New Cork Comedy Club at the The Franciscan Well, Rebel Comedy, on Sunday Nights Welcomes Newcomers to Try Their Hand and Stand – Up Comedy in a Scene that is ‘Part of Cork Culture’

By Reporter Anna Humphreys

‘Open mics are the most important thing in the comedy scene and the most important thing to a comedian… to how we make each other better’.

After lockdowns and their detriment to the arts, (particularly live stage perfromances!) from post -pandemic reinventing the wheel…zoom comedy gigs!? To packed – out venues throughout the city; namely those who host internationally acclaimed acts such as The Comedy Cavern, Coughlan’s bar, Douglas St, and The CoCo Club, The Roundy, Castle St.   One of the cultural phenomena to occur in Ireland in the last two decades in particular has been the highly successful growth of stand – up comedy as a popular entertainment genre. The rise of popular online sketches and short stand – up clips has given way to a greater appetite for standup in general, with a great combination of established acts and rising stars taking to the Irish comedy scene in recent years.

Photo from @rebelcomedyclub on Instagram.

Before the pandemic, there was only one open mic in town, that being the once monthly open mic at Coughlan’s, since live comedy has settled back the swing of things, many more have cropped up, such as Anycraic comedy at the Liberty bar every Monday night.

The newest being Graham Francis’ weekly open spot-on Sundays at The Franciscan Well, following the startup of his own career post lockdown, and travelling Australia, where he began his career; returning to Ireland with the hope of integrating in to a scene with more versatility than the limited English – speaking scene in Japan.

‘My father raised me on Billy Connolly and Monty Python… I also consumed a lot of British and Irish Comedy, then American stuff… Richard Prior.

‘When I was 8 years old I did a Billy Connolly routine about diarrhea in speech and drama class and when everyone turned to me I thought, this is class.

‘I did my first open mic when travelling in Australia… spent a few years in Japan. I was travelling through the bush at the time when I did my first gig… August 2022 was my first open mic’. ‘0 steps taken back since then, since clubs opening in Dublin’.

Now given a more socio – political weight by younger comics, Graham emphasised how nuanced the styles, crowds, and comics the club gets there are. ‘No matter what culture you’re from you’ll vibe with something…I wouldn’t say it’s a ‘safe space’ (we had a giggle over this)… open mics are where comedians have a five minute window to be a bit reckless…’

‘We have regulars that come in, and they know they’re not getting one flavour… you’re getting every flavour… and you’ll love some of it. The Crowds are as mixed as the comedians in leanings and social opinions… we get all girl’s nights, expats, tourists, middle aged couples… we are blessed with the Fran well because it has a beautiful demographic already…they’re a mismatch of everyone…’

The gig runs weekly on Sundays, with doors at 8:30 and the show starting at 9, sign-ups are via the Instagram page, the club works on a first come, first served basis. “we’re usually booked up two weeks in advance…we work on a first come, first served basis…even Tommy Tiernan isn’t getting bumped up!!” The club also has a weekly standby list in case the lineup changes last minute in the event of a dropout act. ‘You might get a call with two hours’ notice… but I would encourage anyone to come…it’s a good space to try and articulate what you think is funny…Fran Well has been incredibly supportive since day one’.

Graham stressed the importance of a small open venue for comics to experiment with new material and rise in popularity post – pandemic as a growing part of the Cork arts scene and night life. “A comedian needs a good scene, we have comedy every night of the week…we have everything from touring comics to those who are at open mic level…or Instagram is often linked to other clubs, so they’re easy to find…night life in Cork is not just music and pints…some people now make it their night out.”

‘Stand – up is becoming part of Cork culture… some of these people are going to be famous one day… you want to say you saw them at a small free gig in Fran Well!’