Following the the government's latest announcement that people can only meet in groups of up to six people from Monday there has been considerable confusion over whether this will affect upcoming comedy gigs.

As rules have recently been loosened clubs have been starting to get up and running again with established indoor clubs slowly but surely reopening, albeit it under social distancing rules and substantially reduced capacity. A number of open air gigs have also been arranged.

While there is not a lot of clarity, as it stands it seems as if gigs can still take place and that these new regulations only apply to social gatherings.

So as long as gigs stick to the current performance guidelines they should be able to go ahead.

Tickets should be sold in groups of single households/bubbles, and these groups need to remain socially distant from other bubbles during the gig. 

The Live Comedy Association, which has been in contact with the DCMS has also added that "You need to keep the details of each group’s lead booker for the Test and Trace scheme. These details should be retained for 21 days. Ideally you would also keep a record of where audience members are sat during the show. More information on gathering this data can be found here." They also underline that these are the current guidelines and they may change in the future.

BTJ has not been informed of any gigs being cancelled. A series of open air gigs at Crystal Palace Football Ground organised by producers Show & Tell this week were cancelled before the announcement.

Promoter Country Mile has said on social media that their upcoming shows at the Star of Kings in King's Cross are still due to go ahead.

Among the gigs also still due to go ahead is a special gig on the top of the 02 Arena with Suzi Ruffell. Details here.