Cluub Zarathustra was a fringe comedy cabaret act and troupe active between 1994 and 1997. It began as a comedy club in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, London, twice went to the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

and was eventually given a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

television pilot. It is also the subject of a 2012 book called ''You Are Nothing''. Cluub Zarathustra was set up by comedians

Simon Munnery Simon Munnery, also known as his characters "Alan Parker: Urban Warrior" and "The League Against Tedium", is an English comedian. He performs mainly to an alternative audience but has pierced the mainstream both with his BBC Radio 1 show in 19 ...

and Roger Mann. Its remit was to showcase unconventional and

avant garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or 'vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical De ...

comedy, without the acts ever resorting to traditional comedy.

Stewart Lee Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall. Lee b ...

soon joined and helped in the vision and organisation of the Cluub. Other members were

Johnny Vegas Michael Joseph Pennington (born 5 September 1970), better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, overweight appearance, angry comedic rants, and us ...

Julian Barratt Julian Barratt Pettifer (born 4 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor and musician. As a comedian and comic actor, he is known for his use of surreal humour and black comedy. During the 2000s he was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongs ...

Loré Lixenberg Loré Lixenberg is a British mezzo-soprano, active in contemporary and experimental music. She studied composition with Andy Vores, Robert Saxton and John Woolrich and attended masterclasses with Peter Maxwell Davies. She studied voice with N ...

, Richard Thomas,

Richard Herring Richard Keith Herring (born 12 July 1967) is an English stand-up comedian and writer, whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring (alongside Stewart Lee). He is described by ''The British Theatre Guide'' as "one of the leadin ...

, The Iceman, Jason Freeman,

Sally Phillips Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) is an English actress, television presenter, and comedian. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show ''Smack the Pony''. She is also known for her roles in '' Miranda'' as Ti ...

and

Kevin Eldon Kevin Eldon (born 2 October 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He featured in British comedy television shows of the 1990s including ''Fist of Fun'', '' This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', '' Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge' ...

. It directly led to the television series ''

Attention Scum! ''Attention Scum'' was a 2001 television comedy series created by Simon Munnery and Stewart Lee. It starred Munnery as his "League Against Tedium" character and contained acerbic stand-up routines atop a transit van and sketches including mainsta ...

'' and to the production of ''

Jerry Springer - The Opera ''Jerry Springer: The Opera'' is a British musical written by Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee, based on the talk show ''Jerry Springer''. It contains irreverent treatment of Christian themes, extensive profanity, and surreal images, such as a ...

''.

Book

The Cluub is the subject of ''You Are Nothing'', a history book written and researched by

Robert Wringham Robert Wringham (born 28 November 1982) is a British writer, best known for his humor writing and as the editor of '' New Escapologist'' magazine. His first collection, ''A Loose Egg'', was shortlisted for the 2015 Leacock Medal. He has also ...

and published in 2012 by

Go Faster Stripe Go Faster Stripe is an independent film production and distribution company that operates out of the Chapter Arts Centre, in Cardiff, Wales. The company specialises in the recording of live shows by stand-up comedians who, while in the public ...

. It is suggested in the book that Cluub Zarathustra was the progenitor of much British comedy from the 1990s to the present day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarathustra, Cluub Theatre companies in England