Betty & Joan’s review: Elephant and Castle’s bold new hub for queer comedy and nightlife

“You live in Elephant and Castle? You must be a gay man then…” So begins the roasting of the audience by David Ian, crowd work comedian extraordinaire and co-owner of Betty & Joan’s, the new home of The Queer Comedy Club (formerly in Archway, north London). Ian’s joke is on point, as the roar of laughter from the crowd confirms. It’s true: in recent years, the south-west London gaybourhood that stretched from Clapham to Vauxhall has expanded to include Elephant and Castle as a new queer hotspot. 

“Bustling scene and has fast become a nightlife staple”

Betty & Joan’s is the latest venue to join the bustling scene and has fast become a nightlife staple. Ian and fellow co-owners Kate Dale and Jeremy Topp wanted to create a new community space for queer people and, recognising the opportunity to expand, relocated their renowned Queer Comedy Club to Elephant Park, five minutes from Elephant & Castle Tube station. They decided that the new venture would incorporate both the comedy club and an LGBTQ+ bar. 

Named after Betty White and Joan Rivers, two comedy icons beloved by the LGBTQ+ community, the venue certainly leans into old-school camp humour — a neon light reads “I love BJs!” — with a cheeky wink and a nudge. The decor itself, however, has a cool, contemporary, industrial feel, with exposed pipework and a Brutalist aesthetic. Most striking, however, is the sheer size of the place. At a time when queer nightlife is under threat, it is remarkable to find such a huge space dedicated to LGBTQ+ clubbers and comedy fans alike. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that the place is full, night after night. 

“Charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent”

While the main room houses cabaret performances, as well as spaces to dance and socialise, we are invited to visit The Queer Comedy Club itself — a smaller studio perfectly suited for the kind of intimate, magical space that defines the best comedy venues. It’s a Friday evening, and we are treated to Gag Race — a competition night to find the best new performers on the scene (and most definitely not a parody of a popular drag-related TV reality show…). This adds a uniquely interactive element to the typical stand-up comedy experience, with the audience using an app to mark each act on charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent (are you seeing a pattern here?). 

MC Ian delivers an impressive warm-up, and what a varied crowd The Queer Comedy Club draws — Ian’s getting-to-know-you segment (or should that be interrogation?) includes an American who is visiting London for the weekend to meet a stranger they have spoken to on Tinder for five years; a challenge for two men with identical ’taches to kiss, so Ian can discover if they will “stick together like Velcro”; and sending two other visitors on a date in the interval, with a brief for each party to provide feedback in the second half. 

“The star of the show is Laura Gomez Gracia”

The competitors themselves are a diverse gang, showcasing a variety of comedy genres from musical numbers to the surreal, and with experience ranging from a couple of years to only two weeks. Highlights include Esther Cross, who, covered in face paint and wearing a ridiculous sparkly headpiece, drily introduces herself as the children’s entertainer who hates children; Jonny Bennett’s musical number about thinking about his girlfriend’s dad while having sex; and Red Hot Llama, a cheeky scouser who teases the southern audience for not understanding their brassy accent. But the star of the show is Laura Gomez Gracia, whose confessional stylings make her both very engaging and highly relatable — and sure enough, she is crowned the evening’s winner. 

Impressively, the club runs comedy four nights a week, including new material events, all-star shows and Saturday headliners with some of the biggest names in the business — recent performers include Catherine Bohart, Jen Ives and Reuben Kaye. And if you can’t make it to the club itself, you can always catch their shows on OUTflix, including comedy specials Live at The Queer Comedy Club and new documentary Building Betty & Joan’s, about the establishment of their latest venture. 

Two years ago, when I first discovered the original Queer Comedy Club, I was amazed and excited by the prospect of a venue exclusively devoted to supporting queer comics. If there was ever any question of the club’s potential then, Betty & Joan’s is a testament to the team’s ambition and talent. Looking at the stunning community they have built, it seems that they are the ones having the last laugh — and welcome you to chuckle along with them.