The Annoyance Theatre & Bar

Brooklyn, United States

4.5

Closed now

9 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 718-569-7810
Website:
www.theannoyancenewyork.com
Address:
367 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11211
b/t 5th St & 4th St
Williamsburg - South Side
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
290 ftB62
0.3 miMarcy Avenue (J,M,Z)
0.5 miBedford Avenue (L)
Categories:
QR code
Download QR Image Download vCard

Map

Streetview

Activate map

Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
No
Good for Kids
No
Good for Groups
Yes
Noise Level
Loud
Good For Dancing
No
Alcohol
Beer & Wine Only
Happy Hour
No
Best Nights
Thu, Fri
Coat Check
No
Smoking
No
Outdoor Seating
No
Has TV
No
Best Nights
Thu, Fri, Sat

Today

Today 7:00 pm – 11:30 pm
Closed now
Local time (Brooklyn) 10:42 AM Thursday, June 19, 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday 7:00 pm – 11:30 pm
Friday 7:00 pm – 11:30 pm
Saturday 6:00 pm – 11:30 pm
Sunday 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Description

Specialties

After 27 years of fearless fun and bold characters, Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre has come to Brooklyn. New shows every Thurs-​Sunday night and classes for all levels of experience.“

The Annoyance is is guided by our Artistic Director, Mick Napier and based on the approach found in his book «Improvise: Scene from the Inside Out.»

Our classes are known for giving specific, individualized feedback to our students and helping them to develop and maintain a strong individual voice in their improvisation.

Come check out our shows — featuring improv, sketch comedy, plays and musicals — every Friday, Saturday, Sunday in Brooklyn!

History

Established in 1980.

From Artistic Director Mick Napier:

«On September 10, 1987, a group of us were sitting around a table at an Italian restaurant talking about slasher films. As the discourse pursued, we got the crazy idea of producing a blood show for Halloween, which was a few weeks away. Through improvisation, we honed the beats and developed the characters. Splatter Theater received a standing ovation. Nobody knew at the time that we were launching The Annoyance Theatre. We were just doing a show.

Since this time, in five different locations, The Annoyance has created over 100 shows, comprised of improvisation, sketch, full-​length plays, cabaret, and full-​length musicals. Hundreds of people have performed in Annoyance shows, and you see many of them today on stage, in films, and on television.

Meet the Business Owner

Mick N.

Business Owner

Mick is the founder and Artistic Director of The Annoyance. He came to Chicago in 1987 after studying at Indiana University and with a group of friends, created The Annoyance’s first show Splatter Theater. Following the success of Splatter, Mick directed Coed Prison Sluts, (still Chicago’s longest running musical) and The Annoyance was on its way. Mick is a renowned teacher of improvisation and has taught classes and workshops all over the world. Mick has also appeared as an actor in numerous television and films including The Ice Harvest, Let’s Go to Prison, Second City’s Next Comedy Legend, Exit 57 and Talent (directed by former ensemble member Eric Hoffman). Mick has also directed many shows outside of the Annoyance, including David Sedaris’ Obie Award winning One Woman Shoe, more than 15 Second City revues, Martin Short & Friends, and Jeff Garlin’s one-​man show I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With. In the fall of 2009, Mick will direct the 50th Anniversary show for The Second City.

Related places

You might also consider:
1
ft
Williamsburg Music Center
367 Bedford Ave (Williamsburg - South Side)
1
mi
Miari Dancewear LLC
687 Driggs Ave (Williamsburg - North Side)
1
mi
Cloud City
85 N 1st (Williamsburg - North Side)
1
mi
SassyPants Aerial Arts - Laura Witwer Aerial Silk Classes
Streb Lab for Action Mechanics 51 N 1st St (Williamsburg - North Side)
1
mi
Glasslands Gallery
289 Kent Ave (Williamsburg - South Side)
1
mi
The Secret Circus
(Williamsburg - South Side)

Vicinity

Near this location:
90
ft
BrisketTown
359 Bedford Ave
90
ft
Sapienza’s Fire N Ice
359 Bedford Ave
130
ft
Landmark Bicycles
376 Bedford Ave
130
ft
Brickhouse Pizzeria
357 Bedford Ave
140
ft
New Horizons
355 Bedford Ave
140
ft
April Nicole Studios
355 Bedford Ave

