Up-and-coming King’s Cross theatre seeks late-night comedy licence

A theatre in King’s Cross with a focus on comedy is applying for a late licence for its stand-up gigs to kick off at 10.30pm.

2Northdown opened in 2017, but has already hosted performances from big names from the industry, including James Acaster, Bridget Christie and Nish Kumar.

Now the venue will seek to emulate the Soho Theatre in hosting late night comedy shows, and will be seeking permission from the Town Hall to serve alcohol till half midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

Alanah Murphy, head of live performance at 2Northdown, said: “After a very successful first year, becoming one of London’s leading live comedy venues, attracting the likes of Frank Skinner, Russell Howard, Romesh Ranganathan and Josh Widdecombe to name a few, we would like to extend our licensing hours to enable us to programme in shows later in the evening.

“We have a lot of demand from comedians, promoters and agents to book and perform shows later in the evening.

“Late night comedy shows are a standard occurrence in the industry. We regularly have multiple sold-out shows in an evening with no issue – when patrons are inside, they are seated and quiet. There will be no exception to this when shows run past midnight.”

2Northdown’s application to run shows late into the night has, however, attracted the ire of one resident, who has complained that antisocial behaviour in the area is on the rise, with claims of drunken revellers urinating on their side gate.

However, the theatre have sought to assuage any concerns around the impact it might have on the area by underlining that, while alcohol is there to supplement the show, it will not be a “primary reason” for patrons to visit.

2Northdown have also been asked to explain to the council their planning status as part of their application, as the theatre has been operating only with permission to be used as a rehearsal/performance space, rather than a full-fledged live theatre venue.

It is understood that the theatre have since made an application seeking the correct premises use.

Islington Council will decide the application on 21 March.

Edit – This article was updated at 12:51 on 19 March.