Launching the Clever Monkee Comedy Festival

Project background:

One of the most fun projects we have worked on is the Clever Monkee Comedy Festival, scheduled to take place from 3-5 December 2021 at the East Of England Arena in Peterborough, the inaugural Clever Monkee Comedy Festival would feature performances from 10 of the UK’s hottest comedians, including Marcus Brigstocke, Jen Brister, Ed Byrne, Chris McCausland, Shaun Walsh and Sara Barron, hosted by Alistair Barrie.

Organised by Dan Corderoy, former GES EMEA event production director and founder of Vista Events, and event industry photographer, Hannah Isted of Baby Olive, they hoped to follow in the footsteps of successful Covid-safe events such as the Greenwich Comedy Festival and Virgin Money Unity Arena, but lockdown 2.0 cut the event short, and despite huge support, it was not able to go ahead. 

Dan told Access All Areas magazine of his determination to organise a live event that he had described as being “the first laugh out of lockdown”. In the interview, he said,  “It feels like we are desperately paddling upstream to do it, but the experience has been great. Our supplier partners are fantastic. Doing this has restored my faith in the events community, so many people have offered to help and are doing work for nothing just to get the event on.”

Adding, “We invested in every single Covid measure, everything had been planned for. We worked closely with a designated health and safety consultant. We were determined to stage a live event. For us, it was about supporting our fellow event operators and suppliers at a time when we all needed a laugh before Christmas.”

Vividink role summary:

When we were called by Hannah, and she explained this crazy idea, then asked if we could help out, the answer was very simple. Yes, tell us what you need. The Vividink team, led by Scarlet, created and ran the pre-event launch pr and social media. And, in liaison with our sister company, Vividfish, we built the event website. 

Head of PR at Vividink, Paul, explains, “I received a call from our favourite event snapper, Hannah, with an amazing request, and we couldn’t say no. The whole project provided one small ray of sunshine during a very dark period in the lives of most people. Scarlet stepped up and was in her element running the social media campaign. "

Each comedian recorded a short video promo, and we used it across social media. They ranged from hilarious to downright strange, here's a few examples:

• Alistair Barrie
• Marcus Brigstocke
• Jen Brister
• Chris McCausland
• Daliso Chaponda
• Ed Byrne
• Hal Cruttenden

Coverage in trade press:

• Access All Areas
• Exhibition News
• Peterborough Telegraph

All the suppliers and roles:

• Pearce Hire – AV and production
• LC Events – H&S
• Full Vision – graphics
• VividInk PR – marketing
• Vividfish - website
• Creative Hire – furniture
• Cooke & Associates – video
• Paul Rogers – CAD

Sadly, the main event never happened, but Dan organised a few comedy nights under the Clever Monkee brand after the pandemic. It’s a great legacy for everyone who put their shoulders behind the original idea and came oh so close, thanks Covid-19 Lockdown 2!