom-built comedy club in its basement, and that club's
00:39going to be called the Steel City Comedy Club.
00:41I've been in to have a look.
00:43I'm with Stuart Dunlop, who's a comedian, and Paul Wrench, who is looking to set up
00:50Sheffield's first permanently based comedy club.
00:56Paul, could you tell me first, please, what are the plans for your comedy club?
01:02So it's evolved out of some comedy that we were doing at the Three Tons, which is just
01:05on the other side of Paradise Square here.
01:08We recognised the need for a specific venue to allow us to develop comedy in.
01:14This property came available, so we negotiated with the guys that have the bar at the Wigan
01:20Pen, and here we are.
01:21We've created what we hope is a nice, intimate, bijou comedy venue.
01:25And have you had a lot of experience of running comedy in the past?
01:30I've attended a lot of comedy.
01:31I've always enjoyed comedy in the Sheffield scene.
01:35For the last 12 months, we've had the Three Tons, as I say, we've developed the comedy.
01:38As we've gone along, we've introduced different promoters to do different types of comedy.
01:44So it's not just stand-up, and that's part of the reason why Stuart's here.
01:48He's also been very influential on our journey.
01:52Have you got an opening date for the first act?
01:55As you can see, we're almost there.
01:57The decorations are done.
01:59We need to start promoting the first events.
02:02We will have a stand-up event on the 9th of October.
02:06We'll have a couple of precursors to that, just to make sure that all the wires work
02:12where they should work, etc.
02:15And Stuart, amongst your many hats that you wear, you've been a stand-up comedian yourself.
02:21Is that correct?
02:22That's correct, yes.
02:23And I've been doing that for about five years now, I would say, just over five years.
02:28And involving myself in this has been great because I've basically been able to do a live
02:34comedy quiz show with great comedians, essentially playing alongside the audience, which is what
02:39we've been doing at the Three Tons.
02:41So I like to be versatile with what I'm doing in comedy.
02:47I never like sticking with the same thing for very long.
02:52So that's what I've been looking forward to doing with this venue.
02:56I understand that today's the first time you've had a look at the Steel City Comedy Club.
03:01What do you think of it?
03:02I really like it.
03:04I like it's a very intimate space.
03:06It feels very much like you're at one with the audience, because I've always liked that.
03:11One thing about comedy that I've always enjoyed has been that idea that you are working almost
03:16with the audience, that there's this sort of familiarity between the performer and the
03:22people, the spectating public.
03:26And I really feel like the way that this is laid out, it really does feel, you know, sort
03:32of like we're all in this and we're all here to have a good time and we're all here to
03:36be entertained, really, and enjoy ourselves.