For a town that, not long ago, barely had a regular comedy night to its name, this feels like a moment worth marking.
Swindon Old Town Comedy Club has been named Best Professional Comedy Night in the West and Wales at this year’s Chortle Awards—a recognition that places it firmly on the map beyond Wiltshire.
The awards, organised by Chortle, carry a fair bit of weight in the industry. Shortlists are drawn up by those who know the circuit, while the final vote rests with the public—a combination that tends to separate the well-liked from the genuinely well-regarded.
This year’s ceremony, hosted in London by Peter Serafinowicz, saw the Swindon night come out ahead of established competition across the West of England and Wales—no small feat given the presence of bigger comedy scenes in places like Bristol and Cardiff.
The club’s rise has been relatively quick. Founded by Sam Michael in 2023, it began as a modest new material night at The Hop Inn before evolving into a professional show at Christ Church Community Centre later that year.
Since then, it’s settled into a rhythm—regular gigs featuring a mix of established circuit names and newer acts finding their feet. It’s also branched out for larger events, taking shows to venues like Swindon Arts Centre and the Town Gardens Bowl for seasonal specials.
Michael is the first to admit the win wasn’t guaranteed. Competing against long-standing nights in larger cities, the club’s success feels, in his words, like “a victory for the underdogs”.
There’s a wider point here, too. Live comedy has long been concentrated in bigger urban centres, but the past few years have seen smaller towns build their own scenes—often from scratch, and often on tight margins.
Swindon’s effort now has something tangible to show for it.
Whether the award translates into bigger audiences remains to be seen, but it will almost certainly raise the club’s profile. More importantly, it sends a signal that what’s happening in Old Town is being noticed.
And for those who’ve been turning up regularly, that might be the most satisfying part of all.
