Ha, ha, ha...

The Comedy Store, a humour club in the UK, will launch its Mumbai edition later this year. Founder DON WARD talks to Neha Bhatt

What made you choose India as a comedy club venue?
It was Deepak Bedi of Horseshoe Entertainment, my partner in this venture, who suggested this idea to me. We got along very well. Laughter, after all, is the best medicine. So, we thought, why not make some money from it? It’s also exciting to be here because India doesn’t have a comedy venue of this sort. But there are some fine Indian comedians such as Papa CJ and Russell Peters, who, in fact, perform at my UK Comedy Store from time to time. We want to give Mumbai a variety of humour. And, I think, the British sense of humour is pretty close to the Indian sense of humour. I believe the show The Kumars at No. 42 did very well here, as it did in the UK. Perhaps we left some humour behind when the British finally pulled out of India! Or, perhaps, the Indians lent us some.

What is the concept of your The Comedy Store?
At our UK store, we have a show every night. In Mumbai, we’ll keep it Thursday through Sunday, with shows changing every week. These include impromptu comedy nights, the best of stand-ups and a comedy show on current affairs. Once a month, we plan to have an open mike. Sooner or later, we hope to create an Indian comedy scene with Indian comedians. We plan to organise master training classes on the weekends, though we don’t know yet if there will be a demand for people who want to become comedians. Incidentally, as a curtainraiser this weekend, we have chosen three world-class stand-up comedians to perform in Mumbai — Sean Meo (MC), Paul Tonkinson, and Ian Stone. (You can book tickets on bookmyshow.com.)

Is The Comedy Store present in other countries?
I produce many shows in the Emirates, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Berlin, Hamburg and work with promoters in Hong Kong. But my venture in India is a full-fledged comedy club, and I have invested a couple of million pounds in a 50:50 joint venture with my partner.

Like they say, put your money where your mouth is. To that, I would say, yes, I certainly am! If the first few shows in Mumbai go well, I would like them to travel across India. I have Delhi and Bangalore in mind in this regard.