Manchester comedy club the Frog & Bucket has staged the first official post-lockdown indoor comedy gig.
It was the first of two pilots this week which will test how viable comedy shows will be under the latest Covid19 regulations.
The compere was Kiri Pritchard-McLean. According to a report in the Manchester Evening News she gave the audience - seated socially distanced at tables – some hope of a future for live comedy: "The Government said if you don't all spit in each other's mouths, maybe comedy will come back - maybe."
The other acts who performed were Shazia Mirza, Sian Davies, Ola Labib and Barbara Nice.
Capacity was reduced to 80 people. There was waiter service rather than the usual bar service and plentiful hand sanitiser. Reports suggest that everyone enjoyed themselves. Staff regularly wiped down surfaces that people might touch with their hands. A one-way system was in operation so that anyone going to the toilet didn't collide.
"Normally I would say go get a drink, but stay where you are ," Pritchard-McLean said during the interval. "Unless you need a cig or a p***. Those are the f***ing rules, this is how we have fun now."
A second pilot is due to take place at the Just The Tonic comedy club in Nottingham tonight (Thursday, July 30).
