Stand Up Collective, founded by comedian Doug Mutai to grow a comedy scene in Kenya, keeps a comedy club, the Nairobi Laugh Bar, on King'ara Road in Lavington, and nights across Westlands and Parklands: 10X10 on Wednesdays, ten comedians with ten minutes each; Thursday Night Live, a weekly talent show with a talk show after it; Laugh Therapy, where comedians answer the audience's problems with jokes; a Tuesday night at K1 Klubhouse; and Jokes On Fire at Fahrenheit in ABC Place, several of them free with an RSVP. In August 2026 the Nairobi International Comedy Festival brought comedians from Kenya and across Africa to the same stages, closing with an awards gala at the Mövenpick.
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The short answer
For stand-up comedy in Kenya, D.O.C. lists 4 rooms and nights in 1 city — Nairobi (4) — each with a dated show coming up as of 11 October 2026. Below: each room's nights, its open mic and how comics get on, tickets and the age rule; the comedy on the road; the festivals and awards; and the 1 comedian SUCDb holds who came up in Kenya.
D.O.C.'s Kenya page: the comedy club and nights in Nairobi, the comedy on the road, the festival and its awards, and the ways onto a Nairobi stage for new comics, each from its own website, with the Kenyan comedian SUCDb holds.
Stand-up comedy in Nairobi
Comedy shows in Nairobi run from Tuesday to Friday in Westlands, Parklands and Lavington: Tuesdays at K1 Klubhouse on Ojijo Road, Wednesdays at Fahrenheit in ABC Place and at Suave Kitchen & Social Club, Thursday and Friday nights at Suave, and Friday nights at the Nairobi Laugh Bar on King'ara Road.
ShowsThe home of Stand Up Collective, which bills it as a full-time comedy club and showroom, at Chemi Chemi on King'ara Road in Lavington. source ↗
ListedJokes on Friday, with Dennis Juma Mapozi, Zenjiro and Jack Naniero — Friday 16 October 2026, 7.30pm, on its calendar as of 11 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedComedians send their details, experience and a link to a set through the Take the Stage form on Stand Up Collective's Join Us page; it hosts regular open mics and showcases. source ↗
TicketsKES 500 for Jokes on Friday, 7.30pm to 10pm. source ↗
Shows10X10 on Wednesdays, a pro/am night where ten comedians do ten minutes each, fresh voices and seasoned performers testing new material and longer sets ("think open mic but premium"), with a full kitchen and bar and happy hour from 4 to 7pm. source ↗
Listed10X10 Comedy Night — Wednesday 14 October 2026, 7.30pm, on its calendar as of 11 October 2026 source ↗
Open micThursday Night Live, a weekly talent show hosted by David Macharia and Amandeep Jagde, next on Thursday 15 October 2026 at 7.30pm, with a talk-show half after the sets that picks over the night's performances; free with an RSVP. source ↗
Getting bookedComedians apply to Stand Up Collective's open mics and showcases with a link to a set, through the Take the Stage form on its Join Us page. source ↗
Tickets10X10 is free with an RSVP on the collective's site. source ↗
AlsoLaugh Therapy on Friday 16 October, the Work Edition: the audience writes a workplace problem on a slip of paper and the comedians try to solve it with nothing but jokes; KES 500 early bird, KES 800 at the gate. source ↗
Toronto comedian Hassan Phills, a star of Crave's The Office Movers with appearances at Just For Laughs and the Moontower Comedy Festival, known for storytelling and crowd work, brings Genuinely Legendary to Mombasa and Nairobi over the New Year with Stand Up Collective; tickets go on sale soon on the collective's site. source ↗
Wednesday 30 December 2026 — Mombasa, 7.30pm
Thursday 31 December 2026 — Mombasa, 7.30pm
Friday 1 January 2027 — Suave Kitchen & Social Club, Westlands, Nairobi, 7.30pm
Saturday 2 January 2027 — Suave Kitchen & Social Club, Westlands, Nairobi
These nights have gone by; its website has what is next.
Stand Up Collective's festival celebrates live comedy and connects artists, audiences and the industry. The 2026 festival ran for six days: a pregame show at K1 Klub House on 25 August; showcases at Suave Kitchen & Social Club and the Nairobi Laugh Bar, from East Africa's headliners and the all-women Herlarious to Africa Giants and a crowd-work night; the Award Show and Gala at the Mövenpick Nairobi Hotel & Residences on 29 August; and a family magic and puppet show on 30 August. A festival pass was KES 4,000. source ↗
Presented at the Nairobi International Comedy Festival's closing gala, which brings comedians, industry leaders, partners and fans together to celebrate the people and performances shaping African comedy; in 2026 the Award Show and Gala was held at the Mövenpick Nairobi Hotel & Residences on Saturday 29 August. source ↗
For comics: getting on stage in Kenya
The routes into stand-up comedy in Kenya that the rooms and festivals publish themselves.
