Get Off! Live Comedy has announced two nights of cutting-edge comedy to celebrate its launch this November. The shows will aim to raise much-needed funds to help the company in its work to eradicate sexual harassment within the live comedy industry and will feature Sara Pascoe, Nish Kumar, Russell Howard, Dalisa Chaponda, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, and many many more of the UK’s favourite comedy names.
Get Off! Live Comedy was established in 2020 by a group of comedians who are passionate about making their workplace one of the safest out there. It is an industry-created and funded independent Human Resource service that will seek to implement and support a long-term cultural change to tackle sexual harassment within live comedy. Following a year of intensive industry consultation, lots of boring meetings about insurance and some scary ones with lawyers Get Off! Live Comedy is now ready to go!
Kiri Pritchard-McLean says: “Tackling sexual harassment seems like a Herculean task and it is, but we’ve been heartened by how passionate and committed everyone we’ve spoken to in live comedy is to ending it”
The company will provide free training, support and dedicated HR specialists for the live comedy scene.
During the pandemic the organisation has run on skeleton staff operating using minimal funds from benefactors. Get Off! Live Comedy now want to move forward with a means-tested membership, gathered from venues, that provides a comprehensive level of service, training and support to venues, their staff and freelancers alike. However, the company are mindful of the battering the industry has taken in the last few years so they will be holding some fundraisers around the UK with some of the country’s best comedians. This will allow them to receive a much needed injection of cash before they open their doors and also to raise awareness the company’s aims.
The first two fundraisers are on sale now with more planned across the UK in 2022.
The fundraisers will also coincide with the launch of a survey into sexual harassment in the Comedy industry which has been developed in partnership with the University of Sunderland. This questionnaire will help Get Off! Live Comedy to get an overview of where the industry currently stands. The company will then be able to focus resources where they are needed and provide industry-wide standards with which to work moving forward.
