What do English Comedians say about Swiss Audiences?
- Shane Norton
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 14 hours ago
Performing comedy in a foreign country can be a challenge. Nowhere more than in Switzerland. Or so you may think!
We've been running shows in Switzerland for the last eight years. And in that time, we've done everything, from amateur open mics with four audience members to rooms of a thousand people at the Volkshaus Zurich.
For our premier shows, the Big Comedy Kiss events, we fly in top UK performers Here are some of the common things we've heard from our visiting UK comedians.
"They were lovely!"
Believe it or not, this is the most common thing we hear from our English comedians. They are totally surprised by the rows of well-behaved, smiling and grateful audience members. I'm not sure if this says more about the Swiss or the Brits if I'm honest. Either way, it's high praise.
Maisie Adam, pictured above, is by now one of the hottest names in UK comedy. She's all over the TV and web and could demand way higher fees than we can offer. But she has come back twice already with the promise of coming a third time, all because of how much she has enjoyed Swiss audiences.
"They were polite!?!"
This is not always the compliment you may think it is. Politeness includes quiet capitulation, a kind of subtle agreement to go in whichever way the comedian wants. The comedian isn't being rejected, but they're also not being warmly engaged and egged on. It's strangely off-putting for many, like being on a date with someone when you're not really sure if they like you. If you're a foreigner who has dated a Swiss person, you'll understand exactly what we mean.
And it has to be said, we've seen seasoned top professional performers get unnerved by this. So it's something we always warn them about. "Don't worry, they're really enjoying it, they're just not very loud"
"They are dark!"
This is one you might not expect. But I've heard it before! Yes the Swiss audiences are polite, they are gently disapproving of anything too mean. But once they're warmed up and the lights are low and no one can see them laugh. You'll hear shrieks of laughter for most dark, clever, satirical and twisted humour. Who would have guessed what the neutral Swiss would have enjoyed humour that is so dark, controversial and boundary touching!
"Where did they all go?"
Ok, to be fair, this is after the show. Our top UK comedians are used to audiences that at the end of the night like to hang out, drink and try to get a selfie with the comedians. The Swiss audiences, well they like to go home. And very few would be cheeky enough to ask for a selfie, they are just far too respectful.
"It's so lovely that so many people came out"
Yup, so while they disappear, they do also return. And it's genuinely surprising how many of our acts have a following in Switzerland. Many seem to draw out special audiences we haven't seen before, whether that's a particular group with a specific cultural heritage, interest, sexual preference or even certain disabilities.
Recently Shane Todd brought out the Irish. Joe Wells was supported by the autistic community. And we've even had a women's football team take up the front row for one of our female acts with a certain stereotypical sexual preference for a female footballer.
The Conclusion
What's the conclusion. We can simply be proud of being such a popular place for English Comedy. We have an incredible thriving scene. Comedy Kiss puts on 15 shows a month on it's own in Zurich, Geneva and Basel. And that's only possible because we have so many local and international people who are keen to go out, have fun and laugh. The English speaking comedy scene in Switzerland may of started with expats, but these days there are also loads of Swiss people in the audience. For a country that famously neutral and a bit void of humour, that's impressive. Well done Switzerland!
Want to join a show?
Then take a look at what we have coming up on our homepage and come and join the growing Swiss English Comedy community!
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