Comedy In A 300 Year Old Pub Where King Charles II Used To Shag His Mistress

There's a new comedy night in London's West End, in a pub connected by tunnel to the Theatre currently housing "42nd Street." The King of England travelled through the tunnel to meet his mistress Nell Gwynn in the late 1600's.

Hosted by Alaskan Opera-Singing Comedian Chelsea Hart

Stephen Makin

Having somehow avoided the mass corporatization of most of Central London, the Nell of Old Drury is one of the last independently owned pubs in Covent Garden. It has also served as a pub since well before the American Revolution. The Nell, frequented by the casts of The Lion King to Les Miserables, now has a comedy night every Tuesday night which hosts TV and circuit headliners saying hilarious things out loud for the first time. It is hosted by Alaskan-Born Comedian Chelsea Hart.

Nell Gwynne

Historic England / Via historic-uk.com

She was the only mistress of King Charles II not to recieve a title herself, though she is thought to have been the Patriarch's favourite of 13 known mistresses. Her son, her illegitimate child with King Charles II, would go on to be made the first Duke of St. Albans. This was after Nell refered to him as "you little bastard" in the presence of Charles, whom being in love with the well-known comedic actress, was horrified and gave him the title immediately. Nell survived Charles by only two years and was only in her thirties when she died. She became a legend, the only royal mistress in English history to provoke popular affection. After the King's death, suitors flocked to the well-known, sharp-tongued Nell, but as she put it “She would not lay a dog where a deer laid”! The Nell of Old Drury, at the time called "The Lamb" was said to be a centrepiece of the historic romance.

The new comedy night boasts some pretty serious talent...

Via mcintyre-ents.com, Via chriskentcomedy.com, Via offthekerb.co.uk

The new comedy night called "Bubble and Squeak" boasts some of the hottest up-and-coming names and circuit headliners in UK comedy, many of which have sold out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, while others frequent the world famous Comedy Store. But before they get there, nights like "Bubble and Squeak" help them to say their freshest, not-quite-weekend-ready jokes and anecdotes out loud for the first time. "I spoke to a couple of my friends who do comedy full-time." Says Chelsea, the night's organizer. "It can be hard to find a truly 'zero pressure' space to work out ideas when you're gigging every night to support a family. The Nell is in the ideal location for professional comics to quickly get out some brilliant new jokes, and run off to bring home the bacon."

The night supports the long heritage of London, in one of the last indepent pubs in Covent Garden.

NellOfOldDrury @NellOfOldDrury

***FUN FACT*** The Nell appears in the Alfred Hitchcock film Frenzy. #alfredhitchcock #frenzy #film #nellofolddrury #coventgarden https://t.co/WJeP9AKCyn

03:27 PM - 19 Apr 2018

In a time when commercial rents threaten to price out businesses in Central London, the Nell of Old Drury has remained in much its same function as a pub, since its inception in the mid 1600's. Having seen the former fruit and vegetable market, the Plague, and being spared from the Great Fire of London, with its 300+ years, the pub is an important piece of a long history being threatened by an ever-more corporate London. "The owner is hands-on in the business" says Chelsea. "He's not off at an office managing 1,000 pubs, he's there almost every night and you can feel the sense of family when you talk to the people who work there. It's a very special piece of London and they are amazing people to work with." You can catch Bubble and Squeak Comedy every Tuesday at 7:30 at the Nell of Old Drury. (Free Admission)