The Politics of British Stand-up Comedy: The New Alternative

137 Pages·2018·1.72 MB·English

by  Sophie Quirk

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN
COMEDY
Series Editors: Roger Sabin and Sharon Lockyer
THE POLITICS
OF BRITISH
STAND-UP
COMEDY
The New Alternative
Sophie Quirk
Palgrave Studies in Comedy
Series Editors
Roger Sabin
University of the Arts London
London, UK
Sharon Lockyer
Brunel University
London, UK
Comedy is part of the cultural landscape as never before, as older manifes-
tations such as performance (stand-up, plays, etc.), film and TV have been
joined by an online industry, pioneered by YouTube and social media.
This innovative new book series will help define the emerging comedy
studies field, offering fresh perspectives on the comedy studies phenome-
non, and opening up new avenues for discussion. The focus is ‘pop cul-
tural’, and will emphasize vaudeville, stand-up, variety, comedy film, TV
sit-coms, and digital comedy. It will welcome studies of politics, history,
aesthetics, production, distribution, and reception, as well as work that
explores international perspectives and the digital realm. Above all it will
be pioneering – there is no competition in the publishing world at this
point in time.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14644
Sophie Quirk
The Politics of British
Stand-up Comedy
The New Alternative
Sophie Quirk
University of Kent
Canterbury, UK
Palgrave Studies in Comedy
ISBN 978-3-030-01104-8 ISBN 978-3-030-01105-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01105-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018956867
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the
publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to
the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The
publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
institutional affiliations.
Cover illustration: © John Rawsterne/patternhead.com
This Palgrave Pivot imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
P
reface
This book began with a set of observations. Firstly, the Alternative Comedy
movement—by which I mean the phase of British stand-up comedy’s evo-
lution that took place from about 1979 to 1990—was being referred to as
a closed chapter in the alternative comedy story. Secondly, today’s stand-
up comedians were combatting political and commercial challenges that
were related to, but distinct from, those of the 1970s and 1980s. Thirdly,
the story of Alternative Comedy past remained an important and respected
influence on contemporary comedy but its status appeared to be changing
from current affairs to folklore. A continuing tradition of alternative com-
edy, clearly derived from the original movement, was still frequently men-
tioned. Yet for practitioners I spoke to, stories told about that pivotal
beginning were losing their immediacy as a guiding light. They were
hopelessly incomplete as a framework for understanding the responses
comedians were producing to societal challenges in the here and now.
These observations led to some of the questions addressed in this book.
How was stand-up responding to, for example, the rise of a generation
with little or no memory of the 1980s; guilty recognitions of ‘left-wing
bias’ in an environment that favours a surface resemblance to ‘balance’;
the apparent end of the liberal consensus; and the emergence of new polit-
ical divisions that were giving rise to populism, to Brexit and Donald
Trump’s presidency? What new theoretical frameworks might help us to
move beyond the narratives of alternative comedy as opposition to Bernard
Manning and Margaret Thatcher, and relate it to the apparent shift in radi-
cal political strategies that was seeing the rise of movements like Occupy?
And what are the political challenges that comedians grapple with today?
v
vi PREFACE
This book is not about the Alternative Comedy movement but about
the shape of its influence and development into the alternative comedy of
the twenty-first century (here and throughout the book, Alternative
Comedy is capitalised when used to refer to the movement as it existed in
the 1970s–1980s; lower case is used to signify the ongoing tradition of
alternative comedy into which it fits). Drawing on theories of narrative, I
argue that comedy is a community partly constituted through a dialogue
between its practitioners, journalists, and critics. It has been important to
me to draw upon all of these voices to establish how this community thinks
about itself and how it communicates. I aim to show how alternative com-
edy today is identified, discussed, and practised and the soul-searching and
problem-solving in which some comedians are engaged, and to highlight
those problems which may shape ongoing analysis in the worlds of both
scholarship and practice. I want to suggest that a new generation has
dawned, and this generation needs to be understood on its own terms.
I have been fortunate that a number of comedians have been willing to
give me interviews and to share their insight and wisdom about their pro-
fession and their craft. To all those who gave so generously of their time
and expertise, I am very grateful. They are Tom Allen, Chris Coltrane,
Alexis Dubus, Tony Law, Eleanor Morton, Josie Long, and John-Luke
Roberts.
In all cases where materials have been quoted it has been in the belief
that either they constitute fair usage or I have located and received permis-
sion from the correct rights holder. My heartfelt thanks go to all those
who gave permissions to use quotations from their performances, or
images that they owned—most particularly to Jeremy Hardy, Natasha
Pszenicki, and, again, Chris Coltrane, Josie Long, and John-Luke Roberts.
Finally, thank you to all those who offered comments on drafts of the
manuscript and advice on technical matters, or whose kindness in allowing
me to discuss it with them helped me to shape and reason through the
ideas that make up these pages. Particular thanks to Roger Sabin, Sharon
Lockyer, Olly Double, Sammy Basu, Ellie Freedman, Lina Aboujieb, my
ever-unstintingly helpful mum and dad, and the 18-strong electorate who
helped to choose the cover design. Special thanks to Tom Sharkey for his
knowledge, perception, and patience.
Canterbury, UK Sophie Quirk
c
ontents
1 I ntroduction 1
2 ‘Where Are All the Right-Wing Comedians?’ 11
3 Political Challenges in the Millennial Era 45
4 Experimentation: Class, Controversy, and an Artistic
Lifeline 75
5 Conclusion: Widening the Theoretical Basis for Assessing
Stand-Up Politics 103
Index 127
vii
L f
ist of igures
Fig. 3.1 Set for Josie Long’s Something Better. (Courtesy of Josie Long.
Revenge of Josie Long [Twitter], posted 30 Sept 2016,
https://twitter.com/josielong/status/782025793073451009,
accessed 10.2.2018) 50
Fig. 3.2 John-Luke Roberts as The Monarch. (Copyright Natasha
Pszenicki, photographer; Courtesy of Natasha Pszenicki and
John-Luke Roberts; Natasha Pszenicki, http://
tashphotography.com/koken/index.php?/albums/john-luke-
roberts-the-monarch/content/press-crop2-john-luke-roberts-
edinburgh-24227-1-teeth-and-cape/, accessed 29.5.18) 55
Fig. 3.3 Show poster for Chris Coltrane’s Activism Is Fun, Edinburgh
Festival Fringe, 2012. (Courtesy of Chris Coltrane) 63
ix
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Abstract This short introduction analyses existing accounts of the birth
of Alternative Comedy. Drawing on theories of narratives as building
blocks of identity, this chapter argues that collective acts of storytelling
about this era are instrumental in shaping the creation and interpretation
of live comedy today. Two pillars of the Alternative Comedy narrative are
identified as being particularly significant: the introduction of left-wing
politics expressed through political correctness and opposition to
Thatcherism, and a change in the form of comedy offered as realised
through an environment that cultivated hectic and exciting artistic
experiment.
Keywords Alternative comedy • Comedy Store • Political correctness •
Experimental comedy • Narrative
The year 1979 marked the beginning of a revolution in British comedy: so
goes the legend. This was the moment that the Comedy Store opened in
London’s Soho, creating a concentration point for a new form of stand-up
which was to set expectations for the next generation of comedians and
their audiences. The story is repeated among comedy performers, schol-
ars, and buffs, organising our history and making sense of our present.
The events are still in living memory. Naturally, there are nuances and
differences in the way that individuals who experienced the revolution
© The Author(s) 2018 1
S. Quirk, The Politics of British Stand-up Comedy, Palgrave Studies
in Comedy, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01105-5_1