Stand Up Collective hosts regular open mics and showcases in Nairobi. Comedians send their name, experience level (from beginner to professional), a short bio and a link to a set through the Take the Stage form for consideration. source ↗
A weekly talent show at Suave Kitchen & Social Club, hosted by David Macharia and Amandeep Jagde, for anyone brave enough to take the stage; next on Thursday 15 October 2026 at 7.30pm, free with an RSVP. source ↗
Wednesdays at Suave Kitchen & Social Club: ten comedians with ten minutes each, fresh voices beside seasoned performers testing new material and working on longer sets. source ↗
Each room's line above says whether it runs an open mic and how it books. At home in the United States,
Stage Time has open mics by night and the Gig Board has calls for comics.
Kenyan comedians in SUCDb
The comedians SUCDb holds who came up in Kenya, each with their record — and their next date when the Comedy Calendar has one.
A Kenyan-born British stand-up, author and broadcaster whose comedy draws on growing up in Kenya: Hackney Empire New Act of the Year in 2019, solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe since 2014, and the specials Breaking Black (2018), African in New York – Almost Famous (2019) and Accidental Coconut (2020).
Questions about stand-up comedy in Kenya
Where can I see stand-up comedy in Kenya?
In Nairobi, Nairobi Laugh Bar, Suave Kitchen & Social Club, K1 Klubhouse and Fahrenheit. Each had a dated show coming up as of 11 October 2026; its line above has the address, the nights and the age rule.
What comedy shows are in Nairobi this weekend?
As of 11 October 2026, the coming weekend's shows on the rooms' own listings are on Friday 16 October at 7.30pm: Laugh Therapy at Suave Kitchen & Social Club in Westlands, where comedians answer the audience's problems with jokes (KES 500 early bird, KES 800 at the gate), and Jokes on Friday at the Nairobi Laugh Bar on King'ara Road, with Dennis Juma Mapozi, Zenjiro and Jack Naniero (KES 500).
Where are the comedy clubs in Nairobi?
The Nairobi Laugh Bar, at Chemi Chemi on King'ara Road in Lavington, is Stand Up Collective's full-time comedy club and showroom. The collective's comedy nights also run at Suave Kitchen & Social Club in Westlands, K1 Klubhouse on Ojijo Road in Parklands and Fahrenheit in ABC Place, Westlands.
Are there free comedy shows in Nairobi?
Yes. The K1 Comedy Night on Tuesdays, 10X10 at Suave Kitchen & Social Club and Jokes On Fire at Fahrenheit on Wednesdays, and Thursday Night Live at Suave are free with an RSVP on Stand Up Collective's site.
Where are the open mics in Nairobi?
Stand Up Collective hosts regular open mics and showcases; comedians apply with a link to a set through the Take the Stage form on its Join Us page. Thursday Night Live, a weekly talent show at Suave Kitchen & Social Club, and 10X10 on Wednesdays, ten comedians doing ten minutes each, are where new and seasoned comics try material.
When is the Nairobi International Comedy Festival?
The 2026 festival ran from Tuesday 25 August to Sunday 30 August, with showcases at Suave Kitchen & Social Club and the Nairobi Laugh Bar and the Award Show and Gala at the Mövenpick Nairobi Hotel & Residences on Saturday 29 August. As of 11 October 2026 its site had not yet listed the next festival's dates.
Is there stand-up comedy in Mombasa?
Toronto comedian Hassan Phills brings his show Genuinely Legendary to Mombasa on Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 December 2026 at 7.30pm, with Stand Up Collective, before two nights at Suave Kitchen & Social Club in Nairobi on 1 and 2 January 2027.
How do new comedians get into stand-up comedy in Kenya?
Take the Stage: Stand Up Collective — Stand Up Collective hosts regular open mics and showcases in Nairobi. Comedians send their name, experience level (from beginner to professional), a short bio and a link to a set through the Take the Stage form for consideration.
Thursday Night Live, Westlands — A weekly talent show at Suave Kitchen & Social Club, hosted by David Macharia and Amandeep Jagde, for anyone brave enough to take the stage; next on Thursday 15 October 2026 at 7.30pm, free with an RSVP.
10X10, Westlands — Wednesdays at Suave Kitchen & Social Club: ten comedians with ten minutes each, fresh voices beside seasoned performers testing new material and working on longer sets.
Which Kenyan comedians are in SUCDb?
Njambi McGrath — each with a record of their career and its sources.
Sources
The facts on this page come from the rooms', festivals' and awards' own websites, as of 11 October 2026; the
comedians' lines are from their SUCDb records, which carry their own sources. 3 sites, 13 pages:
