About the club
Years of The Comedy Cellar!
Est. 1986
Forty years in four beats
1986
Friday 3rd October
The Friday Alternative is born
Malcolm Hardee launches a weekly alternative comedy night in the Cellar Bar at South Hill Park — the first outside London — booking the acts and compering.
Late 80s
The compering chair
Eddie Izzard takes the mic
A then-rising star Simon Houlihan had spotted on a unicycle at the Edinburgh Fringe succeeds Hardee as resident compere.
1998
October
Renamed The Comedy Cellar
With “alternative comedy” now the mainstream, Houlihan takes the Ronseal approach: it’s comedy, and it’s in a cellar.
2026
The 40th Anniversary Season
Four decades of Fridays
Still every Friday at South Hill Park — pairing household names with the circuit’s finest emerging talent, and the party is on.
The Comedy Cellar is one of the longest-running comedy clubs in the UK.
It started life as The Friday Alternative on 3rd October 1986, after the late Malcolm Hardee, legendary promoter of the notorious Tunnel Club in South-East London, approached Bracknell's South Hill Park Arts Centre with the idea of running a regular “alternative cabaret” night.
Alan Davies, Jo Brand, Harry Hill, Eddie Izzard, Harry Enfield, Vic Reeves, Graham Norton, Bill Bailey, Al Murray, Micky Flanagan, Russell Howard, Dylan Moran, Omid Djalili, Greg Davies, Milton Jones, Jimmy Carr, Sarah Millican, Ed Gamble, Katherine Ryan, Jack Whitehall, David Baddiel, Ross Noble, Bobby Davro, Shane Richie, Joe Wilkinson, Joe Lycett, Sean Hughes, Sean Lock, Henning Wehn, Chris McCausland, Jim Jefferies, Rich Hall, Rhys Darby, Jenny Éclair, Adam Hills, Mackenzie Crook, Simon Pegg, Rob Newman, Hattie Hayridge, Norman Lovett, Andy Parsons, Mark Lamarr, Tim Vine and Sophie Willan are just a few of the comedy stars who've appeared at the club.
The Comedy Cellar launched on October 3, 1986, establishing itself as a pioneer of the UK's alternative cabaret explosion outside London.
The Origins: “The Friday Alternative”
The club was born when the late Malcolm Hardee, a legendary and notoriously anarchic figure who ran London's infamous Tunnel Club, approached the South Hill Park Arts Centre. He proposed bringing the raw, edgy spirit of the London alternative comedy scene to Berkshire.
The Visionaries
The event was coordinated alongside Ron McAllister and Simon Houlihan. Houlihan continues to direct the club today through The Comedy Company Ltd.
From The Friday Alternative to The Comedy Cellar
The Comedy Cellar is one of the UK’s longest-running and most respected comedy clubs, but it didn’t start with the name you know today.
The club was born on Friday 3rd October 1986 as The Friday Alternative. It was launched at South Hill Park Arts Centre by the legendary godfather of alternative comedy, Malcolm Hardee, who booked the talent and served as our very first resident compere. Managed and steered from its early days by Simon Houlihan, the club quickly became a vital proving ground for the British comedy circuit, hosting early-career sets from future icons like Eddie Izzard, Jo Brand, Bill Bailey, and Alan Davies.
By the late 1990s, the comedy landscape had completely transformed. The raw, rebellious style pioneered in the 1980s under the “alternative” banner had successfully captured the public imagination and shifted into the cultural mainstream.
Recognising that the term “alternative comedy” had begun to feel dated, Houlihan rebranded the club in October 1998. As a firm believer in the Ronseal approach of “does what it says on the tin,” he knew the name change needed to be straightforward. It’s comedy, and it’s in a cellar—so The Comedy Cellar seemed the obvious choice! Decades later, the club continues to live up to that name, bringing the very best established and emerging comedic talent to Bracknell.
The Early Comperes
Malcolm Hardee booked the talent and served as the first resident compere. When he moved on, he was succeeded in the compering chair by a then-rising star: Eddie Izzard, who Simon Houlihan had met when Eddie was on a unicycle, performing as a street entertainer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
A Launchpad for Icons
Operating continuously every Friday night (taking a brief pause only in August), the club's small, intimate Cellar Bar layout became a crucial proving ground for comedians. Because it offered a reliable, highly regarded weekly gig outside the capital, it attracted future household names during the earliest stages of their careers. The club's historic roster includes early stand-up sets from:
- 1980s & 1990s Pioneers: Jo Brand, Alan Davies, Julian Clary, Harry Hill, Vic Reeves, and Graham Norton.
- 2000s Arena Acts: Jimmy Carr, Micky Flanagan, Russell Howard, Sarah Millican, and Greg Davies.
- Modern Headliners: Jack Whitehall, Katherine Ryan, and Ed Gamble.
Present Day Significance
The venue is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary season, making it a true institution of British stand-up comedy history. It maintains its strict weekly formatting, dedicated to pairing established television and social media names with the circuit's finest emerging comedians.
The party starts this September
The party starts in South Hill Park’s Cellar Bar this September, as they celebrate The Comedy Cellar’s 40th anniversary! This is a hugely significant birthday which marks the recurring event as one of the longest running comedy clubs outside of the capital – and you are invited to join the fun!
Initially begun as ‘The Friday Alternative’ (and renamed The Comedy Cellar in the mid-90’s) some of the brightest sparks in comedy have set foot in the intimate setting, like Eddie Izzard, Jo Brand (appearing as “The Sea Monster”!), Sarah Millican, Alan Davies, Jimmy Carr, Micky Flanagan, Graham Norton and many, many more. The Comedy Cellar has a long and established reputation for helping to launch the careers of many in the industry.
As part of the ongoing celebrations, South Hill Park’s CEO, Ron McAllister reminisces on the good old days when the event launched:
I remember in the early 80s at SHP, Friday night was Cabaret night in the Cellar, The Friday Underground, and therefore came under my jurisdiction as “Head of Music and Festivals”. This was when the first shoots of Alternative Comedy were sprouting in London at the Tunnel Club and Comedy Store. Simon Houlihan, who was my Music Assistant at the time, and I decided to go and visit Malcolm Hardee’s famous (and notorious) Tunnel Club to see if we might be able to establish a comedy club here in Bracknell. I think it’s fair to say we were a bit shocked at how raucous the event at the Tunnel Club was. Gongs were used to tell comedians to get off the stage, audiences were not slow to let them know what they thought of the acts, and if they really didn’t like them…. beer bottles were sent flying. (Yes beer bottles, and sometimes glasses too!) Health and Safety has come a long way since then…
Anyway, we managed to persuade the legendary Malcolm Hardee to run a regular series of comedy nights in the Cellar – and to compere them for us, for the trial period of one year. This was all back in 1986. We became the first weekly alternative comedy outside of London, and it has run continuously every Friday (except August) since then. So we are indeed the longest running and best known comedy club on the circuit outside of London.
Malcolm Hardee still appeared here from time to time in the late eighties and nineties, but he was actually succeeded by Eddie Izzard as our regular compere for six months. From the early days I remember seeing Jo Brand (appearing as “The Sea Monster”) and Julian Clary down there. Julian had an act called “The Joan Collins Fan Club” and he appeared with his dog, “Fanny the Wonder Dog”! Those were heady days, and I am very proud of the legacy that came from that slightly scary visit to the Tunnel Club. I am delighted to say that Malcolm Hardee was recently honoured by an award being named after him at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He was an inspiration and great fun to work with.
Simon Houlihan still runs The Comedy Cellar and we have remained great friends over these past 40 years – thank you Simon for keeping the faith!