Help Torquay Comedy Club - Covid-19 Relief

Torquay Comedy Clubs fight for survival 

Torbay’s culture scene is cautiously looking forward to life after the pandemic. But for Torquay Comedy Club, that post-lockdown promised land still seems distant, with no shortage of hurdles to overcome first. 

Ben Milden, the founder of Torquay Comedy Club, had big expansion plans at the start of 2020, with the launch of two Grand Shows headlined by household names Sean Lock and Jason Manford.

The Covid-19 pandemic stopped both gigs going ahead the cancellations resulted in over £60k worth of refunds being issued. 

Even though the shows aren’t going ahead, costs have still had to be paid. It has meant that Torquay Comedy Club founder and father of two, Ben Milden, has had to take a large personal loan to cover the shortfall.

The founder of the comedy club, Ben Milden with his wife and daughters

Ben said: 

“Throughout the pandemic we had such high hopes that the grand shows would still go ahead. However the cancellation of both headliners has put us in such a difficult financial position that we are left with little option but to close the business indefinitely.

Torquay Comedy Club is not a large business, it’s basically just run by my wife and I. We just wanted to create a comedy club the town could be proud of. That’s why I have taken out this loan to make sure every single customer gets a refund. “

People need comedy. It naturally brings so much laughter, and everyone needs a bit of joy and a laugh at the minute, so we want to get more people to see live comedy shows, we want to save Torquay Comedy Club. 

“Whilst we can't guarantee we will raise enough funds to save the club altogether we are hopeful these donations might enable the club to reopen in some capacity.” - Ben

Please help support Torquay Comedy Club and #savelivecomedy