I’ve finally been to Jongleurs in Camden, and as far as the comedy went it was a bit of a mixed bag. Something did bother me a bit, though.
All four acts on the bill that night were men. That’s not a terrible thing in itself: there are a lot of people out there trying to make it in comedy, male and female. But I did wonder how often that’s the case.
When I got home, I looked at the Jongleurs website to see how many upcoming shows included a female act. The site lists all shows across all venues on one page, so it’s pretty easy to check.
Not including the ‘secret’ acts where there’s no way to tell, for October 3rd and 4th I counted six female comedians listed. That might seem like a lot over two days of shows, but that is also 21 shows – each with either three or four acts. So we have six women alongside at least 30 men.
Does that seem right?
Like I say, there are lots of comedy acts giving it a go. We saw plenty of them at the Funny Women Awards not long ago – all female, and all fantastic.
Jongleurs is a perfectly nice comedy club to visit, and it has a great atmosphere. I’m not knocking the club here by any means – and the wine was delicious. I had a bit of trouble seeing the stage, but that’s my height more than anything.
What I’m wondering – publicly, on the internet, which leaves me open to a bit of backlash on this – is why there isn’t a better balance of male/female acts there. Is there a specific reason I’m not aware of? Is there a specific list that has to be used? Do women prefer gigging at other clubs (i.e. is it supply rather than demand)? I’d love to go back to Jongleurs, but I’m hopeful that I can do so on a night with some female presence in the lineup.
Pictured below: Funny Women Winners
