Geoff Parfitt Comedy Blog

Anyone for Comedy Writing?

2006-09-20T12:38:00.000+01:00

The answer is YES... but too few this term alas.

Last night I went along to Stratford College to see if I could find in the classroom the ten students I needed to get the course going for this term. I confess that I wasn't optimistic, but I didn't want to give up without making the gesture of being there just in case.

Only four!... plus another one who phoned me later at home. So I was half way there. Hopefully the six of us can all get together on 9th January 2007 when the next term is due to start, and even more hopefully we will be joined by at least another five students, and we can start writing comedy together... and having a laugh.

The real dissappointing part is to compare the effort I made in publicing this course with the result of that publicity. I sent posters to thirteen libraries around Stratford (I don't know if they put them up), I left my message on any appropriate comedy or writing forum I could find on the web, I contacted the newspapers, and yesterday morning I was interviewed by BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire. What was the point?

Well... The point is that I REALLY wanted to get the course on this term. I was going to do things differently, and I was even producing a SUBSTANTIAL book of guidance and exercises to give to students (see cover above). I'm proud of the work I've done on that, and I was excited to imagine how I could get a new group of comedy writers working.

So... I can stop preparing for another ten weeks of Comedy Writing at Stratford, and even stop thinking about it for a couple of months. Today I'll switch my attention to putting together a short stand-up set to take to Cradley Heath on Thursday.

A Hopeful Gig In Cradley Heath

2006-08-25T23:06:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago I was driving home from my holiday in Cornwall. On the way, my mobile phone rang. Because I was driving I couldn't take the call. Later, when I was able to get to it there was a voice message from a chap called David Francis. He said that he runs a pub in Cradley Heath, Birmingham, and was planning to put on weekly open mic comedy shows. Scotty had given him my name as somebody who might be interested in taking part.

I was instantly dismissive. Another chap with a five minute interest in putting on live comedy. He'd probably never get as far as the second show. Let's leave it.

BUT... the next day he phoned again, and I spoke to him this time. Top marks for persistence if nothing else! AND... he started to convince me he meant business. He was going to put on an open mic show in his pub every Thursday night. I wasn't free to go along for a few weeks but I promised to help by spreading the word.

A couple of weeks later he was in touch again, asking for help in getting enough acts for his latest gig. I pointed him towards the Chortle forums, and apparently that has helped him keep the shows going, if not as successfully as he'd like. I was able to say that I'd be there to do a spot on August 24th.

I let it be known around town that I was going to be there that night, and invited my friends and fellow 'fringe' comedians to book spots on the same night. Dave Dinsdale did more than that. I soon found out that he'd been along and arranged to take control of the show for that night. He was organising who would be on, and he'd take on compering duties.

So last night I was there, doing a show with old comedy mates Dave, Ian McDiarmid, Johnny Sorrow, and Dean Garbett. I was a bit apprehensive about the mainly local audience, but it turned out to be the most fun gig I've done for years. Dave was MC as he wanted, and did a great job going through reams of his best stuff between the acts. Johnny had the job of first act, and did his usual high energy business. In the second part of the show, first me then Ian did about ten minutes each. I got a better response from my established jokes than I sometimes do. I think the audience could tell how much I was enjoying it. To complete the night, Dean did another great job as headliner.

Dave the pub manager was pleased, and thanked us all. I hope he can keep this comedy night going for his sake and for the sake of Midlands comedians needing stage time. But especially I hope that I'll be back there soon and I'll be doing some new stuff.

Nice To Be Home!

2006-08-06T23:28:00.000+01:00

Apologies to my readers, but I've been on holiday... Cornwall, North Wales, and Norwich. You know what holidays are like... Fun and stress in equal measures. So I'm happy to be home again. And on my return, there was ONE interesting email in my inbox. It was from Jeff Lieberman!!

What?? You don't know who Jeff Lieberman is? He's that American film director. He'd read my IMDb comments on his 1994 documentary movie "But... Seriously" about satirical stand-up comedy in America for the 1950's to the 1990's, and wanted to tell me that he appreciated my thoughts on his movie and gave me further information about that project.

