Comedy
Feature
Comedy is Britain’s new favourite date night
Around one in five Brits are now choosing a night of live comedy over a romantic dinner
If you’re not feeling confident in your ability to make your date laugh, don’t worry – that’s something you can outsource. Ticketmaster’s new Comedy State of Play surveyed nearly 2,000 adults about their comedy-going habits, and got some surprising answers…
Nearly one in five Brits are now opting for live comedy shows as their preferred date night activity – a huge rise from 2014, in which our previous Comedy State of Play found that only 2% were picking this option.
There’s also a larger appetite for new comedians. Where in 2014 the top 5 acts made up 50% of ticket sales, now they make up just 35%, leaving lots of room for new stars to emerge. Comedy events across the UK have gone up as a whole by 34%, creating plenty of opportunities for people to discover their new favourite comedians. Excitingly, comedy is also becoming more representative – nearly 100 female headliners took to the stage this year, five times as many as 2019. This looks to continue, with the likes of Katherine Ryan, Jenny Eclair, Maisie Adam and Rachel Fairburn, to mention only a few, all on headline UK tours in 2025.
What’s behind this shift towards more non-traditional date nights? Well, comedy venues are becoming about more than grabbing a pint and having a laugh – in fact, a quarter of audience members are opting not to drink at all, preferring to feel more present. Half of respondents have also said that they look forward to audience interactions as much as the jokes themselves – we want to be part of the show!
We’re clearly enjoying the shared experience of live comedy, but there are still some regional differences in what we like and how we behave. Regional humour is most popular in Wales, with 26% enjoying these jokes – and if they don’t, a third of them might let everyone know about it with a strong contingent of hecklers. However, 87% of Southerners do not enjoy this genre of comedy.
If you like gags to make your grandma blush, then Scotland is the place to be, with a third of Scots enjoying dirty jokes, whilst those in the Southwest are most likely to laugh until they cry (41%).
A major driving force behind this collective love of comedy is social media. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok are helping new comedians find their audience in huge numbers. In fact, a massive 64% of fans reported booking shows after finding a comedian online – a huge increase compared to the 8% in 2014. Nearly a third of Gen Z say that they wouldn’t go ahead and book tickets without first watching the comedian on TikTok, proving the power of a great social media presence.
Ready to jump on the trend? You can find the biggest comedy tours and buzziest new acts in Ticketmaster’s comedy guide.