Response on Andrew Lawrences post (mostly for comics though): https://facebook/andrewlawrencecomedy/posts/10154749255720253: Leaving out the vexatious elements in it (eg references to women, immigrants etc... lets not take it all too personally!!) I am heartened by the central point of Andrews post... ie that comedy is to an undesirable extent, completely anti-UKIP. Have been working on a bit of material for almost a year now which seeks add a new perspective to the UKIP trend or at least but so far my ambition has not been matched by my ability. In the first part of the joke I take the piss out of an imaginary UKIP voter but my aim is to turn it around afterwards and end up being sympathetic towards rather than judgmental of them. The first part of the joke gets a good enough laugh to end the piece there (probably because the joke it at the expense of the voter) however I have yet to find an equally strong punchline for the turn around part. This leaves me in an awkward position. I can do the first part without the second and no-one in the comedy clubs we play to will complain about that. However given my aspirations for the piece, it doesnt sit well with me to end it there. And audiences deserve more than having their beliefs confirmed back to them. By leaving out the second part Im not giving them the opportunity to question their views. I did the piece in full with the turn around in my edinburgh show this year because I felt that it being a show gave me license to make a point. However Im still dont think the entire piece is strong enough outside of an Edinburgh environment. Plus the material is already feeling dated so I fear now I will never find a strong enough punchline which will allow me do the whole piece in comedy clubs where I feel it could have the most impact. I have a new ending to try tonight in the Woolshed (with Al Porter tonight, come along!) so hopefully Im going to be done with it. Unfortunately though, out of necessity, Ive often done the first part of the joke loads without the turn around and though I have ambitions for things to be otherwise, I do fear that people will have left my shows thinking that I think people who vote for UKIP are thick. I dont think that. I understand completely the desire to do something to annoy David Cameron. I wish to understand how mainstream politics has failed people so badly that they would rather abandon both logic and humanity than vote for the tory/labour gang. Why bother trying to understand? Because human beings are flawed but essentially decent and if spoken to with respect and esteem are almost always reasonable. Though unpalateable and mostly groundless Andrews post at the very least seeks to understand the UKIP phenomenon. What I dont understand is why he doesnt use other comedians lack of awareness to his advantage. If theres something he sees that everyone else has missed, this is his opportunity surely. Do the pro-UKIP material you want to do. Im willing to trust that over time the audience will reject it. And Ill continue to work on my bit of material too. If a UK holocaust happens, spurred on by Andrews comedy, you can come to stay in my house in Dublin where the ever-populist Sinn Fein are top of the opinion polls. Also we are ALL posing as comedians. Not just the women.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 14:28:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015