What?? You don't know what IMDb stands for? It's the Internet Movie Database, where you can find out about movies, actors, directors, writers, etc. that you're interested in from movies and TV.

PLUS... It's an opportunity to share your own comments and queries or extra information you have about those productions and people... and that's what I like to do. It's a great displacement activity for when I know I should be working on my own original creative writing projects.

By the way... "But... Seriously" is seriously good, and it features clips of comedians... like Mort Sahl (pictured), early George Carlin, Dennis Miller... that I haven't seen before, especially not on telly in this country. I recorded it when it was on Channel 4, and if you want to see it, you'll have to come along to my comedy writing classes in Stratford, coz I'll be showing bits to demonstrate effective satirical stand-up.

Hearing from Jeff is sort of what I'd been hoping for actually. I enjoy writing about comedy in all forms and mediums, and I have vague hopes of comedy related journalistic activities, or in other words... perhaps somebody in power might see my writing and give me the chance to write about comedy for money.

Do YOU have that sort of power??? Gizza job!

The Best Movie I've Seen This Week!

2006-07-09T18:25:00.000+01:00

I know that this blog can often be mistaken for "DVD News & Reviews". Well, enjoying DVDs happens to be a big part of my life. So there! I get a lot of pleasure from watching and thinking about my stand-up heroes, classic sitcoms, and old black and white comedy movies from years gone by. AND... I only tell you about the good ones! AND... this week I've seen a brilliant old movie - "The Good Fairy" from 1935.

I'm a fan of Preston Sturges, and I was brought to this DVD by his screenplay credit, not knowing if that would be enough to make this a movie I was going to enjoy. GOOD NEWS! This movie was a real joy from start to finish.

From the outset the humour was quite subtle, and the sophistocated dialogue sounded very modern. Clearly, although this Sturges script isn't served by Sturges direction, this is still a Preston Sturges movie. And the script is backed up by sypathetic direction from William Wyler and the performances of the lead players. In particular Margaret Sullavan is fresh and funny as the fish-out-of-water naive young girl leaving her orphanage to join the outside world, determined to do a good deed every day... to be a Good Fairy to somebody.

Unfortunately the lies she feels she has to tell, and the resulting problems she's willing to face, lead her into digging a deeper and deeper hole for herself, and into dragging other characters into the hole with her. Those other characters are the Sturges eccentrics we know from his acclaimed movies of later years. The scenes with Frank Morgan and Reginald Owen shouting at each other with Sullavan between them are fabulous. Herbert Marshall is also good, but he or his character can not match the same level of lunacy.

Now I've seen this, I just hope it won't be long before I can get to see "Easy Living", the next comedy that Preston Sturges was able to write and exert the same level of influence over.

AND WHEN I DO... You'll be the FIRST to know... as long as it's any good!

You know... Perhaps I should put on evening classes where I can show old comedy movies and talk about them. That would be easy money. I'll have to think about that.

The Heat is On... And so is a DVD.

2006-07-02T20:42:00.000+01:00

Oh... It's hot!

For the second day in a row the temperature is in the 30's. For ten minutes yesterday I had to go down to ground level - I needed to pop round to Tesco Express for essentials... like ice cream - and I found breathing started to involve conscious effort.

Luckily - with essentials in the fridge - I now have the option of spending today laying on the bed in my second floor flat with the windows open facilitating a pleasant through-breeze. Even more luckily, I always have my pile of un-read books and un-watched DVDs.

Proper telly is not an option today. I DO NOT want to catch the least coverage of or reference to yesterday's England defeat at the World Cup. I accept England's limitations at football, but there's no need to dwell on these things.

I'm even too lazy to be selective from my pile of new DVDs, so since Wayne Rooney was sent off yesterday it's been a case of "last in first out" - the most recent arrival gets to go in the slot of my 14 inch TV DVD combo.

What was it? "Stalag 17 - Special Collector's Edition"...

Oh... I've enjoyed it! I'm a real fan of Billy Wilder, especially his comedies. William Holden is also an actor I like. There are also some great comic sequences with Harvey Lembeck and Richard Strauss. PLUS a really satisfying ending. That's what I call an enjoyable movie!

