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Stand Up Comedy in Basel

In Spring 2020 there was a little flu going around (I don’t know if you heard) and I had no choice but to return to my hometown of Basel after spending the last years in London discovering my love for performing stand-up comedy. I was positively surprised to find there was a monthly comedy open mic night in Basel. Five years later there are about seven shows per week, a bona fide comedy club (called The Beast) and a thriving, growing comedy scene that rivals most of Europe in quality and variety. 

Photo: @_rhapsodist
Photo: @_rhapsodist

A Cut Above

Indeed Basel consistently has punched above its weight artistically. For a town of its population, it has no right to be as renowned for its artistic output as it is. I’m proud to be a part of what has been an incredibly rapid growth of a comedy scene that celebrates an open and inclusive philosophy, a space for people from every possible background (yes, even Swiss) to have a laugh and lighten up their day. Many shows are in English as the European lingua franca, but there are also shows in German, French and Spanish that are booming as well. 



The Scene

Teddy Hall, Photo: @_rhapsodist
Teddy Hall, Photo: @_rhapsodist

The scene grew out from our long-running weekly open mic (Murder Mondays at Grenzwert Bar), where many new comedians had their first performances and consistently practised. The unfortunate nature of comedy compared to music, for example, is that you need an audience to practice, no mirror will ever tell you if something is funny. Alongside my friend Albert Louw, I’ve been organizing this show since 2021 and we’ve made it a goal to have it become a Basel institution. Rain or shine, the show happens every single Monday. In proper Basel fashion, we only stop for Fasnacht. 


As comedians from here grew and developed and more and more people came to shows, more and more popped up in various different spots. Many shows were DIY passion projects in various spare rooms in bars that just kept growing. Shows started, shows ended, sometimes with 100 people, sometimes with three, but always with love and humour. As the scene has grown, it’s attracted more and more great comedians to add Basel as a stop on their tour. These days it feels like there are some world-class comedians dropping into town on a weekly basis.


The thing that I believe most defines the Basel comedy scene is the sheer variety of shows. There are long-form open mics (Is This Anything?, every Sunday at Mana Bar), visiting solos, shows themed around love or family or queerness or dark comedy, all-female shows, storytelling shows, roast battles and alternative comedy shows. If you think you don’t like stand-up comedy, I promise you’ve just not yet found the show and comedians that work for you. And after four years of building, Basel finally found a home for its comedy scene, downtown in a Cliquenkeller at The Beast Comedy Club, the first comedy club in Basel. 



Basel's First Comedy Club

Photo: @_rhapsodist
Photo: @_rhapsodist

This Verein was founded by Albert Louw, who runs it with the support of the local scene. It opened this year and has gone from strength to strength, with live comedy four nights a week. Independently run with a view to giving guests the best possible comedy experience, it’s a place quite literally built by hand; the stage is handmade, the stage curtain’s logo is hand sewn, it’s a place full of heart and joy. Beyond being a great performance space, it’s also given a space to host different workshops for people that are new to comedy or people looking to hone their skillset.


As a Basel boy, it always hurt my pride when people say Basel is boring, it’s not, you sometimes just have to look for it. Joy and laughter is there aplenty, for those that seek it. Go attend some of the local comedy scene and be shocked at quite how much there is to offer. Another common complaint is that it’s hard to make friends here. One of my great joys is seeing how many people meet and connect at comedy, nothing bonds quite like laughter. 



Where To Go

The best place to get started is to go to thebeastbasel.com and find a show that intrigues you. Or swing by the open mic at Grenzwert every Monday! Come say hi and embrace the sillier things in life.

Photo: @_rhapsodist
Photo: @_rhapsodist


ree

Pfluggässlein 10, 4001 Basel


Ochsengasse 14, 4058 Basel

Regular shows to look out for: Murder Mondays at 8pm eventfrog.ch/murdermondays, @ontheruncomedyclub)


Güterstrasse 99, 4053 Basel

Every Sunday: Is This Anything? At 7.30pm. @ottercomedy


Other Shows (various locations)



Who To Watch Out For

Some active local comedians to follow and look out for are:

  • Teddy Hall, a Scottish-Swiss barrel of ADHD and introspective chaos. @teddyhallcomedy

  • Albert Louw, a South African enigma of tusks and colourful anecdotes. @laughingalbert

  • Ivan Semashev, a Russian with a dark and sharp sensibility full of twists and turns. @ivansemashev 

  • Pau Pathare, an Indian-Polish-Swiss silly machine full of puns and goofiness. @thatpathare 

  • Amber Eve, a German burlesque-performer and stripper with a heart of gold .@ambereve_official 



Teddy Hall

Photo: Mic Drop Eventi
Photo: Mic Drop Eventi

In his base of Basel, Switzerland, Teddy has founded and runs On The Run Comedy Club, also assisting with The Beast, Basel’s first bona fide comedy club. Headlining shows across Europe, Teddy's comedy veers from the profound to the inane to the stupid, keeping audiences on their toes, despite this being a very uncomfortable way to sit. 


Instagram: @teddyhallcomedy

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