Don’t Tell Dave is the hot new stand-up night that’s been pulling big names (and audiences) to the basement of Fish Island’s popular waterfront bar, LVLS. Ahead of the next event, on Thurs 4th Jun, we pinned down founder, and latest member of the growing The Wick Business Community, Peter, for the skinny.

Tell us about yourself and how you've come to be promoting comedy nights round here?

I’ve been living on Fish Island for eight years now. (My biggest highlight? Premier corner shop dropping its £6 minimum card spend!) We discovered the place whilst walking down the canal to watch some masturbatory theatre at The Yard. I just loved the Wick’s sense of cultural identity and subversive creativity. So, when we were looking for a place to start a family, we hid our shame and moved into one of the new builds. Pre-kids, I was a budding cult comedian with an uncompromisingly improvised stand-up style (read as ‘commercial liability’). Post-kids, I’ve wanted a place to feel some of that old magic back in my life. For example, only in stand-up can you get paid for hip thrusting a wobbly stage out of a room.

What’s the particular thinking behind Don't Tell Dave?

Thinking eh? Well not much! Some old hack comedy buddies riffed the name and it’s the only one we could remember the next day. The big upside of not having made it yourself in comedy is you have a phonebook of comedians who did, so the staff at LVLS are always amazed at the scale of the acts we put on. In terms of names, I’m most proud of having cult comedian John Kearns on the bill. The magic of comedy tho’ is every act has the potential to shape a gorgeously enjoyable atmosphere, and evenings people remember.

What are you most looking forward to about the June 4th line-up?

Well our middle act just won the big BBC New Comedian of the Year Award, and our opener and closer are a real life comedy couple and podcast sensation Patrick Spicer and Mickey Overman, so it’s super rare that they gig on the same night.

What are the challenges to running stand-up nights in 2026, and what are the positives that keep you excited?

Well, the wind last week just blew away two massive posters, so the struggle is real. If any tower in Stratford has a comedy poster wedged in their balcony, please return it. It’s very hard to start a recurring event these days, so big thanks to the fair people of Hackney Wick for turning up. The positive is probably the threat of me having to perform myself. I’m most proud of my tongue-in-cheek sketch about the Odysseus named ‘The Sirens of Hackney Wick’.

Why does Hackney Wick need Don’t Tell Dave right now?

Personally, I love not needing to leave Fish Island for my night out, so that’s amazing, but the Wick truly is an amazing place where we have so much going on. I’d love to get more organised and run more nights eventually, but until then I’m looking forward to November with Ania Magliano, who’s everywhere at the moment.