Brighton venue aims to be increasingly multi-arts
Brighton’s grassroots comedy club, set in the heart of the Lanes, has confirmed a starry line-up for the next few months – just as the venue itself is set to expand into other areas.
The award-winning Secret Comedy Club is bringing a wide range of comics to Brighton, including acts featured on BBC, Netflix, and Comedy Central. Comedians performing over the coming months include Ali Woods, Tadiwa Mahlunge, Esther Manito, Joe Thomas (The Inbetweeners) and Red Richardson.
But meanwhile, the Artista Café & Gallery, also known as Artista Studio, where it all happens, has started to offer burlesque as well and is also looking at film nights for the future.
Founder Alexander VooDoo is aiming to develop it as more of a multi-arts venue.
They will be hosting a stage for their third consecutive year at The Great Escape Festival in May alongside shows during the Brighton Fringe and will also have a pre-Edinburgh Fringe preview season for 2026.
In 2014, Artista was formally launched on Hove’s Waterloo Street, and quickly became a hub for Brighton’s independent arts scene with a café, gallery and performance space. It became known for its inclusive, multi-disciplinary approach, hosting a wide range of events. Curated by Alex, they hosted live performances including stand-up comedy nights including the now-iconic Secret Comedy Club, improv and sketch comedy, theatre productions, storytelling, and cabaret as well as music nights, open mic music, jam sessions, acoustic showcases, jazz, world and experimental performances.
In 2023 they moved to a much larger venue on Brighton Square in the heart of the Lanes. Now Alexander is ready to expand the programme again.
Alexander said: “Artista has always been about creating a home for creativity, somewhere people feel inspired, supported and part of something bigger. Every laugh, every song, every piece of art adds another layer to that story. I want to build on that by hosting more workshops, art classes and exhibitions, giving artists a true home to create and connect. We’ve reopened the photo studio and are bringing cabarets and burlesque into the mix too, whilst continuing to support every part of the comedy scene, from open mics and new acts finding their voice to professional comedians honing their craft.
“We moved here three years ago now and we moved from Hove where it was for nine years before that. The comedy is the main thing and has been for the last ten years but we're trying to move it back into the other arts as well. We already run comedy five nights a week but we're trying to bring back a whole range of things including music and film. We just want to bring more people in and we want to offer a more diverse network of activities.
“Since Covid I have tended to veer more towards comedy but since the move from the old venue we've gone from 30 seats to 100 seats, and the comedy has been going so well that I want to build on that.”
But Alexander wants to do so while remaining committed to comedy, especially grassroots. It's important to get people in for their first five minutes of stand-up and see them develop into ten minutes and then switch to a weekend slot as they develop their career.
Martin Warren is a good example of the progression. He started doing comedy at the club and is now a regular MC there.
“I did a comedy course in 2016 and I started gigging. I went to Alex’s open mic night. Alex stopped me afterwards and asked me to compere a gig. It was only my sixth gig and I didn't know anything about it but I thought I would just have a go and now, long story short, I compere a show every Wednesday and I compere other people shows. We all start as aspiring comics doing our little bits. The general journey is that you start small but you just get bigger and bigger and you expand as people start to notice you. I just feel lucky that I started with Alex.”