Alternative comedy: Encyclopedia - Alternative comedy

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. It coincided with other comedy movements of a similar style around the world, although the British scene had many unique aspects.

Alternative comedy - Definition

Alternative comedy relied not on punchline-based jokes, like traditional comedians. Instead a typical alternative comedian might rely on one, all or a selection of the following:

• Observational humour: Making humour out of everday occurrences, and also laughing at one's own foibles and weakenesses (traditional comedians laughed at other people, such as ethnic minorities or "the mother-in-law", while alternative comedians laughed at themselves, their situation, and at the human condition).
• Political satire: Or, at the very least, a radicalised political awareness rooted in socialism; if a comedian was floundering, he/she could get a cheer out of the audience by simply making a joke about Margaret Thatcher (Ben Elton, a well-known alternative comedian, referred to her as 'Thatch' and would often say, "Ooh, little bit of politics!" when he drifted into political satire). Nearly all female comedians described themselves as feminist to a greater or lesser degree.
• Breaking social taboos: Particularly those relating to sex and bad language; alternative comedians swore on stage and, continuing the theme of observational humour, often made jokes about sex acts and sexuality. Toilet humour was not uncommon either.
• Surreal whimsy: A comedian might start with observational humour and then drift into a degree of surrealism. For example, Paul Merton's Policeman on Acid sketch, or much of Alexei Sayle's material.
• Intellectual humour: Generally speaking, alternative comedy required an educated or knowledgeable audience. It required the audience to participate and understand the humour, rather than simply sit back and expect to be made to laugh.
• Extreme slapstick: People were often set on fire, had bricks smashed over their heads, or were flung through walls etc. This is arguably a less common trait of alternative comedy, however, and was only practiced by a handful of artists, such as Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson (and also Rowan Atkinson in the Blackadder television shows).
• Improvisation: Working without a script of plan and making-up comedy on the spot in response to audience suggestions. This was usually during nights dedicated to 'improv', however. See The Comedy Store Players.

Alternative comedy was radical, both for its time and even today. Alternative comedians were passionate performers. Many were not driven exclusively by the desire to entertain, but also by the fact they had a message to get across (or simply because they wanted to smash social boundaries).

Nearly all alternative comedians were university graduates. Many came from a middle-class background and most held strong political and/or social beliefs. Most weren't trained actors or experienced comics. They didn't come from a variety or show-biz background. The sought to redefine the rulebook on comedy entertainment. Considering the mainstream success of most alternative comedians today, it could be argued that they succeeded.

Alternative comedy - History

Alternative comedy was a product of its time. In the early 1980s Britain was a politically divisive country, although also had a nihilistic streak running through its core. Margaret Thatcher had come to power and was pushing forward free trade reforms but many still believed that Britain would one day be a socialist country. Punk rock had just come and gone in the late 1970s and Britain was changing forever in ways few people understood. From this melting pot alternative comedy was born.

Malcolm Hardee, comedian, club-owner and early agent-manager to many alternative comedians wrote in his autobiography I Stole Freddie Mercury's Birthday Cake that fellow comedian Tony Allen coined the phrase 'alternative comedy'. He goes on to claim its origin was the series of 'alternative cabaret' shows staged in 1978 by the owner of the Ferry Inn at Salcombe, Devon. He advertised that his cutting-edge comedy was 'alternative' to the more mainstream comedy being put on by the local yacht club.

But most would argue that alternative comedy found its home in London, in The Comedy Store and The Comic Strip clubs (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. The "stage" was usually a raised platform inches away from the audience, which made for intimate and less theatrical performances.

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.

Alternative comedy - Transition to mainstream

Spurred on by the actions of up coming television producers, such as Paul Jackson, Geoffrey Perkins and Jimmy Mulville (see also Hat Trick Productions), alternative comedy spilled onto TV in the 80s. It was supported by minority channel BBC 2 in the form of The Young Ones and other sitcoms. These were seen as cult programmes, although there was some mainstream success for shows like Not The Nine O'Clock News and French & Saunders, both of which eventually switched from BBC2 to BBC1.

The UK's other minority channel, Channel 4, hosted Saturday Live (UK) (later Friday Night Live), which effectively provided a TV platform for all those appearing at the Comedy Store at the time. Channel 4 also commissioned most of The Comic Strip pastiches as a central part of the channel's early development.

The problem presented by alternative comedy on television was finding the correct format - a stand-up comedy performance was at odds with the needs of TV. Sketch shows, which relied on punchlines, were alien to the nature of alternative comedy. This lead to a very high quantity of failed TV pilots. If there wasn't an alternative comedy star or top-rated programme in the early days, it wasn't through lack of trying.

