Alternative comedy

Alternative comedy is a style of comedy that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and 1980s which would eventually go on to become mainstream in the 1990s and up to the present day.

History

Alternative comedy was formed around The Comedy Store and The Comic Strip clubs in London (later also Jongleurs as well as others). These were (and still are) live venues which presented nothing but comedy and, although described as clubs, membership was not necessary. Since the early 1970s there had been a tradition of comedy within club venues in the UK, whether that be working men's clubs, which frequently featured cabaret involving traditional stand-up comics, or folk music clubs, which would allow a comedian take to the stage during the musical acts (such as Billy Connolly, Mike Harding, and Jasper Carrott).

Related Topics:
The Comedy Store - The Comic Strip - Jongleurs - 1970s - Working men's club - Billy Connolly - Mike Harding - Jasper Carrott

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There's an argument to be made that alternative comedy started in the folk clubs, although Malcolm Hardee the comedian, club-owner and early agent-manager to many alternative comedians was often described as 'the father of alternative comedy' and was held in almost totemic esteem by many successful alternative comics. In his 1996 autobiography "I Stole Freddie Mercury's Birthday Cake". Hardee credits comedian Tony Allen with coining the phrase 'alternative comedy' but claims its origin was the series of 'alternative cabaret' shows staged in 1978 by the owner of the Ferry Inn at Salcombe, Devon in the West of England, who advertised that his cutting-edge comedy was 'alternative' to the more mainstream comedy being put on by the local yacht club.

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The new alternative comedy clubs were different from the folk-music playing brethren. Although they relied on the same observational and occasionally surreal humour, they provided a voice for anarchic young comedians who were usually opposed to the status quo (effectively the Thatcherite Tory government of the day). Alternative comedy might be described as a manifestation of anti-establishment punk attitudes which were common at the time, and some alternative comedians performed at punk rock concerts as opening acts, or at political rallies. However, by no means all alternative comedians made political jokes or were politically influenced and the audience of Malcolm Hardee's infamously dangerous Tunnel Club in Greenwich were notably averse to political comedy.

Related Topics:
Thatcherite - Tory

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In terms of content, alternative comedy tended to rely not on racial or other stereotypes (which was the mainstay of the previous generation The Comedians-style comics), or even standard punchline jokes. Instead it used personal observation and intellectual humour, partly inspired by the early live work of American comedians like Woody Allen during the 1950s and 60s, as well as comedy from the British Satire Boom such as Beyond The Fringe (see Peter Cook). British comedy had a tradition of "shaggy dog stories" - jokes told over the space of 10 or even 30 minutes which ended with an eventual punchline but contained many smaller jokes and observations inbetween (see Dave Allen and Ronnie Corbett). In many ways, alternative comedy could be said to be a radicalised version of this.

Related Topics:
The Comedians - Woody Allen - Satire Boom - Beyond The Fringe - Peter Cook - Dave Allen - Ronnie Corbett

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The British movement chimed with a similar scene in America, and New York in particular, which arose during the 1970s and came into fruition during the 1980s. In both UK and US clubs, the "stage" was usually a raised platform inches away from the audience, which made for intimate performances.

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Satire and current events played a large part of the scene. Being a university graduate was de rigueur and the original Comedy Store host, Alexei Sayle, had been a university lecturer. His successor, Ben Elton, coined the phrase, "Little bit of politics...!" to refer to the times when he strayed away from his observation humour and into satire.

Related Topics:
Alexei Sayle - Ben Elton

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Often alternative comedy was tinged with postmodernism and it can be argued that alternative comedy worked because the audience was consciously aware that it was watching a comedy performance, and were aware the performer was attempting to make them laugh. Audiences at the comedy shows usually became part of the performance. Comedians were heckled and often their skill was measured not only on the quality of their jokes but on their ability to think up witty put-downs to silence the (usually drunk) hecklers (in a Brechtian fashion, the bar was kept open throughout the performance and, although the house lights were dimmed during performances, the audience encouraged to visit it whenever they wished). Jo Brand was particularly skilled at dealing with hecklers and Ben Elton later would describe the rapid 'motormouth' style of his delivery as an attempt not to allow the heckler to get a word in!

Related Topics:
Postmodernism - Heckler - Brechtian - Jo Brand - Ben Elton

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A number of key alternative comedy performers had been students at Manchester University (a university in the north west of England), including Adrian Edmonson, Rik Mayall, and Ben Elton. This made them distinct from the Oxford and Cambridge university graduates who had dominated British television comedy before, and again made them appear more radical than the previous generation.

Related Topics:
Manchester University - Adrian Edmonson - Rik Mayall - Ben Elton

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Improvisation was also popular in alternative comedy clubs and was (and still is) practiced by the likes of Paul Merton, Steve Frost, Josie Lawrence and Jim Sweeney (the entire team is known as the Comedy Store Players).

Related Topics:
Paul Merton - Steve Frost - Josie Lawrence - Jim Sweeney - Comedy Store Players

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