You’re in a bar, you’ve got yourself a drink, you’re ready for some fun, and you have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen next — but you know something’s gonna go down.
That’s the starting point for Joe’s NYC Bar, an interactive, immersive, and improvised theatre happening set in a New York City dive bar, where the audience is invited to pitch in. No one show is the same as actors mingle with the audience, riffing on different themes and topics nightly. There’s also a guest star house band each show, adding a wild mix of top notch live music to the repertoire.
Originally conceived in Orlando (Florida), we coaxed the excellent team behind the show — led by creator, director, and actor Christian Kelty — across the pond and helped stage the show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2016. Unsurprisingly (to everyone involved, at least), Joe’s NYC Bar smashed it at the Fringe, with a month-long sell out run.
The four and five star reviews came in thick and fast, attracting attention from international industry. In fact, throughout August The List Magazine’s online algorithm consistently ranked Joe’s NYC Bar in its top 20 ‘Best Reviewed Shows of the Festival’ listing. (The above photo shows some of the cast in action, during one of the Edinburgh Fringe performances in 2016.)
The show also scored a multitude of world class musical guests, including Michelle Shocked, Ali McGregor, Tomás Ford, Black Diamond Express, Hans, Carla Lippis, and DopeSickFly.
New York, baby!
Off the back of the Edinburgh Fringe 
success, we rejoined the Joe’s team to stage a 10-day run in New York City in January 2017.
We sold out all but two of the performances, engaging hordes of arts industry players in the process and securing investors for a longer New York City run of the show, scheduled to kick off in September 2017. (The photo to the right shows Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked and one of her friends gigging at one of the Joe’s NYC Bar performances in New York City.)
The Edinburgh Fringe comeback and beyond…
In August 2017, Joe’s NYC Bar returned to the Edinburgh Fringe bigger and better than ever before, with a custom-built bar (courtesy of the incredible Assembly) and two shows a day!
It was a big undertaking, and resulted in some of the best performances we’ve seen to date – as well as more praise from critics and audiences, plus a spot in The List‘s rundown of their top 7 unique experiences to enjoy in Edinburgh.
As always, we feel incredibly lucky and excited to be part of this fantastic project and can’t wait for the next adventure.
Imagine if Bukowsky wrote an episode of cheers. Broadway Baby
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