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.

Modern alternative comedy

It's debatable whether alternative comedy still exists. Comedians like Mark Thomas, Mark Steel and Jeremy Hardy still perform stand-up with a hard political and intellectual edge but their isolation makes them conspicuous. Few of the original alternative comedians appear on stage any longer, least of all performing stand-up comedy. Ben Elton now considers himself a writer, and has scripted several West End stage musicals.

Related Topics:
Mark Thomas - Mark Steel - Jeremy Hardy

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There is certainly still a strong scene of underground stand-up comedians supported by the likes of the Edinburgh Fringe and various live comedy clubs up and down the country. Proponents include Boothby Graffoe, Ross Noble, Dominic Holland, Sean Lock and Dave Gorman. BBC Radio 4 sponsors many up and coming alternative comedians, such as The Consultants, via half-hour shows. Character comedy is also a large part of modern alternative comedy and modern alternative comedians are usually also actors.

Related Topics:
Edinburgh Fringe - Boothby Graffoe - Ross Noble - Dominic Holland - Sean Lock - Dave Gorman - BBC Radio 4 - The Consultants

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It's worth noting that the comedy clubs which sponsored alternative comedy are still in operation and a search of their Friday and Saturday night list of acts shows the contemporary scene off very well.

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Modern alternative comedy tends to be more absurdist than previously, perhaps as a reaction to the pointed satire and deliberate intellectualism of the earlier generation which had become odious. It's also more international than previously, with Australian, Irish and American comedians mixing in well with what was at one time an almost exclusively British scene. One suggestion towards a definition of modern alternative comedy might be that it is popular but in a limited way (i.e. it achieves cult status). Recent examples include the League Of Gentlemen programmes or, from a previous generation, Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer (Reeves & Mortimer).

Related Topics:
League Of Gentlemen - Vic Reeves - Bob Mortimer - Reeves & Mortimer

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In Canada, alternative comedy really gained a foothold in Toronto's alternative comedy clubs The Rivoli, The Laugh Resort, and Spirit's, although the Riv was (and remains) the king of the heap. Starting in the mid 90's, shows such as the Jekyll & Hyde Show and The Dark Show created a new hybrid of comedy not allowed in mainstream clubs. The Jekyll and Hyde Show, started by Dave Martin, had its comedians perform two sets - the first one sober, the second one drunk. The results were often spectacularly messy but fun. Similarly, The Dark Show, created by Shane MacDougall, challenged comedians to only riff only on "dark" or "taboo" topics. Audiences that attended either knew what they were getting into - and loved the show, or had wandered haplessly into the club thinking they were seeing another festival audition - only to be horrified. Comedy critics Jim Slotek from the Toronto Sun and Andrew Clark from the Toronto Star viewed both shows as ground breaking and essential to the evolution of comedy. Most Canadian comedians would agree.

Related Topics:
Canada - Toronto's - The Rivoli - The Dark Show - Dave Martin - Shane MacDougall - Jim Slotek - Toronto Sun - Andrew Clark - Toronto Star

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