Hastings comedy night celebrates three years
Dan Palmer is celebrating three years of Palmerama's Comedyrama, his monthly comedy night in Hastings.
It all happens on the last Friday of the month at Tintins Bar.
Dan is delighted with the success of it all. The format is that he hosts the night and introduces six comedians who perform for around ten minutes each, the whole thing lasting about an hour and a half.
“It is a comedy show. I did stand-up many moons ago when I left university but due to an unfortunate experience with some of my comedy peers I stopped, but then I did a one-off gig back in 2017. But I was doing a lot of acting at that time and I didn't get the chance to do any more comedy.
“But then in 2019 someone was doing open mic at The Pig, a venue in Hastings, and wanted to expand the comedy and so got me involved. I did a couple of gigs for him. That was the end of 2019 and I thought that 2020 was going to be my year! That didn't happen! Covid happened instead. But then I got a taste for being a quiz master. I hosted weekly quizzes online and that was great fun. I created my own little community.
“But then in 2022 I wanted to get back into doing comedy. Being in Hastings means you either have to go to Brighton or London but I remembered my acting teacher had said that if you can't find work, then you have to make it yourself so I created my own comedy show, Palmerama's Comedyrama.
“I first started it in September 22 and I did it in a pub called The Jenny Lind in Hastings Old Town. I had about six acts and it went well and everyone loved it but then sadly my health tanked. I got diagnosed with MS so I had to put it on the back burner for a little while. But then in March 2023 I had the opportunity to do something at Tintins. The manager was saying they wanted to do comedy there and that's how it started.”
And how it has carried on: “We have a very loyal audience and a very supportive atmosphere. I have comedians coming from all over the south. When you start doing stand-up you can only five minutes and then after a while you can expand ten minutes but it's very difficult to get ten-minute spots in Brighton or London. But with this I have comedians coming in and doing ten minutes each and me talking in between. I've got a nice roster of comedians now so that if one of them can't make it then I've got other ones I can draw on.
“I have also started a comedy/spoken word open mic as well, which is beginning to grow a following.”