Saturday Nights at Old Barn Community Centre are typically pretty quiet.
The family-friendly facility normally empties out in the evening as its primary clientele heads home for dinner and storytime. But for an hour and a half the night of Saturday, September 21, the Old Barn was bustling as cult-favourite show Don’t Tell Comedy made an appearance.
Founded in 2017, Don’t Tell Comedy is known for its use of unconventional venues and its unique marketing approach. Although the date, time, and general neighbourhood of each show is advertised, the exact venue is not revealed until the day of the show. Unlike most other live events, Don’t Tell Comedy does not make any lineup announcements prior to the show. The only way to find out is to attend.
The format has been adapted in over 200 countries worldwide. While many cities only get one show a month, Vancouver’s comedic talent reserve is deep enough to have multiple area shows per week.
The mysterious show has a massive internet following, with 579k Instagram followers, nearly 1.7 million YouTube subscribers, 2.7 million Facebook followers, and 3.1 million TikTok followers.
Henok Meresa, one of Saturday night’s comics, explained what makes the Don’t Tell format so special from a performer’s perspective.
“Sometimes at a club, people are just there because they’re trying to have a date night,” explained Meresa. “[At a Don’t Tell Comedy event] they are genuinely here for a show. They’re having a good time.”
Meresa further praised the Old Barn community crowd, “The people who came out were really supportive and into comedy.”
Michaela Chung, another comedian from the night, agreed and joked that “there were a lot of people who probably owned atlases.”
Chung’s set – which had themes relating to her experiences as a half-Asian woman, a child of separated parents, and the modern dating scene – was relatable to the audience. As well, her witty crowd work was a hit.
And laughs from Meresa’s set, which featured a variety of topics including his experience as an immigrant, indicated that his jokes similarly hit home for many.
The event took place upstairs in the Old Barn, with snacks and beverages available to purchase throughout the night. While many of the attendees came from the university neighbourhoods, the event also brought in followers of Don’t Tell Comedy who had never been to the community centre before.
“It was a good mix of comedians. I liked the different styles,” said Kevin, a local resident and attendee of the night’s event. “Having that connection with the comedians being so close and having things tight like that, that was awesome.”
Don’t Tell Comedy hosts events regularly across metro Vancouver and tickets for this month’s shows are now available.
For updates on Michaela Chung or Henok Meresa’s live shows you can check out their Instagram pages, @michaelachung1 and @henokm5.
If you’re looking for more laughs at the UNA, Old Barn Community Centre will be hosting a wintertime comedy show on December 7th. Tickets will be available for purchase closer to the event date.
“I like that these kinds of things happen in UBC,” said Kevin. “It’s so close to where I live. It was wonderful. It was a great night.”
OLIVIA DeFEHR IS A UBC STUDENT AND WRITER.