By Naomi Sheriff May 30, 2023
If you love a good laugh, we’ve got great news! Canned Laughter is a new comedy and craft beer night moving around to different locations in the local area…
What is Lewis Holt’s favourite joke?.. “I’ve got a sponge door. Don’t knock it!” he responds without missing a beat. Lewis is a hospitality veteran who loves good comedy, and he’s determined to get locals laughing with Canned Laughter – Craft Beer and Comedy Nights.
“I’ve been working in the Sydney hospitality industry for the past 12 years,” he says. “I currently run a restaurant in Freshwater and was the venue manager at Long Reef Golf Club. My wife Hannah is a nurse at the Northern Beaches Hospital. We just bought a little place in Dee Why after falling in love with the Beaches. We feel very much a part of the local community here.”
Lewis and Hannah Holt
Lewis also has two other loves in life – craft beer and comedy. But he says the Sydney comedy scene isn’t really thriving as it should be. “When my friend and I were starting out [in comedy] we had to travel all the way to Newtown on a Monday and Tuesday night to get stage time at an open mic night. And it was grim. The crowd would be made up of comics who were just as nervous as you. A lot of them had heard your jokes before and were generally disinterested.”
Meanwhile, it became more and more apparent that Beaches’ people have a great sense of humour, and might appreciate not having to go far for a laugh. “I discovered that there were a lot of Northern Beaches people who wanted to see comedy but didn’t want to travel to see it – especially mid-week,” he recalls. “So we put our 1st comedy night on at Avalon Bowling Club. It was so well received that we realised we could turn our passion into a business.”
Currently Canned Laughter has one show scheduled a week and moves around venues. Participating venues include 4 Pines Manly and Newport, Freshwater Brewing Co and Avalon Bowling Club.
“We have a mix of up-and-coming comedians, local acts and professionals,” says Lewis. “So it’s a lovely community event with a guarantee of laughter!”
If you know your comedy you’ll be impressed with the pending line-up. “We have Chris Ryan, Christian Elderfield, Dan Muggleton, Freddie Mcmanus and Jasper Jones coming up,” says Lewis. ”All wonderful comedians for just $20 a ticket.” And when you’re coming in the door please be super nice to the lady taking the money – that’s Lewis’ wife Hannah who’s probably just done a very long shift at Northern Beaches Hospital!
Lewis is determined to not just make us all laugh, but to nurture any Beaches’ comedic talent as well. “If you are interested in giving comedy a go please get in touch,” he says. “I’m really trying to boost comedy in the area so I’m happy to talk to anyone who has a passion for it. Also if your local venue is looking to boost revenue over winter and you are interested in hosting a Canned Laughter Comedy Night – contact me! lewis@cannedlaughter.com.au
By Liam CarrollJuly 19, 2023
No joke, Lewis Holt discovered a canny way to combine the two loves of his life, stand-up comedy and craft beer, bringing both together seamlessly to create Canned Laughter, providing comedy nights at local breweries for Northern Beaches’ stand-up fans.
What inspired the idea?
I have been performing stand up for a couple of years and usually have to travel a long way to get a gig. There are fantastic clubs in the city, with the best ones predominantly in the inner west. But when speaking to comedy fans on the Beaches, they all said the same thing, they would like to go to more live comedy but didn’t like traveling to the inner west, particularly mid-week. As a comedy fan myself, I want to see the scene in Sydney grow, and decided to put on nights that were more accessible to comedy fans on the Northern Beaches.
Had you worked in this field originally?
No, comedy is new for me, but I have worked in hospitality/events for years, running venues for Merivale and Solotel, and work now as a venue manager at a restaurant in Freshwater.
What convinced you Canned Laughter was a winner?
I received an overwhelming positive response from my first show. Venues and comedians were all excited that comedy was coming to the Beaches.
How exactly does it work?
I book all the comics. It’s a mix of local up and coming comedians with a professional headlining the show.
What problem are you solving?
I’m providing a place where local comics can perform and improve, but at the same time Canned Laughter is getting lots of people into the Northern Beaches venues on the mid-week nights which would normally be fairly quiet.
What makes for a cracking comedy performance?
