The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society
A British comedy night built around experimental, unconventional and deliberately risky live performance.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society, commonly abbreviated to ACMS, is a British live comedy night dedicated to work that may be too unconventional, experimental or structurally unpredictable for mainstream comedy-club formats. Rather than presenting a conventional bill of polished stand-up sets, the event provides a setting in which comedians can test unusual premises, formal experiments, theatrical ideas, audience games and material that may fail under normal commercial comedy-night conditions. Its identity is therefore based as much on artistic risk and shared community conventions as on the individual performers appearing on a given bill. ACMS was founded by comedians John-Luke Roberts and Thom Tuck at the New Red Lion Theatre in Islington, London. The event began in March 2011 and has generally taken place on Monday evenings. It was held for a period at Soho Theatre, an important London venue for comedy and theatre, before its regular London home moved to The Phoenix on Cavendish Square. The society has also maintained a recurring presence at the Edinburgh Fringe, where annual ACMS shows extend its format and network beyond its London base. Thom Tuck curates and hosts the show, while Isabelle Adam is identified as its producer. The event has a recurring group of performers known as “The Board.” Participants associated with the Board include William Andrews, Steve Pretty, Tom Bell, Ben Target, John-Luke Roberts, Sophie Duker, Joz Norris, Eleanor Morton, Sian Docksey, and Jonny & the Baptists. The roster reflects ACMS’s broad interpretation of alternative comedy, encompassing stand-up, character work, performance comedy and other forms that do not fit neatly into a standard club set. The society has developed its own internal mythology and audience rituals. These include a list of permitted heckles, recurring call-and-response exchanges and other in-jokes that help distinguish the event from an ordinary comedy night. Its visual identity is a boulder marked “JOKE?” being pushed uphill. This image refers to the slogan “Fresh Sysiphean Comedy,” presenting the production of new jokes as a repetitive, difficult and potentially futile but worthwhile task. In December 2012, ACMS introduced an annual or recurring panto-style production, initially structured loosely around Aladdin and designed to play with familiar pantomime conventions. The society also reached a wider audience through a series of Comedy Blaps made for Channel 4 and released in 2013. Those short-form filmed programs were produced by Adrian Sturges and directed by Chris Shepherd, translating elements of ACMS’s live sensibility into an online and broadcast-adjacent format. Commentators have treated ACMS as an important institution in contemporary British alternative comedy. Paul Merton described it in The Guardian in 2014 as a place where audiences could engage with comedy as an art form, while Simon Munnery wrote in 2016 that it helped keep alternative comedy alive even as its name humorously suggested that the form belonged in a memorial. The British Comedy Guide called it a “mighty institution” in 2018. Its status has not been uncontested: Stewart Lee questioned whether the event represented working-class experience in the same way as 1980s alternative comedy, and a 2019 University of Kent conference discussion challenged the idea that ACMS straightforwardly inherited that earlier movement’s ethos, citing concerns that it could appear highbrow or exclusive. These debates form part of the society’s broader significance: ACMS is both a performance platform and a site where the meaning, audience and politics of alternative comedy are actively negotiated.
History
The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society was established in London by John-Luke Roberts and Thom Tuck, beginning performances at the New Red Lion Theatre in Islington in March 2011. Its premise was to create a venue for comedy that could be too strange, experimental or unreliable for a conventional mainstream comedy bill. The title is intentionally paradoxical: although the event is a living platform for new work, the word “Memorial” suggests that alternative comedy is already something historical or endangered. The show generally operated on Monday evenings and developed a regular London audience. For a period, it was based at Soho Theatre, before its regular London venue became The Phoenix on Cavendish Square. It also established annual appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe, giving the format a recurring presence within one of the United Kingdom’s most important comedy festivals. Tuck became the show’s curator and host, with Isabelle Adam serving as producer. A recurring group of comedians, called “The Board,” became associated with the event. The Board has included William Andrews, Steve Pretty, Tom Bell, Ben Target, Roberts, Sophie Duker, Joz Norris, Eleanor Morton, Sian Docksey, and Jonny & the Baptists. The event’s membership and guest appearances have helped it function as both a showcase and a community hub for performers working across stand-up, character comedy, theatrical performance and experimental forms. ACMS’s format is supported by a distinctive collection of internal conventions. The show has a permitted-heckle list, repeated audience call-and-response routines and a body of in-jokes that reward returning attendees. Its logo depicts a boulder carrying the word “JOKE?” being pushed uphill. The image supports the phrase “Fresh Sysiphean Comedy,” framing the creation of new jokes as a difficult cycle of effort, failure and repetition. In December 2012, the society expanded beyond its regular night with an ACMS panto. The production was loosely organized around Aladdin and used the conventions of British pantomime as material for comic variation. In 2013, elements of the show were adapted into a series of Channel 4 Comedy Blaps. Adrian Sturges produced the filmed series and Chris Shepherd directed it, providing ACMS with a format that could reach viewers outside the live London and Edinburgh audiences. The society has been recognized by British comedy commentators as an important part of the modern alternative-comedy landscape. Paul Merton praised its emphasis on comedy as an art form in a 2014 Guardian article. In 2016, Simon Munnery described the group as helping to keep alternative comedy alive, while noting the tension between that role and its memorial-themed identity. The British Comedy Guide referred to ACMS as a “mighty institution” in 2018. Its cultural position has also been debated. Stewart Lee questioned whether ACMS represented working-class experience in the same way that the alternative-comedy movement of the 1980s had done. At the University of Kent’s 2019 Alternative Comedy Now conference, a speaker similarly queried whether ACMS could be treated as the inheritor of that earlier ethos, arguing that the show might be perceived as highbrow or exclusive. These criticisms do not negate its importance, but show that ACMS occupies a contested position: it is an influential platform for formal experimentation while also participating in ongoing arguments about who alternative comedy is for and what political or social commitments the label should imply.