However, despite that, 'alternative' comedy would eventually become mainstream, with the likes of Absolutely Fabulous becoming prime-time BBC viewing. In the early 1990s Ben Elton presented the UK TV chat show Wogan, in the host's absence, signifying that alternative comedy was to be thrust upon mainstream audiences whether they liked it or not. When comedy duo Rob Newman and David Baddiel played the largest ever stand-up gig at Wembley Arena, alternative comedy was hailed as "the new rock and roll" and acts made significant sums from merchandising, recordings of their TV shows and live performances.

Traditional comedy, characterised by Bernard Manning and Frank Carson, would be relegated to the sidelines in live venues such as working men's clubs. Nowadays traditional comedians appear on television only as curiosities in mockumentaries, or as game show hosts.

Alternative comedy - Modern alternative comedy

It's debatable whether alternative comedy still exists. Comedians have always been averse to describing themselves as alternative, even during the era's hay day. 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, and they're far from being household names. Few of the original alternative comedians appear on stage any longer, least of all performing stand-up comedy. Ben Elton, arguably the epitome of an alternative comedy for much of the 1980s, now considers himself a writer, and has scripted several West End stage musicals.

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.

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.

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).

Alternative comedy - Criticism

Many people are critical of alternative comedy and there is a strong generational divide between those who like and dislike it. Older people in particular find the swearing and no-holds-barred nature of alternative comedy to be offensive. In the early days of alternative comedy, a frequent criticism was that nobody found a person standing on a stage simply discussing events in his or her life particularly funny. There was a joke said at the time: "I'm an alternative comedian... every other joke I say is funny."

The aggressive attitude of alternative comedians was also off-putting for many and shocking when compared to the measured and heavily styled delivery of traditional comedians. Modern 'alternative comedy', if it can still claim to exist as such, takes the form of comedians like Graham Norton, who rely on sexual explicitness and strong innuendo. Many people find this upsetting. Because of the controversial nature of many modern comedy stars, some argue there is no longer the possibility of nationally appreciated comedy stars like Morecambe and Wise, Dick Emery, Benny Hill or Tommy Cooper. Although Eddie Izzard plays to huge auditoriums, and in spite of the relative success of Ricky Gervais' comedy The Office, many feel alternative comedy destroyed the much-loved light entertainment scene which predominated before.

Alternative comedy - Notable names and TV shows

Comedy performers and/or writers from the era include:

• Clive Anderson
• Rowan Atkinson
• Jo Brand
• Arnold Brown
• Craig Charles
• Julian Clary (aka The Joan Collins Fan Club)
• Angus Deayton
• Adrian Edmondson
• Ben Elton
• Harry Enfield
• Dawn French
• Rebecca Front
• Stephen Fry
• Janey Godley
• Jeff Green
• Gareth Hale
• Malcolm Hardee
• Jeremy Hardy
• Hattie Hayridge
• Lenny Henry
• Kit Hollerbach
• Hugh Laurie (who, along with comedy partner Stephen Fry would claim he "slept through" the alternative comedy revolution)
• Josie Lawrence
• Helen Lederer
• Norman Lovett
• Rik Mayall
• Rory McGrath
• Paul Merton
• Neil Mullarkey
• Jimmy Mulville
• Lise Mayer
• Norman Pace
• Geoffrey Perkins
• Philip Pope
• Roland Rivron
• Jerry Sadowitz
• Jennifer Saunders
• Alexei Sayle
• Tony Slattery
• Steve Steen
• Arthur Smith
• Jim Sweeney
• Sandi Toksvig
• Ruby Wax

Note: Many comedians in this list would argue against considering themselves "alternative comedians", perhaps because the term became somewhat odious in the early 1990s; however, these comedians either performed in what might be called alternative comedy clubs or appeared in alternative comedy television programmes. Note that this list doesn't include comedy actors from the period, such as Nigel Planer, Michael Fenton Stevens or Helen Atkinson-Wood.

TV shows from the golden age of alternative comedy include:

• Alexei Sayle's Stuff
• A Bit of Fry and Laurie
• Smith & Jones
• Bottom
• The Comic Strip
• Filthy, Rich and Catflap
• French & Saunders
• Girls On Top
• Hale & Pace
• Harry Enfield and Friends
• Jo Brand Through The Cakehole
• Just For Laughs (a series of programs filmed at the Montreal comedy festival of the same name)
• KYTV
• Not The Nine O'Clock News
• Saturday Night Live (UK)
• Terry and Julian
• Who Dares Wins
• Whose Line Is It Anyway?
• The Young Ones

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Alternative comedy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki