Changing the face of comedy in a part of the country that’s renowned for its sense of humour seems like a pretty tall order, but that’s exactly what not for profit co-operative Felt Nowt Productions have done in the North East. The thing is though, what started out as a bit of a casual enterprise as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has become one of the great success stories in performing arts in the region.
When John Gibson and his partners started Felt Nowt, it was to keep comedy going across Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, South Shields and its surrounding areas with all the venues closed due to lock-down restrictions. It was the ultimate ‘Covid hit’ though as their standup shows reached thousands and meant an industry that was in danger of disappearing in the area had some hope. That hope soon became an organised idea with a purpose and a direction…the only problem was that it was being run by performers…and they’re not always renowned for their commercial acumen.
“The greatest hurdle we’ve had to overcome is being a business. Which doesn’t come naturally to comedians! But that’s the journey we’re on and we’re committed to it.” Gibson explains when reflecting on the journey they’ve been on so far.
From Zoom-based gigs for a sea of muted faces to launching their ‘Comedy In A Box’ product, Felt Nowt have become a vital part of the scene in the region. Not only do they provide the headline talent though, they’ve become renowned for supporting new and upcoming standups.
“We’ve given about £150,000 worth of work to local comedians since we started. And we do normal venues that you would expect to find a gig in but we also do smaller towns and villages because that’s what we’re about, bringing comedy to people.” Gibson goes on, “If you’ve got a cafe, a restaurant, just a space that you want a comedy gig in, we can turn up and do it all.”
Since forming out of necessity in 2020, Felt Nowt have set their sights on being a sustainable business that grows its support for comedy across the North East. Without a background in business for any of their senior team though, they soon ran into problems around achieving their objectives. However, they found the perfect way to overcome those challenges by taking part in the Creative UK Create Growth Programme. Gibson says:
“We were exposed to a whole load of experts in different areas. We want to get sponsorship and the people we were exposed to allowed us to create a pitch deck that we believe is going to be fantastic for us to actually secure that sponsorship.”
He goes on to explain that the programme has fundamentally changed how they look at the organisation:
“Now, we’re much more conscious of the financial side of things and doing forecasting to be more rigorous around that area. We’re more professional as a company.”
Felt Nowt find themselves at the start of the next part of their journey but with a new found focus and set of goals created by their recent participation in the Create Growth Programme, Gibson is a huge advocate for the impact that Creative UK can have, no matter the scale of the company:
“Any creative organisation should be looking to apply for the Creative Growth Programme. It will give you access to so much knowledge and information. You’ll get a mentor and it was fantastic when we were on it to have that mentor, because you feel like you’ve got somebody in your corner to not just help you get to where you want to be but also challenge your thinking about how you currently do things, in a constructive way.”
The result of their new found professionalism coming from the experience on the Create Growth Programme has seen Felt Nowt’s ambitions increase again though as Gibson reveals:
“One of the things that having that kind of infrastructure in place has allowed us to do is to make bids based on forecasting that we can stand behind. That’s allowed us to win another bid from Creative UK for Shared Success Fund money.”
Felt Nowt received £15,000 through the Shared Success Fund which will go towards a project that they hope will become an annual event on the comedy circuit in the region. Although Gibson wasn’t able to share full details on the nature of the project, he revealed that it wouldn’t be possible without the backing they’ve received from Creative UK and that its helped them to ‘dream bigger’:
“Securing this support has been a fantastic thing for us because it is potentially transformational for us as an organisation.
“The Shared Success Fund really gives us a leg up to making this idea a reality. And, hopefully that will be a springboard for us to move our business onto the next level that will allow us to fulfil our other ambitions as well.”
For Gibson though, the experience wasn’t just about the information he received in the Programme or securing the Fund, one of the biggest positives was the sense of togetherness and community that came from being part of the cohort.
“It really felt like we were part of something, like we were all part of the creative industries in the North East.
“When you’re all sitting in your own little office doing your own little thing, you don’t get that sense of community and it was inspiring to be part of that.
“It’s incredible and I wish we’d discovered Creative UK earlier.”
"It’s incredible and I wish we’d discovered Creative UK earlier... The greatest hurdle we’ve had to overcome is being a business. Which doesn’t come naturally to comedians! But that’s the journey we’re on and we’re committed to it."
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