The Comedy School

These guys are bloody amazing. I could not recommend this place enough. Amazing 6 week programme that gives you the tools, skill and confidence to do a showcase in front of a 100 people. Very professional teachers. They also do a lot to take comedy to prisons, inner city youths and people with mental health issues.

A really fantastic experience! The staff were very supportive and provided honest frank feedback which was invaluable. The class was really diverse with people from lots of different cultural and social backgrounds which provided a really good setting for everyone to learn from each other. I was a bit anxious before starting the course but it has honestly been one of the best things I have invested my time in.

Honestly the best investment I’ve made in a long time. The style of teaching is awesome - it’s meaningful feedback from your peers and attentive instruction from a tutor (who knew what he was doing and was the perfect mix of encouraging and challenging). If you put in the work, stay open & humble and listen to the room (hard) it’s an enlightening and fun experience that will give you swagger and a group of friends all trying to make it in comedy - and all in very different, inimitable ways. Highly recommended!

Joining The Comedy School was one of the best things I ever did! I always wanted to give stand-up a go and the school enabled me to find my authentic voice. They instilled the confidence I needed to refine my character on stage, and gave me all the techniques required to transform my anecdotes into a series of funny jokes. Their honesty, guidance and support have been invaluable and I'm very grateful. If you’re curious about a career in comedy or you just want to challenge yourself and do something exciting; go to The Comedy School – they are not only pioneers in this field, they are clearly the best!

I had an amazing time at the comedy school earlier this year and have just done my 10th stand up performance. I highly recommend trying their courses as there was a lot of good technical knowledge shared and it was also fantastic for my confidence. So long as you put in the work and support other course mates you will have a wonderful time!

Awesome introduction into stand up comedy, creating and performing!!! After this you can be ready to walk on your own comic feet. The entire team is dedicated - but can't do it for you… to those who think this was not what they expected, they might have missed the point: in this class you get to know yourself, and all input, criticism and encouragement is there to help us get there. And also...doing comedy is a serious business, and these guys are the real deal. Thank you so much, you've helped open the doors!!! I think we all felt a little bit blessed to be there ;o)

A great course, well worth going to if stand-up comedy is something your thinking about, if not, it will definitely build your confidence and get some high 5s from your mates for having the courage to get up there and perform! The teaching staff are great and very supportive. The showcase is an absolute blast. You'll meet great people and have a great time! High recommend! and side note - you raise money for a good cause, so stop reading this and the sign up !

Question – How do you get from having absolutely no experience of doing stand-up at all, to performing a comedy set live on stage at the prestigious Backyard Comedy Club in just 6 weeks? Answer - Sign up for the Comedy School’s Stand-up Intensive course. This is what I did, and the experience was amazing. Keith Palmer’s gentle, while humorous, approach to teaching and giving feedback helped to build my confidence. And the warmth and camaraderie of the people in the class made for some truly joyous Sunday afternoons. While some people were there to start a career in comedy, others were doing this for a personal challenge, to raise money for charity or to develop confidence and skills at presenting. So the course works on many levels and meets a variety of different individual goals. And you end up with a video of your performance to keep. I wholeheartedly recommend this course for anyone wanting some fun and a personal challenge. And, overall, The Comedy School, with its charitable endeavours, is a great organisation to be involved with. Thanks Keith, colleagues and course comrades for the experience.

A fun course and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in performing stand-up comedy. You learn a lot from great teachers, meet classmates and who become friends. The final performance event at Backyard Comedy Club was excellent (and raised money for a good cause).

