Certainly as the comedy industry gets bigger and bigger, more and more comics, writers and producers are needed - but what are the chances of a journalist (notorious for their absent sense of humour) making the grade as a comic?
Richard Morris - the chief reporter at the Hastings and St Leonards
Observer - recently took to the stage after a local comedy club manager offered
him a ten-minute slot following a professional turn, and his first-ever gig has created some buzz on the comedy scene
leading to Morris being scheduled to appear at London’s Comedy Store.
You can check out a Youtube video of Morris below - I wonder if he has a gag writer…
Catherine Tate’s recent success as Donna Noble in Doctor Who and her subsequent move to the land of high-profile theatre roles is just one ina series of examples of comics “going straight”.
We’ve got former standup Alan Davies who became Jonathan Creek and is now an ear-biting regular on QI; Peter Kay has appeared in Coronation Street and Doctor Who - neither wholly serious dramas, but neither comedies; Michael Palin starred in The Missionary; Julie Walters effortlessly switches between comedy and straight drama; William Shakespeare was equally at home with tragedy as he was with comedy. Which brings us to the crunch - comedy gets lambasted because it isn’t considered as worthy as day-to-day drama, tragedy or even action.
The examples above however easily prove that comedy - probably the most accessible of all dramas - is far from being the least important quality in an actor’s range, and could even be the most vital weapon in an actor’s armoury.
The original version of Quintessential Comedy featured the first in a series of articles and essays about comedy. Kicking it off was a piece on Monty Python’s Flying Circus, which finally (!) I’ve reproduced here…
Dipping back to the past, remembering the things we saw and did is almost always done through rose-tinted glasses.The same is certainly true of comedy.Looking back at popular sitcoms of the day such as Please Sir! or Man About the House leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, and while Love Thy Neighbour might be a true depiction of the age, it’s modern revisionism to claim that it was cleverer than anyone ever knew at the time.Read the rest of this entry »
Angus Deayton and a host of guests return this Friday at 9pm with a second series of Would I Lie To You? the comedy panel gameshow that constantly evokes memories of the Charles and Eddie hit from 1991.
Accompanied by team captains David Mitchell and Lee Mack, this week sees Rob Brydon and Robert Webb, Gabby Logan and Krishnan Guru-Murthy join in the fun. If you haven’t seen it before, it goes something like this:
Two teams compete head-to-head with each player revealing incredible facts and (at times woefully) embarrassing personal tales for the consideration of the opposing team. Some of these yarns are true; some are not, and it’s down to the panellists to separate the facts from the fabrications. Think Call My Bluff without the archaisms and with laughs.
Delighted to say that Mock the Week is back on Thursday!
That’s right, the funniest man in Ireland Dara O’Braian and his teams return with the usual irreverent look at the weeks’ news.
For newcomers - it’s a sort of Have I Got News For You mixed with Whose Line Is It Anyway?, recorded in front of a studio audience the same day, and features the crushingly funny Frankie Boyle and Andy Parsons along with various others, including regular captain Hugh Dennis.
Certainly not worth missing for any fan of comedy - tune in Thursday 10th July at 9pm BBC TWO
Currently enjoying the superb Max & Paddy’s Road to Nowhere, the Phoenix Nights spin-off starring Peter Kaye and Patrick McGuinness as the eponymous hapless road-tripping doormen.
From Dirty Dancing to Dirty Harry, the clever movie references alone are worth the cover price.
There’s a superb selection of deleted scenes, too, which can only have been dropped for running length issues as they certainly deserve to be a part of the broadcast epsiodes.
More Edinburgh Festival warm-ups have been announced, with Hattie Hayridge and Norman Lovett - two sides of the Red Dwarf’s computer Holly - scheduled on the same bill at Harrogate Theatre on Monday evening (June 30th).
Although there with the purpose of doing standup, Lovett and Hayridge will join each other on stage to discuss the classic British comedy, which celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year.
The show starts at 7.30pm, with tickets costing £10 - £14 (concessions available) available via Harrogate Theatre box office on 01423 502116.
Interesting Organ Grinder blog entry on the Guardian website, which suggests that the recent lack of original mainstream comedy on BBC One and ITV1 could be because the main audience - school pupils, college and university students, the cool, festival-going crowd - are watching their comedy online.
After all, they’re all busy happy slapping and having sex to watch the scheduled televised broadcasts, aren’t they…?
We wanted it, and we’ve got it - a second series of Ruddy Hell, It’s Harry and Paul (although don’t be surprised by a name change) is in production, with the comedians recording footage on July 21st at BBC Radio Theatre, 6.15pm.
Thanks to the BBC’s free audience policy, you can go along - but look out! This show is for over 18s…
Publicity material states:
“…they return with many of the characters that made a big impact last time such as the amazingly fast talking surgeons, the Posh Scaffolders, Nelson Mandela as you have never seen him before, the I saw you Coming shop, the Polish café and many more plus some hilarious new additions”
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