Jeremy Topp on stage

“COMEDY is for queer people too,” say the founding comics of a new comedy club.

The UK’s first permanent LGBTQ+ comedy club is set to open its doors in Archway in May. Set up by three queer comics – David Ian, Jeremy Topp, and Kate Dale – they say the Junction Road club is an important symbol that queer people are welcome in comedy.

“We were uncomfortable inviting our queer friends to come and watch us perform because we were taking them into what was essentially a very straight and macho environment, with no guarantee about the type of material they’d hear,” said Mr Ian, who is taking his solo show, (Just a) Perfect Gay, to the Edinburgh Fringe festival this year.

“It’s just not the sort of place we’d usually socialise in. It made us realise there was a gap in the market – and our community – for a stand-up comedy club that would feel like their space.”

Ms Dale says comedy can play an important part in exploring your identity, and that queer comedy nights helped her come out.

“Talking about your sex life on stage is one way of telling your friends and family, but being able to make jokes about all aspects of our lives to an audience you know will understand has helped me process it all,” she said.

The club’s big opening night is set for May 11 and features a jam-packed line-up including Josh Jones, Dee Alum, Ben Pollard and Kathy Maniura. The club, which grew out of queer comedy nights organised by the trio, will be a place for new queer comedians and allies to test new material as well as hosting big shows featuring established talent.

Mr Topp, who has been doing stand up for five years, says the club is a lifelong dream fulfilled: “Helping newer acts feel welcomed into the scene has been a passion of mine for years. After meeting Kate and David at a gig, we clicked immediately and discussed the gap we had all felt in the comedy circuit. I immediately knew their goal of estab­lishing a permanent queer comedy space was something I had to be involved with.”