Khaosan Comedy Club

We bought tickets from the host outside and arrived about 30 minutes early. The venue was completely empty at that point, which was fine. We sat down and enjoyed a drink while waiting. Once the place filled up though, the show started about 10 minutes later than the advertised time, which was a bit frustrating considering we had made the effort to arrive early. Unfortunately, the comedy itself was really disappointing. The first performer, an American who seems to run the venue and perform there regularly, just wasn’t good. The material felt very basic and overly scripted, like something from a school talent show rather than a proper stand up set. Having been to comedy clubs in London and New York, the difference in quality was huge. Those shows feel sharp, natural and genuinely funny. This felt flat and forced, and most of the jokes didn’t land unless someone was already quite drunk. The Australian comedian who followed also wasn’t particularly funny. Then there was a guy who said he was from Wales but didn’t have a Welsh accent at all, and his set was just as forgettable apart from the flag. The Canadian comic later on wasn’t great either, although it did improve slightly when he brought out a harmonica, which at least added something different and was a improvement but should have done this from the beginning as no one cared about his small town. By that point though, it felt like we had already wasted close to two hours and left early. They also brought out “free fries” during the show, but it turned out to be a tiny plate shared between three people, maybe seven or eight fries each, and they were burnt and soggy. Some might argue that 300 baht or about £7 is cheap, but it really isn’t when you compare it to excellent clubs in cities like London. For example, Top Secret Comedy Club regularly has high quality acts at similar or even lower prices. Overall it just felt thrown together and nowhere near the standard you would expect from a comedy night. I wouldn’t recommend it, especially if you have experienced strong comedy scenes in bigger Western cities.

a month ago