9 reviews of The Annoyance Theatre & Bar

No registration required
Place rating: 4
Brooklyn, NY
Pretty small theater with an eclectic mix of independent programming. I went there last week for the groundhog date show, which was awesome and super funny! The show was only an hour however, so we decided to stay for 2 comedies shows that took place after. well, I should say 1.5 because we just couldn’t with the improv show and left half way through.
it was super cheap to get in $ 5 (although that was just opening night price) and they gave away free candy at the bar — which I am not sure is a usual occurrence or if it just had to do with valentine’s day coming up.
I liked that once we were in, we didn’t have to pay for the other shows.
Place rating: 5
Knoxville, TN
This is a little basement venue for improv, standup, and whatever else they can think up. I went here multiple times on my visit to Brooklyn and had a fantastic time. I saw some really really funny shows (like unreasonably loud laughing face hurt funny) and I would definitely go back. They do have a bar with beer and wine, reasonably priced. There’s also a pizza place around the corner and you can bring it in with you (what is this world? Magical NYC).
Check it out!
Place rating: 5
Brooklyn, NY
Last night, my friend and I tried to get into an at-​capacity comedy show in Chinatown, but after that didn’t work out, we heard of a comedy show at the Annoyance Theater on The Skint. We decided to go check it out.
Once we entered the small, divey looking basement area, everyone was so friendly to us. It turned out we were some of the only people that weren’t improv folks, but they welcomed us and we had a great time. The drinks are so cheap ($ 4 for a nice-​sized glass of wine, for example) and admission was only $ 5 itself. The show featured comedians from Comedy Central and even someone who’s currently on SNL. It was the first comedy show I’ve ever been to and I had a great time. I look forward to returning!
One tip: get there early if you want a seat! :)
Place rating: 1
Monmouth Junction, NJ
I attended the Brooklyn Comedy Festival show here and was disappointed by the cheap laughs the comedians tried to get. I initially sat in the front and at some points, felt obligated to smile out of politeness. The comedians were extremely crass but not for any reason than to be crass. They based an entire improv session on baby rape, and I’m not sure people in the audience understood it or laughed.
Place rating: 5
Hopkinton, RI
I originally heard of The Annoyance Theater through a high school friend from Chicago who told me that it now had a location in NYC! I was so excited because I had been looking for a great place to take improv classes and The Annoyance seemed like just the place. I have been pleasantly surprised with everything so far, including the classes, shows and overall vibe of the theater. I would recommend the classes to anyone looking for a fresh spin on improv. As someone with a degree in Theatre it was really refreshing to feel like I was learning something new in every class and I definitely plan on continuing more classes at The Annoyance.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
I love this place. Cheap beers, cheap wine, and cheap comedy that won’t disappoint. The only problem I’ve encountered is there aren’t enough seats to house all of it’s patron’s butts, and that’s usually a good sign for a theater (especially one in a basement that appears, at first, as a murder dungeon) If you appreciate boundry pushing, anti-​comedy, or just insanely talented performers kicking ass and taking risks by doing what they do best– fucking around on stage– then you will thoroughly enjoy shows at the annoyance theater. It’s not as polished as other comedy theaters in NYC, but that’s definitely more of a strength than a weakness in this case.
I personally recommend coming Thursday nights for Holy Fuck Comedy Hour, or Friday when the Juice is running (it’s not every Friday, so you’ll have to keep an eye out).
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
It was 10:12 on Thursday night when I heard The Annoyance now has a New York City location, right in Williamsburg. By 10:20 I was barreling down Bedford Avenue in my pajamas and a (faux) fur coat to make it to the 10:30 show.
I arrived just in time. It did not disappoint.
The Annoyance is known for being a little more raw or edgy then other theaters. I hate the word edgy because it seems like a marketing buzz word Equinox would use to describe their viral fitness videos — but The Annoyance IS kind of edgy. They don’t fuck around when it comes to having an «anything goes» policy and I love that. They really give performers a place to be unfiltered and say/​do whatever they want without worrying about being judged. That’s rare and really great. Everywhere should be a no judgement zone.
Since seeing that show on Thursday night I’ve pretty much stapled myself to the theater. If you are one of my sexy stalkers (heyyyyyy) you can probably find me there Thurs-​Sunday.
***If you are stalker but not a sexy stalker disregard this review.
Place rating: 5
New York, NY
Not sure I can add much more to Peter D.‘s review, but I felt compelled to write something because I had such a great time at Annoyance Theatre. I first noticed it while walking around the neighborhood and was so delighted to see that Williamsburg now has a comedy club. The comedy shows at Knitting Factory are always so crowded.
My partner and I first went on a Friday night had a blast at Tamara’s Caption Contest because it was so chill and interactive. It felt like people there knew each other and had a community vibe. We had such a great time that we went back the next night (Valentines yo!) and saw Sketch Frogs and Dimwits. We had so much fun that we stayed for more shows and look forward to going back frequently.
I can’t pinpoint why we had such a great time. It’s a combination of great comedy in an intimate setting but without the lines, planning, pretension of other NYC comedy clubs. Perhaps because it’s a smaller theater, it felt more interactive, people walking all around you, yelling from behind you. It all made for a really fun experience.
Place rating: 5
Brooklyn, NY
Have you never heard of The Annoyance Theatre? I hadn’t either, perhaps because the place is fairly well hidden down a dark staircase that prompted a few «Are we going to get murdered?» jokes when we arrived. But once inside, not only did I not get murdered, but I also had a damn good time.
Two Important Things The Annoyance Theatre Has Going For It:
–Cheap but quality beer ($ 5 for a 16 oz Sixpoint).
–Cheap but quality shows ($ 5 for a ticket to the triple feature on Sunday).
I’m not sure what show is going to be playing when you head over, so I’m not sure it pays to tell you that Pistols at Dawn and Love Factually are hilarious, or that some performances are interactive (which led to my inauspicious stage debut on Sunday)…but I thoroughly enjoyed everything we saw. The place is barebones, but the raw talent on stage more than makes up for the raw space.
$ 5 is a very small cover charge to pay for an evening of laughing your ass off, especially when you know in the past you’ve paid $ 15 for a cocktail which only got you halfway to thinking your friends are funny.
Basically, this is the sort of place you need to come check out, otherwise the ridiculous amount of money you pay to live in NYC isn’t really worth it. And as an added bonus, some of the best food in NYC can be found in the surrounding area, so you might as well make an evening of it.