Footlights
Footlights is the Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, a student comedy society founded in 1883 that launched many of Britain's best-known comedians and writers. Its alumni include Peter Cook, John Cleese, Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.
In practice
Footlights puts on sketch shows, stand-up nights and a main annual revue, often performed at the ADC Theatre, the University's student playhouse, and then taken on tour, including to the Edinburgh Fringe. Membership is by audition and performance, and writers and performers move on from it into television, radio, theatre and film. Its "smokers" - informal evenings of new sketches - are where new members try out material.
Why it matters to newcomers
Footlights shows are cheap, frequently sold out and a good chance to see future stars early. Watch the ADC Theatre programme for dates. The name is a common reference point in British comedy: "she was in Footlights" is shorthand for a Cambridge comedy pedigree.
Related
- Cambridge Union - another famous University society
- May Week and May Balls - when the annual revue often plays
- College - where members live and rehearse
Source: Cambridge Footlights.