Offbeat venues, more takers fuel the stand-up boom in the city

Pune’s stand-up comedy scene is expanding into cafés, co-working spaces, and outdoor venues (Location: Boka Book Cafe, Pune) Pune has witnessed a steady number of standup gigs from popular as well as budding comedians in the recent past. While big-ticket shows generally happen at dedicated venues, the city’s stand-up scene is also flourishing at unconventional spaces. Cafés, co-working spaces and parks are turning into comedy hubs, offering a refreshing alternative to mainstream stand-up venues, and more places for comedians to perform at.

As the chatter around stand-up comedy continues to dominate the public’s attention, we explore what’s driving this shift of venues. Cafés are the new comedy hotspots Music events at cafes aren’t a new phenomenon. But over the past year, stand-up gigs have become regular too.



Many cafés have discovered that stand-up events attract a larger, more engaged audience than a music gig. A café in Kalyani Nagar that began experimenting with open mics now sees a packed house every weekend. “People actively participate in it.

They cheer for the comedians, and even try stand-up themselves,” says the café’s spokesperson. For comedians, performing in cafés offers some advantages. “Unlike clubs, where people have set expectations, cafés let you experiment,” says Amaan Shaikh, a Pune-based comedian, adding, “You can read the audience, tweak your jokes, or just turn a conversation into a punchline.

” This experimental environment has also led to interesting trends like themed comedy nights and multilingual stand-up gigs which bring Hindi, Marathi and English performers together on stage. Outdoor comedy is having its moment Comedy gigs at outdoor venues like amphitheatres, terraces, and gardens offer a laid-back setting, fresh air, and a vibe that formal club venues can’t replicate. “There’s an unpredictability about performing in open spaces,” says Swara Tondlekar, a comedian who recently performed at a rooftop space in Vimannagar, adding, “You have to work with the background noise, sometimes random passersby even.

Once, it started drizzling in the middle of my set, and the audience just pulled out their umbrellas and stayed!” Performing outdoors also brings a rawness that comedians find exciting. “There are no stage lights or fancy audio setups. It’s just you, a mic, and an audience that’s truly listening,” adds Samadhan Nijhawan, who has performed in open-air spaces across the city.

Cafés get footfall, comedians get stage time, and audiences get an affordable, fun night out. The economics work for everyone involved Keesha Deolekar, an event manager Hasao, magar dhyaan se..

. Following instances of controversy around recent stand-up performances, we enquired if any content restrictions have followed. While Pune’s comedy scene remains largely liberal, some venues are quietly setting boundaries.

“It’s not censorship, but just about maintaining the vibe,” says a spokesperson for an event company which organises comedy nights across multiple cafés, adding, “These are informal spaces where families and diverse audiences hang out. Comics are free to say what they want, but we remind them the audience might not always expect controversial or political content.” Some comedians have felt a change too.

“Earlier, venues didn’t care what we joked about. Now, a couple of café owners have casually suggested that we should stick to ‘safe’ topics,” says a regular open-mic performer, on the condition of anonymity. However, not all comedians see this as a limitation.

Swara adds, “The best comics can make anything funny without stepping on toes. But yes, some venues do prefer ‘light-hearted’ humour at their premises.” Samadhan looks at this change as a creative challenge to take head on.

“If you can make everyday life funny without controversy, you’ve won,” he says. I write whatever I want, but I’m more aware of where I’m performing. A ticketed comedy club has a different audience than a café gig.

So, one needs to balance things out Amaan Shaikh, a Pune-based comedian What’s trending? -Bilingual comedy nights -Women-only stand-up gigs -Themed comedy about relationships, nostalgia, or local culture.