But don't forget!... THIS is a SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION!... I've been able to lie back and also enjoy two documentaries about the movie, and then watch the movie again with commentary by three old guys who were involved in the movie - two actors and the author of the original play.

I love DVD commentaries!!! This time it was a chance to hear two hours of anecdotes about Billy Wilder and how he made this movie. PLUS lots of discussion of when every else involved in the movie passed away. Old guys seem to be interested in stuff like that.

As I write this, that DVD is now back in its box and I've got another DVD in the slot. This time its "Sabrina" - UNFORTUNATELY NOT A SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION - which is actually the next movie that Billy Wilder made. I'm into continuity!

What comes after "Sabrina"?... "The Seven Year Itch". I haven't bought the DVD of that... BUT... it WAS on BBC2 last week and I recorded it onto DVD myself.

So... Until the temperature drops, my Billy Wilder season looks set to continue.

A Fun Night in Moseley.

2006-06-29T23:59:00.000+01:00

Last night I started to take advantage of my evenings now being free of teaching, and went along to the Comedy Kav in Moseley for the "Tea Tray and Spoon" new act competition.

Earlier in the day, I'd phoned my friend the Tony Blair impersonator, Tom Skehan, and he said he would come along. And come along he did. And who else came in to join us at the back to watch at a safe distance? Andy White! I think we enjoyed the show. We certainly enjoyed discussing the show... as much as was possible without talking loudly and disturbing other nearby punters.

I actually thought that I'd make notes on the acts for a full review of the show in this blog. I gave up that idea quite soon. I didn't have enough elbow room for making notes in my little notebook... PLUS the acts didn't really deserve that level of attention.

I enjoy watching new acts - in general, I mean - I DON'T enjoy watching ALL new acts. It's not that new acts are poor. I don't mind that. That's to be expected. What turns me off is when new acts are BORING... Tired wordplay and cliched observations on subjects you've heard comedians talk about too many times already.

The winner last night was Jo Coffey. Second was Sean Moran. Third was Johnny Sorrow. I can't say that I agreed with the result. I think that Sean should have got it. But Tom talk me earlier that a woman would stand a good chance of winning, as other women would vote for her.

As usual, James Cook did a great job as MC. I hadn't seen him work for a while and it was pleasing to see him in such good form. He kept the enjoyment going though the evening with bits and pieces of good new material and quiz questions to the audience.

Eleven o'clock came and we wound our way home. I need more nights like that - out seeing what other comedians are doing - and shall try to show my face at more local-ish comedy clubs over the next few months.

p.s. I took the above photo with my new mobile phone. It was the best of the twelve I snapped during the show. It actually shows Johnny Sorrow, but you can't tell that from the picture.

Roll On Tuesday 19th September! (7pm - 9pm)

2006-06-21T12:21:00.000+01:00

This morning the postman brought news from Stratford-upon-Avon College. You can see the COMPLETE contents of that mail above. It is the timetable of classes for my next ten week Comedy Writing course. (By the way... If you left-click on the picture, you can see an enlargement that you can read.)

Exciting News! The previous term that ended in March was the first for a few years, and was in many ways the best I have presented to date, and makes me realise that there is better yet to come.

I now have a better view of what can and should be done in ten weeks, and particularly in ten two-hour sessions. Students in September can expect a course for which there has been much fresh preparation, and the best elements of previous courses will be combined with a new emphasis, particularly for the first few classes.

So much of courses to date has concentrated on the TECHNIQUE of comedy writing. In September I will be working harder on helping students with the MENTALITY of comedy writing.

What do I mean by that? Come along on Tuesday 19th September and find out. It's going to be good. I promise!

And as usual, we'll be going for a beer afterwards.

Don't Neglect The Popular Culture Of Your Past.

2006-06-07T13:04:00.000+01:00

Returning to the old television, movies, books, comics, etc. that we enjoyed in our youth can reconnect us to those positive feeling we had at that stage of our lives, and makes us realize that inside we're the same as we always were...

Excitement, enthusiasm, optimism - and occasional energy - aren't exclusive to the under 40's.

