Week-long Intensive Beginner's Stand Up Comedy Course

Dates: 16th November - 20th November plus showcase on November 21st. Time: 10.30am-5pm Duration: 5 consecutive days with a relaxed showcase for those who want to perform. Showcase: 2-4:30pm Saturday November 21st Location: The Bill Murray, London. Cost: £450/£350 NHS, student and unemployment discounts available - just ask TICKET LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE This course is for people who have never done stand up comedy or new comedians looking to sharpen their act. We will look at the very basics of stand up comedy, from learning how to write a simple "pull back and reveal" joke to how to apply for gigs on the London circuit. The intensive course covers everything in our usual courses and allows a significantly larger amount of time on stage for participants. The course will cover detailed joke writing, performance and developing your stand up persona. In the last 2 years previous alumni of Dec's course have won Britain's Got Talent, So You Think You’re Funny (with 6 getting to the semi finals), the NATYS & Chortle Student Comedian of the Year, and were finalists in Funny Women, the Musical Comedy Awards, British Comedian of The Year, BBC New Comedian of the Year, Not So New Comedian of the Year, LGBTQ+ New Comedian of the Year, West End New Act of the Year, Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year, Beat The Frog World Championship and The Channel 4 Sean Lock Comedy Award. Also, 8 Beat the Gong at the Comedy Store. This could also be you in the year after you take the course! Who is teaching? Dec Munro is a co-founder of the Bill Murray pub (Chortle’s Best London venue 2025). He’s directed shows that have won awards at the Edinburgh Festival (Lara Ricote's which won Best Newcomer in 2022 and Sofie Hagen's in 2015) and at Leicester Comedy Festival (Stuart Goldsmith's show in 2023 which won Best Show) been turned into TV shows ("Juice" by Mawaan Rizwan for which Mawaan won the BAFTA for Male Performance in a Comedy in 2024) and been seen around the world. He's also worked on stand-up sets that have been on Live at the Apollo, Conan, Netflix specials, Mock the Week and Radio 4. More importantly, he loves comedy and he is excited to work with comedians at all stages of their career. Dec has directed stand up shows by Mawaan Rizwan, Lara Ricote, Alasdair Beckett-King, Henry Rowley, Ellie Taylor, Stuart Goldsmith, Angela Barnes, Kuan-Wen Huang, Andrew Hunter Murray, Alex Kealy, Kate Cheka, Michael Akadiri, Ted Hill, Sukh Ojla, Zach Zimmerman, Sofie Hagen amongst others and given Outside Eyes (show/performance notes) to acts including Viggo Venn, Grace Campbell, Jordan Brookes, Alexandra Haddow, Daniel Rigby, Tatty Macleod, Madeleine Brettingham, Chris Williamson, Jake Patrick, Kemah Bob, Jonny Pelham, Gauri B, Shenoah Allen, Avital Ash, Mark Bittlestone, Toby Stubbs, Marjolein Robertson, Charlie Dinkin, Daniel Foxx, Graham Dickson, Chris Taylor, Raul Kohli, Alaire Thomas, Sikisa, Coco the Clown, Hasan Al Habib, Amy Annette, Ben Pope, Fiona Ridgewell, Dinesh Nathan, John Meagher, James Barr, Benji Waterhouse, Steve Bugeja, Dane Buckley, Chloe Radcliffe, Jacob Hawley, Joshua Bethania, Ritu Arya, Mark Silcox, Abby Wambaugh, Sam Nicoresti (and many more also brilliant people) "I cannot recommend Dec Munro highly enough. His feedback is measured, insightful, never superfluous and ALWAYS useful." Angela Barnes "He will make you into the best version of yourself. I am never funnier or more productive than when I am in the company of Dec." Sofie Hagen "Definitely recommend Dec's course for anyone who wants to start in comedy and is unsure where to begin. It definitely helped me go from a local comedy club to the BBC in a very short time" Joshua Bethania (Winner, So You Think You're Funny and BBC New Comedian Finalist 2022) "Dec Munro, award-winning director and comedic hero is our (genius) teacher. Yes, comedy, but not a sense of humour, can be taught. Just do the course —it’s brilliant. " The Times, article by Caroline Phillips about Dec's intensive course January, 2024. Since Dec's intensive course started running at the Bill Murray in summer 2022 every course has been fully sold out - usually between 1-5 weeks before the start date see more - http://www.decmunro.com/testimonials/ Feedback from latest Intensive courses: "Most people would secretly love to do standup - some don't mind the idea, some vomit at the thought of being on stage but would love to find a way to do it - as impossible as it sounds, if that's you, find a way to sign up and give yourself one of the biggest gifts you'll ever give yourself. If you do just one thing in your life to challenge yourself, make it this and I promise you won't regret it. Parts of you will shine, in the most warm and kind space imaginable, in a way you can't comprehend right now." Gareth Beavis, Editorial Director, The Better Web Co. "If you’re thinking about doing this course, just go for it. Dec knows funny. I’ve been running workshops for more than a decade and the way he handles a room is masterful. Each person is heard, supported and challenged to discover their own unique voice. We learned a lot, laughed a lot - it’s the best thing I’ve done." Ella Simms "Dec is a genius. So incredibly generous, knowledgeable and nurturing. He helps you find your voice and creates a very encouraging atmosphere to try stuff out... everyone in the group was super kind and helped each other.. I absolutely loved this course.. Highly recommend!" Ritu Arya, Actor (Red Notice, The Barbie Movie, Umbrella Academy) "This course was one of the best weeks of my life" Luciana Berger, Former MP, Senior Advisor inHouse Communications & Life Peer (House of Lords) "Anyone that's thinking of trying stand up comedy for the first time.. I really enjoyed it! I loved the kindness, the preparation and delicateness and first timers coming in and being excited for the ride of their life. Anyone who's thinking about doing this - I'd highly recommend it. Do it! (if