- 2018
Recognition as a major comedy institution
[1]The British Comedy Guide describes ACMS as a major institution in British alternative comedy.
- 2013
Channel 4 Comedy Blaps
[1]A filmed ACMS series is released as Channel 4 Comedy Blaps.
- 2012
First ACMS panto
[1]The society introduces a loosely Aladdin-based pantomime that plays with established panto conventions.
- 2011
ACMS begins in Islington
[1]John-Luke Roberts and Thom Tuck establish the comedy night at the New Red Lion Theatre in Islington, London.
Products and positioning
A risk-taking alternative-comedy institution that gives performers room to present experimental, unconventional or potentially unsuccessful material in a supportive but highly self-aware live setting.
Live comedy · 2011
Regular ACMS comedy night
The core ACMS offering is a recurring London comedy night, usually held on Monday evenings. Performers are invited to present material that may be experimental, unconventional or deliberately risky in a mainstream club setting. The show is curated and hosted by Thom Tuck and uses recurring audience rituals, internal rules and in-jokes to create a distinctive communal format.
Comedy theatre · 2012
ACMS panto
Introduced in December 2012, the ACMS panto is a loosely structured theatrical comedy production based initially around Aladdin. It uses familiar British pantomime devices as a framework for alternative comedy, improvisational energy and deliberate disruption of conventional narrative and performance expectations.
Recorded comedy · 2013
ACMS Comedy Blaps
This filmed adaptation of the ACMS format was released by Channel 4 in 2013 as a series of Comedy Blaps. The project transferred aspects of the live show’s experimental comedy approach to a short-form recorded format. Adrian Sturges produced the series and Chris Shepherd directed it.
Brand decisions
2013
Adaptation for Channel 4 Comedy BlapsProduct launchBackground
The live society had developed a recognizable format and performer community that could be adapted for recorded short-form distribution.
Action taken
ACMS was filmed as a series of Channel 4 Comedy Blaps, produced by Adrian Sturges and directed by Chris Shepherd.
Aftermath
The release extended awareness of the society beyond its live venues, though no audience or financial figures are provided in the reference material.
2012
Introduction of the ACMS pantoProduct launchBackground
The society expanded its programming beyond the regular comedy-night format and explored a theatrical structure associated with British pantomime.
Action taken
It launched a panto-style production in December, using a loose version of Aladdin and playing with established pantomime conventions.
Aftermath
The panto became part of ACMS’s broader record of experimental live formats, although the available reference material does not establish its subsequent production history.
Recent events
- 2019
Conference discussion questions ACMS’s relationship to alternative-comedy traditions[1]
Other
A speaker at the University of Kent’s Alternative Comedy Now conference questioned whether ACMS should be regarded as a direct inheritor of the 1980s alternative-comedy ethos, citing perceptions that its environment could be highbrow or exclusive.
- 2018
British Comedy Guide calls ACMS a major alternative-comedy institution[1]
Other
The British Comedy Guide characterized ACMS as a substantial and influential institution within British alternative comedy.
- 2016
Simon Munnery comments on ACMS and alternative comedy[1]
Other
Simon Munnery described ACMS as helping to sustain alternative comedy, while also drawing attention to the irony of a living movement presenting itself as a memorial.
- 2014
Paul Merton discusses ACMS as an art-focused comedy venue[1]
Other
Writing in The Guardian, Paul Merton presented ACMS as a place where audiences could appreciate comedy as an art form rather than only as conventional entertainment.
- 2013
ACMS Comedy Blaps released by Channel 4[1]
Product launch
A filmed series based on the society’s comedy format was released as Channel 4 Comedy Blaps. The series was produced by Adrian Sturges and directed by Chris Shepherd.
- 2012
ACMS launches a panto-style production[1]
Product launch
The society introduced an ACMS panto, loosely based on Aladdin and designed to use and disrupt familiar pantomime conventions.
Sources1 sources
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