Jongleurs is a chain of

comedy club A comedy club is a venue where a variety of comedic acts perform to a live audience. Although the term usually refers to establishments that feature stand-up comedy, stand-up comedians, it can also feature other forms of comedy such as improvisati ...

s in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, running since 1983. The business is now owned by

Kev Orkian Kev Orkian (born Kevork Kapikyan; 13 February 1974) is a British-Armenian comedian. He has performed around the world from New York City, Los Angeles and Toronto to Dubai, Oman and Australia. Orkian has been compared to the likes of Victor Bo ...

Early years

Maria Kempinska established and opened the first Jongleurs club in 1983 in

Battersea, London Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. His ...

. In 1985 Kempinska met her business partner John Davy and they went on to create a number of comedy clubs around the UK in the following years. By 2000, there were eight Jongleurs venues across the UK.

Regent Inns Regent Inns was the British parent company of Walkabout, Jongleurs/Bar Risa and Old Orleans chains. It went into administration in October 2009. The part-time executive chairman was Bob Ivell. Brands Jongleurs is a chain of sixteen comedy club ...

plc, the owners of

Walkabout Walkabout is a term dating to the pastoral era in which large numbers of Aboriginal Australians were employed on cattle stations. During the tropical wet season, when there was little work on the stations, many would return to their traditional ...

, bought the clubs. Kempinska and Davy retained certain rights to the brand name, as well as creative control over booking acts. With Regent Inns in financial trouble, the

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

venue was closed in January 2009 and in October that year, Regent Inns went into prepacked administration, allowing for a management buy-out which resulted in the formation of Intertain UK. As a result of this administration, Jongleurs venues in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and Bow (London) all closed. The sites in Oxford and Nottingham were later reopened by rival chain

The Glee Club The Glee Club is a chain of independent live stand-up comedy and live music venues in the UK. The first Glee Club was opened by Mark Tughan in Birmingham's Chinese Quarter in 1994,

. As a result of the management buy out, Intertain UK decided to end its relationship with Jongleurs and all the remaining clubs were rebranded as Highlight in January 2010.

Rejuvenation and subsequent closures

Kempinska and Davy set about building a new chain of Jongleurs clubs. Hammersmith opened a month after the Regent Inns collapse and Bournemouth, Notting Hill and Clacton followed shortly after. Momo Leisure secured a franchise and opened a new club in Nottingham in 2010. In September 2010 they opened a new venue at Novus Leisure club Sway in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

and three more in Tiger Tiger venues. Nightclub operators Luminar licensed the brand to 12 of their venues around the country in 2011. Later in the year, Luminar was put into administration and although all the clubs hosting Jongleurs nights avoided the first closures, the venues in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

Basildon Basildon ( ) is a town in Borough of Basildon, the borough of the same name, in the county of Essex, England. It had a recorded population of 115,955 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159. ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

and

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

were all closed by February 2012.

Current

{{Cite web , title=JONGLEURS GROUP LIMITED people - Find and update company information - GOV.UK , url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12873811/officers , access-date=2022-06-18 , website=find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk , language=en purchased the Jongleurs brand in May 2020 during the pandemic. He also founded entertainment brands Howlin' Comedy Club Ltd, Howlin' Entertainment Ltd & British Pantomime Academy. Orkian has set out to redevelop the Jongleurs brand and bring the quality of what it stood for when it first opened.

2021 venues

*Concord Club, Southampton *Queen Theatre, Barnstaple *Pink Zebra, Waltham Abbey *Highland Restaurant, Broxbourne *Beccles Theatre, Smallgate, Suffolk *Home Grown, Marble Arch *Stirrup Cup, Kettering *Parndon Woods, Harlow *Water Rats Pub, Kings Cross *Chrysalis, Milton Keynes

References

External links

Jongleurs Official Website

Jongleurs on board the Island Star cruise ship

Jongleurs entrepreneurs to launch comedy YouTube
Comedy clubs in the United Kingdom 1983 establishments in the United Kingdom