Punchline
Tina Hassannia
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Out with the old, in with the new: Yuk Yuk's is at Bytowne Tavern
photo: Ben Welland
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Yuk Yuk's moves into new digs
The newest kid on the Elgin block isn't really a kid at all. Yuk Yuk's, Ottawa's oldest comedy club, hit the quarter-century milestone last year. To kick off its 26th year, the club moved from its historic location at the Capital Hill Hotel to 292 Elgin Street, previously the Bytowne Tavern.According to manager Howard Wagman, the move was a business decision. The hotel is undergoing major structural renovations with no firm finish date. Wagman is optimistic about the possibilities of its new location and the bustling nightlife of Elgin Street. "There's people walking around every night and we want to capitalize on that," he explains.
For patrons of popular events that took place at Bytowne - including Insensitivity Training improv comedy and Rock & Roll Pizza Party - there's no reason to fret. According to Wagman, both nights will continue at their regularly scheduled times. For Matthew Sloan, a member of Insensitivity Training and also part of the serving staff at Yuk Yuk's, the new comedy club is beneficial for the improv troupe.
"[Yuk Yuk's has] offered to help us with promotion," he says, explaining that the show will be advertised in the club's monthly newsletter.
The deal between Insensitivity Training and Yuk Yuk's comes at a price: The admission has increased to five dollars. But Sloan believes the increase is worth it because of the level of awareness and recognition that the partnership will provide the improv team.
As with any major move, there are some growing pains and
caveats that face Yuk Yuk's. No longer will comedians be able to stay at the Capital Hill Hotel for discounted rates, a major plus for a comedy club that was constantly bringing in out-of-town performers. When the club was on Albert Street, parking was much more manageable for patrons. The Elgin Street area, on the other hand, has a notoriously poor reputation for parking spots. According to Ryan Lythall, a physically handicapped comedian, the move to Elgin Street also means that there is now one less wheelchair-accessible comedy club in the city, a concern that Wagman says the company takes seriously and that they will look into in the future. For Yuk Yuk's patrons, the new bar's aesthetics will be the most noticeable change. The bar still maintains its dark, rustic charm, though now minus the arcade games. The back room still has its pool tables, but the spot now operates as the green room for comedians. Perhaps the most sentimental symbol of the club's transformation is the replacement of the iconic red-brick wall stage backdrop with a minimalist black mural that features a pair of white boots. Outside, the faded, wooden Bytowne Tavern sign has been replaced by a brightly lit Yuk Yuk's logo that juts out of the building, making the club hard to miss for passers-by.
While some things change, others never do. A look into the Bytowne's history unearths the story of Skit Row, a rousingly successful comedy troupe that came to fame in the '80s and that rivalled Yuk Yuk's for local comedy entertainment. Yuk Yuk's move into the old stomping grounds of its once-former rival is not only historic - it may very well prove that this dark basement bar is forever destined for comedy performance.
