IN THE SPOTLIGHT distanced audience formats and reacted to changing regulations almost daily. We must have typed the words " socially distanced " more times than any humans should.
Despite the challenges, it became one of the most rewarding things we ' ve ever done. Everyone involved— our incredible team, performers, suppliers and audiences— recognised how important those shows were. After months without live entertainment, it felt less like a festival and more like a public service.
" Nimble " was the industry buzzword that year. Personally, I think " deranged " was a more accurate description of how it felt.
“ I ' D LIKE TO THINK OUR SUCCESS COMES FROM SOME STRANGE SIBLING ALCHEMY.”
What ' s the first career highlight that comes to mind? The first Greenwich Comedy Festival, without question.
At that stage it was essentially just Will and me trying to build a festival from scratch. Planning the event by day and out flyering commuters at stations every night.
There was nothing glamorous about it, but we pulled it off. Every show sold out, audiences were buzzing and performers loved the atmosphere.
From day one, our ambition was to take the energy and intimacy of a great comedy club and scale it into a festival experience. We genuinely felt we ' d created something different.
Each year we refined the format, improved the experience and learned more about what audiences wanted. Many of the people who attended that first year are still coming back today.
Once we felt we ' d cracked the model, we began expanding nationally. Bristol came first and remains one of our favourite cities. Since then we ' ve grown into Brighton, St Albans, Manchester, Cambridge and now Norwich, alongside an incredibly exciting new run of shows in the iconic Courtyard at Somerset House.
How is your summer events season shaping up, and what are the key projects? It ' s shaping up to be one of our biggest summers yet.
Alongside all our established locations, we ' re launching a beautiful new site in Norwich ' s Chapelfield Gardens as part of our Comedy Garden series.
The major headline this year is Somerset House. It ' s an extraordinary setting and we ' re bringing together a huge line-up of the country ' s most exciting comedians. It ' s exactly the sort of project we love— taking world-class comedy and presenting it in a spectacular environment.
Who or what has played the biggest role in supporting your career progression or inspiring you? Malcolm Hardee is the obvious answer. He introduced both of us to this world and gave us a front-row seat to live entertainment from an early age.
Equally, our mum deserves enormous credit. She was always charging headfirst towards adventure, creativity and live experiences. Together they created an environment where putting on festivals, events and shows never felt intimidating.
For many people, producing an outdoor festival might seem daunting. For us, it simply feels like home.
If you could change one thing about the events industry overnight, what would it be? We ' d happily welcome back the temporary 5 % VAT rate that existed during the pandemic.
Beyond that, we ' d love to see more investment from local authorities into parks and city-centre spaces that can support cultural events. We work hard to make our festivals as lightweight and efficient as possible, but access to infrastructure such as power and event-ready facilities can make an enormous difference.
The easier it is to stage great events, the more vibrant and culturally rich our towns and cities become.
What is your favourite way to unwind? I ' m sorry, I don ' t understand the question.
At this stage of the year, the concept of unwinding feels entirely theoretical. With eight locations operating this summer and plenty more ideas in development, there ' s always something demanding attention.
One of the great things about building a business is that the momentum never really stops. Unfortunately, neither does the responsibility.
That said, autumn provides a chance to reflect and reset. This year we ' re expecting to welcome more than 100,000 people across our festivals. Once the dust settles and we ' ve had a chance to take stock, I ' m sure we ' ll find a moment to appreciate how far we ' ve come.
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