Controversy has erupted in the Sydney comedy scene as two of its prominent comedy clubs have become involved in a dispute over the circumstances of the exchange of a venue lease.
“The Laugh Garage”:http://www.thelaughgarage.com/ in Paramatta, which was founded in 2003 by Darren Saunders and Tony Bailey, has shut its doors at the corner of Church St and Phillip St after efforts to renegotiate a lease on the premises failed. The lease has been subsequently taken up by the “Sydney Comedy Store”:http://www.comedystore.com.au/. This move has sparked an exchange of views between the two clubs which has also featured in the mainstream media.
In a statement released by the co-owners of The Laugh Garage they have said you can imagine how upset we are that someone else will soon be trading on the goodwill we have built up at The Laugh Garage Comedy Club. An open letter on The Laugh Garage website has urged comedian, punters and businesses to protest the ethical behaviour of the new tenants due to their disgust at how the owners of that business choose to conduct themselves as a part of the Comedy Industry. Names such as Jimeoin, Gary Who, Steady Eddy and Pommy Johnson appear amongst the list of comedians who are supporting The Laugh Garage.
However The Comedy Store has responded to claims made by The Laugh Garage, defending their professionalism throughout the transaction. A statement released by the Comedy Store states that the lease obtained by the Comedy Store was the result of a commercial transaction between the Comedy Store and Raine and Horne Commercial, the agent for the owner of these premises, conducted legally, with professionalism and propriety…The commercial reality is that a lease on a valuable location became available, which presented an opportunity to all interested parties, and if the Comedy Store had not acted, another business would have.
The Comedy Store has also defended accusations of ‘underhand’ activity, citing the confidentiality of the active contract between the Comedy Store and Raine and Horne Commercial.
Conversely, The Laugh Garage has stated that the owner of the Parramatta premises we are vacating would not negotiate a new lease agreement with us, despite a promise to do so. Instead, we understand that the building owner has done a deal with the owner of the Sydney’s Original Comedy Store.
The Laugh Garage have also stated that they are sanguine that [the Comedy Store’s] efforts will soon fail. This is because [The Laugh Garage] will be re-opening another room very close to the one we will be vacating and we will actively redirect our customers to our new location. However the Comedy Store have suggested that the style of comedy entertainment presented by the Comedy Store is greatly varied from that presented by The Laugh Garage and we are confident that we will each continue to attract audiences to whom our individual programming style is desirable.
The Comedy Store in Paramatta at the corner of Church St and Phillip St will open in March 2008
The Laugh Garage will open it’s new Paramatta venue on the Church St Restaurant strip soon into the New Year. They are also promising a city venue, with details yet to be released