The comedian Russell Howard cut short a standup set in Bristol on Wednesday night after discovering an audience member was filming the performance on her cameraphone.
Howard was a few minutes into his show at the rooftop bar of the venue Bambalan when, according to a report in the Bristol Post, he told the woman “that’s literally the worst thing you can do”. Asking her how she would like to be filmed in her workplace, he reportedly told the audience that he would be switching to old material rather than trying out new jokes as planned. After continuing for a period, he said “you’ve ruined it” and, apologising to the audience, left the stage.
The event was held on an outdoor terrace for an audience of around 45 people. Howard has recently resumed live performances in outdoor venues in line with stage three of culture secretary Oliver Dowden’s roadmap to reopen UK theatres. He had a run of work-in-progress gigs at Battersea Arts Centre’s open-air courtyard in London and three in the courtyard of nightclub Lakota in Bristol, which is his home town. Last month, he also performed new material to a socially distanced audience in Copenhagen, sharing a bill with standup Simon Talbot.
The Bambalan show’s compere and organiser, Mark Olver, told the Bristol Post it was important that when acts are performing a work in progress and experimenting with new material, “people should understand they don’t want video of it out there”. He added: “I should have been clearer at the start of the gig in explaining it to people.” The report suggests that several audience members were photographing and recording the event.
A spokesperson for Howard said: “Any comedian whose set is being recorded at a new material night would find it distracting. The beauty of live performance, particularly at this strange time, is it’s intended for the room only.”
With the comedy industry and live entertainment in crisis because of the Covid-19 pandemic, performers will feel especially anxious about their shows being recorded. In recent years, high-profile standups such as Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle have introduced a policy where audience members must have their phones locked in sealed pouches during the gig.
The comedian Elf Lyons tweeted her support for Howard, saying: “There needs to be a zero tolerance attitude to audiences filming shows – whether it be comedy, theatre or dance.” Al Murray replied saying he’d gone “totally (and as I saw it righteously) overboard at someone a while ago” and as result “completely wrecked” one of his own comedy shows.
