In the Summer of 2022, DAVE sent a documentary crew to capture life on and off stage at The Moth Club’s alternative comedy night in Hackney, East London. Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow presents Live at the Moth Club - a comedy series from the legendary venue in the heart of Hackney.
It’s a showcase of the very best acts on the alternative scene that also boldly pulls back the curtain on life backstage. Alongside brilliant live performances we tell the stories of the characters who run the club. Written by Alex Owen and Ben Ashenden in collaboration with top British comedy stars Jamie Demetriou, Cardinal Burns, Natasia Demetriou, Ellie White and friends, the show is a mould-breaking and irreverent love letter to the comedy world.
Regular cast includes Lucia Keskin, Mark Heap, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Arnab Chanda and Freddie Meredith along with a weekly line-up of the best and newest names on the live circuit.
Live at the Moth Club, now starts on Thursday 24th November at 10pm. Catch up on UKTV Play
Read an interview with one of the stars, Ellie White, below
How would you describe Live At The Moth Club?
I’d say it’s a mix between a more alternative Live at the Apollo and a behind-the-scenes mockumentary set in a comedy club. In collab speak, it’s like Live at the Apollo x Phoenix Nights.
What’s your memory of the show’s genesis?
We used to do a live night at the Moth, which Cardinal Burns hosted every month, and it always had this electric energy. That was where Tash (Demetriou) and I came up with so many of our characters, and we would try them out in front of this very warm audience. They say you're not supposed to perform material in front of warm audiences because they just laugh at anything, but, you know, anything to make us feel good about ourselves. I remember Rupert (Majendie Director/Executive Producer) saying, “We should make this into a TV show - it would be really, really fun”, so I guess that was the show’s origin. The initial idea has changed into something very different now, but the heart of the show was to try and show more people this fun place which has a unique and exciting vibe.
Why does the Moth Club engender such a warm audience?
I’m going to use a horrible phrase, but certain nights become fuzzy. There’s a party feeling to the night, because the Moth Club itself is like a club and has an old-school vibe to it. The decor is cool and there’s the strange juxtaposition of old social club regulars having a drink next to this comedy night. The night had a glittery feeling and it felt more like a music gig than comedy gig - on stage it felt like you were performing to people who were dancing
What does the Moth Club mean to you given its importance in your career?
I know this sounds wanky, but when you’re not an ordinary stand-up who can perform on the club circuit and hone your skills, you need places where you can try anything. When Tash and I started performing at the Moth we found the crowd were almost like fans, so you felt safe trying out experimental and alternative material. We first performed our Mum characters there and the response made us think, “Oh! They get it!” To be in a place where people get the type of comedy we were producing was really exciting. Obviously, it’s important to not just do your gigs at the Moth Club - I’m just putting that out there - but it was a good place to try new material because the audience were on your side. That’s rare.
Does the series capture the feeling of a night at the Moth Club?
The live sections definitely capture the authentic energy of a night there. My memory of Moth Club nights are of people being completely mad backstage and then going on stage - I’m mainly thinking of Dustin, who was always in a pair of rollerskates, roller skating around as people were madly rehearsing their sets. Chaos.
What is a normal Moth Club night like?
The thing about Rupert is that he’s very fun and always wants there to be a party. There was always that sense that if you were gigging at the Moth Club you should cancel any appointments or meetings the following morning, because you were going to stay for the night. I always really want to watch everyone else because the acts are always fun.
How would you describe your character in the series?
Tash and I play these dense posh girls who are working as PRs for the comedy night. We’re mainly concerned with how to bring in more people through the door to watch the gig and making the nights more kooky and wild. Essentially, they’re thick girls who are very confident in their own abilities, but are absolutely terrible.
The characters are ones we’ve performed live, although they’ve had many iterations. At first they gave love and relationship advice, and then they gave political advice on who to vote for in the next election - but things became too bad in politics, so we stopped joking about that.
Many of you in the core cast work together regularly - how did you all meet?
Rupert is the glue which holds so much together. He gave me my first ever gig - he’s given a lot of people their first gig - and Seb and Dustin have been friends of his and worked with him quite a lot. He wanted to set up a club night with them, and I first met Seb and Dustin when Rupert asked me to be in their film spoof sketch called Inzane. Afterwards I got to know them socially through Rupert, and then Tash, Jamie, and I were asked to be part of their night at the Moth.
Why do you think you all make such good collaborators?
In boring terms, we share a sense of humour and enjoy each other’s comedy. We have a shared language of the world we’re mimicking on stage; there’s a landscape of characters and we are the paint brushes painting those characters. What I’m trying to say is that we're like impressionists. I find Seb and Dustin hilarious, and Jamie’s amazing. Hopefully they find us funny as well.
How important would it have been to have had a show like this when you were starting out?
I’ve said to Rupert this would have been a dream about eight years ago. He has invited loads of new performers onto the show and there are people doing turns who haven't done TV before, which is really important.