For the last few days I've been immersing myself in my Bilko DVD boxset, and it's done me so much good that the 21 episodes on the DVDs haven't been enough. I've also dug out the episodes that I have on home recorded video tapes and I've been enjoying them too. Only a hundred and a bit more episodes to go! Let's see how long it takes to get though them all.

It's always the case that you should learn from the best. I plan to be writing the pilot of my own radio sitcom over the summer - That's my plan!!! - and I'm looking forward to seeing if I can generate the same kind of funny stories and snappy, witty dialogue for myself.

It's too hot to go outside. I'm being positive, and staying in to watch telly.

Phil Silvers... Respect!!!

2006-06-05T15:44:00.000+01:00

OK... Just what HAVE I been doing since my previous posting three weeks ago?

'Not enough of the RIGHT things... and too much of the WRONG things' is the best answer to that, but I HAVE been busy... I've bought a new car, I've been preparing my maths pupils for their GCSE examinations (Paper 1 today!), I've had a friend to stay, I've been playing Internet Hearts on my pc...

Oh... AND (as always) I've been watching more comedy DVDs. In the last few weeks, I've got my hands on both series of the TV sitcom Nightingales, a Mae West boxset, and yesterday saw the arrival of "Bilko - The Phil Silvers Show 50th Anniversary Edition".

There are few comedy performers that are absolutely and consistently brilliant and who dominate all their time on the TV screen so completely, but Phil Silvers was one of those and probably THE best. In homegrown TV comedy, only Leonard Rossiter came close to producing the same magic.

Bilko is comedy I grew up with, and was the first TV comedy in the video age that I knew I must record to keep and treasure. When I was a post-grad student in Edinburgh in 1987, I remember phoning my parents in Norwich with instructions for recording the next Bilko show.

When at last I had a VCR of my own, I took up the archiving duties for myself, and I'm proud to say that I have a recording of all the 137 episodes that have been shown on the BBC. A little job for my new DVD recorder will be to transfer all of those to disc.

That should keep me from the harder task of writing for a good while.

Captain's Log: Supplemental

2006-05-12T09:45:00.000+01:00

Following yesterday's - some might say "NEGATIVE" - posting about Wednesday's Ivy Bush experience, and feedback I have since received, I should like to explain something.

I was just reflecting MY Ivy Bush experience in terms of my immediate feelings about the opportunity the night provided for me to progress as a comedian... NOT the fact that it WAS a very enjoyable night... for EVERYBODY involved.

However... after much reflection in a pub garden yesterday afternoon, I realized that I wrote in haste. If I had been a more resourceful comedian, it could have been a good night not only DESPITE the problems and limitations of the night, but BECAUSE of them.

As usual, I was too fixed on doing the set I'd chosen to do. A GOOD comedian would have had a great time working the room, discussing all aspects of the evening... the room, the Chinese people, the lack of other people, the other acts on the bill, etc. etc.

Next time I'll try harder... OK??

The Gig That Never Was

2006-05-11T08:53:00.000+01:00

Last night there was due to be a gig at the Ivy Bush in Hagley Road, Birmingham. I was there, but I think that I can quite legitimately take the view that this gig didn't happen.

Something happened... but it is very difficult to describe what it was. It involved a very small room, lots of Chinese men in business suits, very few other people, and even fewer laughs.

That's show business!

A Productive Day

2006-05-02T23:57:00.000+01:00

This morning I was busy at my computer. It was important that I should be editing stand-up material in preparation for another gig next week. I did get a little done, but before long as usual I was skiving... playing Lenny Bruce mp3s, and looking for Lenny Bruce websites and stuff on the internet.

And success!... I found this wonderful website called Comedy College, where you can listen to 30 minute profiles of a variety of American comedians. So that's what I did!

Today I've been listening to the programmes about Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, and Steve Martin. I've really enjoyed them, especially as they include lots of clips that I haven't heard before.

I suspect this website will be regular haunt for me until I've plundered the comedic riches within. I've already put a link on this page. There's going to be so much to explore and enjoy.

Comedians whose work I know a bit about, like Jack Benny, Robert Klein, and Bob Newhart.

Some whose names and reputations I've heard, but whose work is unknown to me, like Tom Lehrer, Shelley Berman, and The Smothers Brothers.

