Comedian Russell Howard storms out of gig just five minutes into his set after he spotted a woman filming him in the front row as he tried out new jokes for his tour
- Russell Howard got upset when he noticed an audience member filming him
- He told her she had ‘ruined it’ and walked out leaving the audience stunned
- The crowd had not previously been told that they were not allowed to record
Russell Howard left the audience stunned when he stormed out of a gig because someone in the crowd was filming him with her phone.
The comedian noticed the woman filming him, while he was performing new material, about five minutes into the set on the outdoor terrace of the Bambalan bar in Bristol.
He told the woman it was the worst thing she could do and said she should ‘live in the moment’.
The performer then took out his phone and mimicked filming her, asking how she would like it if someone recorded her while she was at work.
Russell Howard walked out of a gig in Bristol after he spotted an audience member filming him
A spokesman for the comedian said it was understandable he found being recorded distracting while he was performing new material
He said comedians were a ‘dying breed’ because they worried people will film unseen or controversial content and post it online.
Before leaving he tried to perform an old set, telling the crowd he would just do ‘some safe material from now on’.
But eventually he turned to the woman and said: ‘You’ve ruined it now’.
‘I was really looking forward to this gig.’
Then he apologised to everyone and, grabbed his backpack from behind the stage area and left.
The woman responded by telling the rest of the audience that she was just taking photos and videos like others had done.
But a man shouted back: ‘You were filming the whole f***ing thing’.
Event organiser and compère Mark Olver returned to the stage and said: ‘I’m not really sure what to say’.
But he soon recovered the situation and the evening ended off with everyone laughing.
The audience paid £5 for their tickets to the event, including acts from Jarred Christmas, Abi Clarke and Louise Leigh.
The crowd were not told that they should not photograph or record any of the sets and Mr Olver said he should have been clearer about it.
He said:’It’s important that when acts are trying out new material people should understand they don’t want video of it out there.
‘Sets at this kind of event are a work in progress.
‘Most people understand this but I should have been clearer at the start of the gig in explaining it to people.
‘I like creating a space where comics feel free to experiment and comfortable trying new things, and I totally get why Russell cut his set a bit short.
‘He’s gutted and didn’t want to disappoint anyone but comedy is something you have to write in front of people and having a recording of that process out there in the world makes being creative really difficult.’
A spokesperson for Russell Howard said: ‘Any comedian whose set is being recorded at a new material night would find it distracting. The beauty of live performance particularly at this strange time is it’s intended for the room only.’