The Glee Comedy Club has been awarded funding as part of the Government’s Cultural Recovery Fund.

 

The club, like all comedy clubs, has been struggling during lockdown. Glee's Mark Tughan posted on Facebook: "I just thought I would let everyone know this news. After 7 months closed and with just Birmingham and Nottingham open again (there's no real sign of Glasgow or Cardiff re-opening, and Oxford is just too small to work with any distancing), things were getting tight. This helps hugely. I have to say, having never done this before, we could not have managed this without a huge effort from Raya and Luke at the Glee, as well as the Music Venues Trust and the Live Comedy Association."

 

The Glee added: "We eagerly await decisions in Wales & Scotland, but this funding is a vital lifeline for our Birmingham & Nottingham venues that will help us face the forthcoming challenges of the pandemic in the months ahead, and we’re very grateful to Arts Council England and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport."

 

The company that runs The Glee, Comic Enterprises Ltd, will receive £246,402. While a number of established and less well-established venues have also received potentially venue-saving grants, there has been fury and surprise in the comedy community that the long-running Frog and Bucket club, one of the lynchpins of the Manchester comedy scene, has not received any financial support in this latest round.

 

The Glee added: "There will be many venues and companies throughout the music & comedy industry who have not been successful in their applications. We urge you to check Music Venue Trust and Live Comedy Association for ways you can show your support & donate."