Sadly I didn't find this six week course much fun at all after the honeymoon period of two weeks. I came with lots of enthusiasm but it was slowly knocked out of me. It seems to be geared towards churning out a particular type of stand-up comedian and doesn't offer much support to those who want to experiment or find their own style. I don't think feedback like 'That's good you know' or 'your're nearly there' (said to others not me, by the way) is useful critiquing. And since most of your time is sat observing other students try out material - their feedback becomes your learning opportunity too. Or should be. So you listen carefully, not just for honesty but remedy to weaknesses. It's clear that a bond and mutual support tends to develop in a group that comes together each week, putting themselves on the line...but eventually quality peer feedback is lost in favour of comradeship, as the course tends to deteriorate and dwindle in quality week after week. The whole set up from the schools perspective is geared towards making a steady buck for the school staff and a fast buck for their pet projects 'the black community in a nutshell' which is fine if you are onboard but I would prefer it to be geared towards supporting its students gain something real from the six weeks...And not just this superficial showcase and meaningless certificate. I didn't see anyone develop into a comedy genius from doing these classes. Some people, like myself, had their comic talent undermined and their confidence set back because they didn't fit in to their narrow interpretation of performing 'stand up'. My overwhelming impression was that the staff are jaded and don't really care about the students... The students teach themselves in truth and the school is merely a hired hall to facilitate their opportunity to try out on a stage. I just don't think the point is to produce brilliant stand ups, nor even to assist brilliant people become stand ups. It's a fools paradise. It's for the thick of skin and brave of soul. It is not by any stretch of the imagination a stellar teaching academy. As long as you realise that and have 260 quid to exchange for a few weeks of fantasy... Go for it. And if you have even more disposable income to share and it makes you feel better about yourself go the whole hog and raise funds for their pet projects too. You get a medal for your efforts. You are valiant? Just don't expect to have much real fun on this journey. It's all work and to make them more money. Not much joy involved at all. Eventually all the students will have their falsely inflated comedy balloons punctured. Some faster than others. If you are gonna make it as a stand up or any other type of comedian/comedienne this course won't be necessary and could seriously hinder your true potential to get there. It is fake. If it looks fake. Smells fake. Talks fake. Let me tell you, it definitely is fake. Get real. That's my honest opinion. Save your money and time. Save your soul too. They make no one great but try to break some they hate... I saw it and felt it. Leaves a bad taste...

I couldn't recommend this course enough. After years of wanting to do stand up but not having the guts, impetus or knowledge to actually get up myself, I felt a great deal of accomplishment standing on a stage I'd seen so many of my favourite comedians stand on before (Backyard Comedy). I even managed to get some laughs! My main note would be that, like all education, you get out what you put in. The tutors will give you the guidance, push you out of your comfort zone, help you craft the jokes & give you an arsenal of tricks & tips to use. (Plus a warm up act, open audience etc. for your proper show). They won't however write the jokes for you and tell you exactly how to tell them. This is a stand up course, not 'Ventriloquism for Dummies'. I went in to the course looking for personal development but the real success was finding a group of 12 other people that love comedy & all supported each other through the journey & beyond.

The courses run by the Comedy School probably aren’t quite right for everyone, and perhaps comedy itself isn’t, either, but for me it’s been an absolutely wonderful experience, and I’m deeply grateful for it. It is unusual in the world of commerce that you can pay for something, put in a fair amount of effort, and then find that it’s you that’s grateful, in the end. That’s part of the magic of comedy, and of this inspiring place. If nothing else, it’s a nice opportunity to be exposed to comedy, explore it, meet some great people. But it’s *not* nothing else. Forgive my tortuous syntax. The course builds up like a pyramid, with secure foundations talking about your needs, motivations, goals, expectations, desires around comedy etc., which are of course very diverse and also changeable. Then you do some storytelling, starting to pull together the threads of what you might want to talk about in your standup act. That too might change, expand, refocus ... Later you practice, hone your set with some excellent feedback, and learn some specific techniques to help polish it. Finally, the rubber hits the road, and you’re on, doing a live set with an audience composed mainly of strangers. You might think that’s scary, but it kind of isn’t. The preparation puts you in a great place. Comedy is a kind of magic in the world, and the Comedy School “gets it”. In conclusion, you’ll be relieved to see me say, I’d particularly like to thank my group’s tutor, Mr Cee. There are some remarkable people involved in comedy, but he is one of those who most exemplifies, for me, the right mix of attitudes. Both realistic and positive. Frank, and funny. Warm, yet icy cold. Relaxed, smooth, yet edgy. I’ve made him sound a bit like one of my delightful elderflower, lemon and rosemary sorbets, but he’s even more delightful, and he’s less fattening. :-)

Thoroughly enjoyed myself on the course. Thought the tutoring was fantastic- it was remarkable the improvement everyone made over the six weeks.

