Komedia aims at all times to maintain a safe and pleasant working environment for all visiting performers and production crew as well as staff and customers, and as such, these are various aspects of our policy on conduct, including reporting and handling incidences of sexual harassment and/or bullying, as well as some practical advice pertinent to working in the night-time economy and working in our venues.

First off, whilst your in our venues – always remember your Duty Manager is your point of contact, and they are always available to you to resolve any issue.

As a performer, you are expected to arrive with a decent period of time before your performance, and in an appropriate state to perform. Komedia staff reserve the right to define intoxication and/or insobriety and will request that you not perform if you’re deemed unfit to do so. You will forfeit your fee in the event that this is decided.

From the point of arrival you will have access to a shared green room space with an adjoining toilet not open to the public, and we ask you to be mindful of other acts using the space. Guests are not necessarily permitted to come backstage – any exceptions to be cleared with the Duty Manager, whose decision is final.

Komedia is a licensed premises and as such we ask that you not bring your own drinks. We’re happy to furnish you with one or two on the house, be they alcoholic, soft, or hot drinks from our café bar. We’ll also offer you a meal from our kitchens – speak to your Duty Manager who will look after you whilst you’re here about any of this or any other concerns.

We also ask that you not disrupt other performers’ performances; that you don’t engage in any activity that could compromise the safety of staff, other performers, the public, or the venue itself; and that you aim not to behave in anyway that could be construed as disrespectful to others off-stage.

It’s easy to arrive to Komedia from the Brighton main train station – it’s a maximum 10 minutes’ walk. There is one parking space at the venue which can be requested in advance by arrangement with Hal. This is available on a first-come-first-served basis, and isn’t therefore guaranteed. In order that you get back to where you’re staying or to the station safely, staff are happy to arrange a taxi for you, and Komedia can cover the first £7 of your journey, with you committing to pay the remaining balance.

Komedia aims at all times to maintain a safe and pleasant working environment for all visiting performers and production crew as well as staff and customers, and as such, these are various aspects of our policy on conduct, including reporting and handling incidences of sexual harassment and/or bullying.

We operate a zero-tolerance policy on any form of intimidation or bullying at our events, and we also wholly prohibit any form of discrimination based on (but not necessarily limited to) sex, gender, race, ethnicity or regional background, age, disability, immigration status, physical appearance or dress, religion or creed, relationship status, sexual preference, family, and the exercising of legal democratic rights.

Harassment as an umbrella term can include physical or verbal forms, or be constituted by any of the following: bullying, intimidation, insults whether direct or indirect, gossip and non-consensual disclosure of private information. It behoves us all to remember that our behaviours might affect someone else in ways we hadn’t anticipated, be ready to understand if that’s the case, and apologise and adjust them if need be.

Everybody has the right to feel safe and respected in our venues, and as such we won’t tolerate any form of sexual harassment. Again, there are many things which might constitute sexual harassment, often regardless of their intent, but we consider that any of the following would qualify:

• Inappropriate touching or unwarranted physical proximity
• Inappropriate comments that make anyone feel uncomfortable or targeted
• Any behaviour that could be construed as coercive to leverage any form of power – physical force, industry connections, offers of professional or general assistance – with a view to engaging in any sexual act
• Sending or displaying sexually explicit images, text, videos, or articles of any kind
• Pursuing any other person persistently without their willing reciprocation or after they’ve requested that you stop so doing
• Extending the contact with another person beyond the shared professional space (eg walking with them, contacting them personally outside of shared professional engagements) without their expressed consent to do so

We will take any allegation seriously, regardless of scale, and pursue investigation into any alleged harassment sexual or otherwise in good faith until we’ve either handled it satisfactorily from the standpoint of the complainant and to meet our obligations to everyone’s safety and well-being, or exhaustively ascertained that it was not made in earnest. In any event we’re happy to follow up with all pertinent parties to ensure the issue is properly resolved and signpost any further support legal, emotional, or psychological that might be appropriate.

If you have any concerns about another performer, or if you have reason to believe anyone else might attempt to attend the event about whom you have concerns, in advance you can contact Hal Branson at clubs@littlewander.co.uk, or Jamie Patterson (General Manager) at jamiepatterson@komedia.co.uk or Emma Henderson (Welfare Officer) at emmahenderson@komedia.co.uk. If you wish to register any kind of complaint or concern on the night, we strongly urge you to pass this on to our Duty Managers – ensure you introduce yourself to all of them upon arrival. They will be happy to handle the situation with total discretion and will do everything they can to ensure you, and everyone else, are safe and happy. If for any reason you don’t feel comfortable reporting an incident on the night please follow up with Hal, Jamie or Emma at a time that feels right for you.

In any event, never assume we’re already aware of any issue with a person – if we aren’t made aware, we can’t do anything about it, so we always would prefer to hear your concerns when you have them.

If our staff believe there to be a danger to anyone’s safety either immediate or likely, we will contact the police, and you can feel free to request that we do so as well.

If in any instance after we’ve made an intervention or reported an issue to an external contractor or performer the unwelcome behaviour continues, we will be happy to pursue or co-operate with any legal process to resolve the issue, and will dissolve existing contracts with that act or contractor.