Experience and reading the room are a big part of it. A great comic will be able to tell if certain material won’t work with a crowd after one joke. The MC plays a vital role, warming up the crowd with good energy is so important. I have seen great comics go in to a “cold” crowd and bomb if they haven’t been warmed up.
What seems to be a recipe for epic bombing?
Bombing is something every comedian has gone through. The most common one is forgetting your jokes and staring blankly. Heckles from a crowd can throw off their rhythm. Sound issues are the same if the mic gets feedback. Most recently I had a comedian wearing an Apple watch have Siri tell him that, “I’m sorry I didn’t quite get that”, which got his biggest laugh of the night.
What are you doing to expand?
I’m currently focusing on monthly shows but constantly have corporate clients reaching out to organise private events.
What have been your biggest triumphs?
Signing up Dan Muggleton, one of my favourite Sydney comedians, to a sold-out show at Freshwater Brewing Co. for 130 people.
What advice would you give yourself back before setting off on this ride?
People will turn up. Don’t focus too much on pre-sale tickets.
How can the people of the Northern Beaches invest towards your success?
Come see some comedy on your doorstep! And any business that wants to boost trade on a quiet night, get in touch.
Upcoming Canned Laughter shows
4 Pines Newport on 2 August
Freshwater Brewing Co. on 31 August
4 Pines Manly on 7 September
Follow @cannedlaughterau on socials and visit www.cannedlaughter.com.au for all info.
By Rob Pegley
Did you hear the one about the man bringing comedy to the Northern Beaches, hoping to turn his 'passion
project' into a full-time job?
"I'm doing something that combines my
two loves in life: craft beer and comedy,"
explains entrepreneur and comic Lewis Holt.
Surely the dream of a lot of people,
Lewis is slowly seeing his vision become
a reality, after successfully introducing
comedy nights to selected venues on the
peninsula. His business Canned Laughter
(a play on words for those two loves) may
eventually see Lewis laugh all the way to
the bank. "The first event was in Avalon last
October, and since then it's really taken
off," explains Lewis. "We did six gigs in May, at
venues including Avalon Bowlo, 4 Pines in Newport,
and Freshwater Brewing in Brookvale."
The idea came about after Lewis and a friend from
Avalon regularly travelled over.
to Newtown on a Tuesday night in a bid to get their
own comedy careers started at an open mic night.
"The crowd weren't really a great comedy crowd,
and we just thought we could do it a lot better.
"We wanted to give local comedians
a place to perform on the Beaches. And the
customers have loved it."
Lewis arrived on the Beaches eight years.
ago. Living in London, but with an Australian father,
he bought tickets to Sydney one
snowy day at work and hasn't looked back.
Originally working in hospitality, he did a
Pilgrimage to the Edinburgh and Montreal
Comedy Festivals which gave him the
inspiration to move into comedy.
"I do a five-minute intro as the MC
and then we have five other comedians,"
explains Lewis. "We have a headline act
for 30 minutes, two comedians who are on
the verge of making it, and two up-and-
coming local acts.
"We had 120 people at Freshie Brewery
and that was too many people to be intimate so I've
capped that at 90.
I aim for at least 60 people at any night we hold."
Lewis' joint focus is on having fun and
supporting local artists, providing a venue
for them to perform on the Northern
Beaches. And bringing crowds on quiet
week nights means it a win-win for Lewis
and the various Northern Beaches venues
re seemed a gap in the market on the Northern Beaches.
More nights and venues are planned, but
perhaps not yet showing some of Lewis'
heroes. “Watching Mike Myers and Jim Carrey in
their early films was what first made me
fall in love with comedy. In terms of stand-up
I don't think there's anyone better than
Dave Chappelle.
"And I like the English comedian Mickey
Flanagan... I saw him for 10 pounds years
ago at a North London comedy club. I also
saw Ricky Gervais booed off stage at the
same club, after he did a 20-minute routine about Princess Diana."
Lewis himself does observational comedy and one-liners. He would eventually
like to move into the storytelling arena of
comedy, which takes a lot of experience.
Alongside working part-time and running Canned Laughter, he has one other
important job.
"I'm following the Seinfeld technique.
of making sure I write one joke a day," he said.
Without giving anything away, the gag
Lewis wrote on the day of our interview
was a cracker. Find out what those jokes
are at 4 Pines Newport (October 4) or the
Avalon Bowlo (October 19).