Christopher BarrettAEG Presents UK said it hopes its sold-out show by Indian comedian Zakir Khan, performed entirely in Hindi, at the Royal Albert Hall will help to encourage a more diverse comedy offering at major venues.
Khan is the first Indian comedian to play at the iconic London venue, and his show there on 8 October was the first time a full three-hour show has been performed at the Hall in Hindi.
The award-winning comedian is one of India’s most successful, selling 100,000 tickets to shows in 2019.
With the aim of expanding its reach in the live comedy market, AEG Presents appointed Georgie Donnelly in the newly created position of head of comedy in November last year. Among the comedians the promoter has worked with since include Aziz Ansari, Millie Bobby Brown, Vir Das, Foil, Arms and Hog, Jonathan Van Ness and Alan Cumming. It also staged the first Just For Laughs festival in the UK at The O2, featuring Graham Norton, Ryan Reynolds, Katherine Ryan and Joe Lycett. The UK’s Top 3 podcast The Rest is Politics podcast was also promoted by the division across five live shows.
In a recent interview with Access All Areas, AEG presents UK CEO Steve Homer said the company’s focus was very much on creating a more diverse offering: “As a promoter if you just stick to the standard rock and pop motifs that’s a sign you are going the wrong way.”
On the back of Khan’s landmark Royal Albert Hall show, Donnelly said, “What a wonderful moment in history and Zakir rightly received a staggering 20-minute standing ovation at the end of his show. We’d like to thank him and his incredible fans for what was a sold-out show and we hope it moves the industry forwards in terms of encouraging more diversity in major comedy shows in the UK.”