I signed up for the 6 week stand up course because I wanted to be more confident and engaging when speaking in public. I have to say it was the BEST communications/presentation training I have ever attended, and I have done a few in my career! Expertly and professionally delivered in a fun and creative way by dedicated and highly experienced trainers. I would without reservation recommend this course to anyone wishing to increase their confidence and self belief. And it didn't stop there...my learnings went beyond, to overcoming the fear, and realising the joy of 'entertaining' a live audience at the Showcase event. One of the best things I have done on a Sunday afternoon for a very long time!

AVOID!!! Unfortunately i have never experienced such appalling teaching - Or service. This is just about making money out of you and next! I provided feed back detailing my disappointment- no response. Then followed up this up with emails/ phone call to head office where i was advised someone would get back to me. Never happened. Being a student at the time it was a significant expense & massive waste of money. The comedy school did not do what it said on the tin!

Great introduction for someone who want’s to start doing stand up comedy. I’d highly recommend this even before doing your first open mic show. The skills taught and feedback received is very useful. You’ll make friends and meet likeminded people from completely different backgrounds.

AMAZING experience, fantastic teachers that really help and encourage you to achieve and develop your own style. Their Intensice Standup course is excellent. Recommend it highly for anyone who’s wanting to give Stand-up a go

How would have thought a 6-week stand-up comedy course could be a life-changing experience? Really fun time, great teaching, and some nice classmates to boot. It's intense, it's not easy, and it's a bit scary — but it's amazing and well-worth it. Keith and Mr. Cee were there to help us all the time. The final showcase was super well-organised. I can't recommend this enough.

Went on the comedy taster afternoon - it was great! Laughed a lot and wasn't as scary as I thought. Looking forward to doing more things with them

Did the Stand-up course within last 9 months. Regret to say AVOID. Spend time/money elsewhere. Course poorly organised, time wasted with padding out waffle for first 3weeks, absent identifiable teaching expertise, like trapped in a very bad timeshare pitch.... Finally given two sides of A4 on week 3 ('how-to..') which could have been found on google and which could usefully have been supplied pre-course. Result = irreversible SOH failure.

ME So I work in a 9-5 job, I'm overweight and approching the cusp of middle age, I've never done any Stand up and the last time I did any public performing I was 10 in my school play where I was a rather unconvincing tree. Life was a bit stale and I wanted to just be a little more, Well me. Why the comedy school? Did I go to the comedy school to learn to be funny? No I'm hillarious. So what did I get? I had the opportunity to learn some of the basic skills needed to go into the circit, which are transferable into everyday life! Basic? I hear you say, Yes basic! you learn your craft and fine tune the skills in real life, there is nothing stopping you going into the circit without a course but I honestly didn't have the confidence. For 6 weeks I had a comedy family, we worked together we laughed, we cried we called kieth horrible things behind his back and to his face it was great, yes people went thier own ways and now we don't comment on each other's facebook posts, but thats life.. I did however also meet a couple of people who will be life long friends... Confidence.... My first gig was at the backyard club, if you don't know it, Google it... I played my set, written by me in a professional comedy club in front of around 100 people. Did I nearly soil myself, hell no, I totally soiled myself, several times, my anxity was horrendous, and this was identified I was helped and put on early before I had a heart attack, and I smashed it. What am I doing now? My showcase was in April 18, I'm writing this review in August 18, I've done 25 open mics, 4 public gigs and im booked (unpaid) until the end of November I've even been asked to MC and headline several nights with more in the pipeline. I'm loving the comedy circit, I wouldn't be on it had I not done a course, are there other courses out there? yup and I hear Posatives and negative about them all.. What I'm trying to say is the experiance is what you make it... Feel free to enjoy my journey with me on Instagram @my_destination_unknown

Course full of useful content, and plenty of opportunity to practice in a supportive and encouraging environment.