Comic Strip, The

Date: 1981
Director: Julien Temple
Production Company: Gladiole Fims

Stars: Ade Edmondson, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson, Alexei Sayle, Arnold Brown, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders
Location(s): London

Region(s):

Storyline:

A tongue-in-cheek “behind the scenes” look at London’s Comic Strip comedy club in the early 1980s.

Additional Information:

Page compiled by Phil Wilkinson

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  • Capture 1
  • 17 May 2026

Raymond (Peter Richardson) and Paul (Nigel Planer) tout for business outside their club. "Oi you, wanna see a comedy show? . . . Go through that door." Walker's Court, running between Brewer Street and Peter Street W1.

On a bright day, the sun plays havoc. PW

  • Capture 2
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Away from the crowds, a Tour Guide (Alexei Sayle) comes into view. "Zo here we are, in Bertolt Brecht's Zoho. With the old buildings and unt the London fog."

  • Capture 3
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"You are about to witness the 10p opera, a tale of two sisters. Our story starts at pub closing time deep in the heart of Zoho" where two Down-and-Outs (Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall) argue incomprehensibly.

  • Capture 4
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"Quiet now, for Jenny (Jennifer Saunders) approaches the Salvation Army Mission, her sister's last known address."

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"But, in this dossers paradise, danger lurks in every shadow. Jenny is soon surrounded. Easy prey for the careless hands of the Down-and-Outs."

  • Capture 6
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Across the street, light streams from the doorway of the Mission as it opens causing the Down-and-Outs to flee.

  • Capture 7
  • 17 May 2026

Running into the fog, "Jenny enters the grimy labyrinth of Zoho, the Joy Town." Brydges Place in WC2.

Not a special effect . . . just the brightness of St. Martin's Lane. PW

  • Capture 8
  • 17 May 2026

"Meanwhile, at the middle of the maze, we find her sister, Dawn (Dawn French), already waist deep in the quicksands of sin, arriving for work at a dirty little cabaret known to Time Our readers as the Comic Strip." Walkers Court in Soho.

The same redeveloped corner. PW

  • Capture 9
  • 17 May 2026

"Spurred on by sisterly love, Jennifer moves deeper into the jungle of the big city, her heart beating in her mouth." Brydges Place running between St. Martin's Lane and Chandos Place.

Somewhere along here perhaps? PW

  • Capture 10
  • 17 May 2026

"Past Axemen and junkies . . ." Brydges Place also appears in The Tall Guy and 'Last Christmas'.

No mad axemen . . . or telephone boxes. PW

  • Capture 11
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". . . Through dismal courts and alleys, peopled with sharks and harpies and whores, all getting rich in Hell."

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"She spies the friendly shape of a London Bobby looming out of the night. Lost and alone she reaches out to him, knowing she can rely on his help."

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"Oh, well, another illusion shattered."

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"Sorry love . . . I'm just the guide for Brecht Tours of London, you see that. All these people making money out of looking like Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart. I look like a f**king East German playwright!!"

  • Capture 15
  • 17 May 2026

Jennifer follows two Men who have found her sister's dog. Walker's Court in Soho W1.

Almost as colourful. PW

  • Capture 16
  • 04 Aug 2026

A Doorman (Alexei Sayle) outside the alternative comedy club refuses to allow Jennifer inside to see her sister. The entrance to Paul Raymond's Boulevard Theatre on the western side of Walker's Court.

It's been knocked down and redeveloped.

  • Capture 17
  • 17 May 2026

Raymond and Paul count their ill-gotten gains before the Comic Strip show gets under way. Walker's Court W1.

Facing south. PW

  • Capture 18
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Jennifer finds a way in through the emergency exit.