And people who are completely new to me, with exotic names like Minnie Pearl, Stiller & Meara, and Totie Fields.

Well, I've got to do something when I'm avoiding getting on with my writing.

The Hardest Job In The World

2006-04-26T10:37:00.000+01:00

A man named Doug Oakley - who has a small part in the history of the Birmingham comedy club scene that exists today - once said that being the first act in a live comedy show was "the hardest job in the world".

I don't particularly agree that it's the hardest job in the WORLD - I think being a coastguard is somewhat tougher - but somebody's got to go on first, and that was the job I volunteered to do last night at the Sunflower Lounge.

Did it go well?... Yes... but not as well as I'd hoped.

Did I get laughs?... Yes... but not as many as I'd hoped.

Did I enjoy being on stage?... Yes.. but not as much as I'd hoped.

But the key thing is this. Even though the result last night wasn't spectacular... for the first time - the FIRST time - I was doing a set based on what I MYSELF think is good... NOT what I think will work, or what I think sounds clever. I've decided that trying to be clever in my material isn't such a great idea. I need to put that sort of showing-off on the back burner.

I now have the first incarnation of a set that I can develop, expand, and more importantly LEARN and REHEARSE, the last two being the missing activities from my preparation for gigs in the past.

What about last night's show overall? Well, it was great to be amongst the old crowd again. Dave Dinsdale, Ade Freeman, Tommy Skehan, Jimmy Frinton, Ian McDiarmid, and Scotty himself - who put this wonderful event together - were all there, and VERY HAPPY to be there.

Unfortunately Tommy wasn't performing last night, and Dave didn't get to do his bit as headliner coz we ran out of time. We'd had nine or ten acts, and eleven o'clock had passed. We had to pack up and go home.

I can't get into reviewing all the performances here, but special mention should go to Frinton who did a short set on the theme of "care for animals" which was the best thing I've ever seen him do, and a chap called Johnny who brought the house down with a very animated, inspired, and assured performance.

So... the show moves on!

Scotty has another gig coming up on 10th May (or 11th) at the Ivy Bush in Hagley Road, and I think I'm promised a spot that night. Plus I now feel ready to get busy with chasing up other gigs and filling my schedule for the rest of the year.

My big push for stardom and international celebrity is now underway. I've got to keep pushing.

Watching Watching

2006-04-01T19:22:00.000+01:00

Another Saturday evening at home alone - watching telly, drinking beer, and thinking about comedy.

I should be working on my new stand-up script - I've got my journals and notebooks open on the coffee table with a choice of pens - but I'm really sitting back in my armchair watching a recently arrived DVD.

I'm watching "WATCHING", the first series of the Granada ITV sitcom from 1987. It was a big favourite of mine when it came round the first time, and I've been waiting for my chance to enjoy it again. And enjoying it I am.

It's a love story... on screen and off. The scripts are really funny, the acting is brilliant, but I think the main plus factor is that I fancy Emma Wray. I wrote her a fan letter in 1987. I got no reply, but I forgive her.

I found the WATCHING website this afternoon, which has the latest news of her. Apparently she's given up acting and is backpacking around the world. Well... my road in Dorridge is part of the world. I can only hope.

The Return of Scotty... and His Gigs!

2006-03-30T23:41:00.000+01:00

Earlier this month, I came home one night and played my phone messages. There were two. The first was from my comedy pal Dinzy who let me know he'd got a new day-job. The second was a voice I hadn't heard for five years or more... the legendary and notorious Scotty, aka Jason Scott.

Scotty let me know that he was planning to put on some more comedy nights in Birmingham, and he said if I was still gigging there would be room for me.

Mmmmm... How delicious. The thought of more Scotty gigs, to follow those wonderful mid-90's shows at such exotic venues as The King's Highway in Quinton, The Cottage in Langley, and the Moseley Arms in Digbeth. Gigs I have done, instantly regretted, and which have stayed in the memory to enjoy at a safe distance of time.

What else could I do but get back to him as soon as I could, and say that I'll do as many gigs as he can offer me as soon as possible. With the result that I'll be doing a spot at the Sunflower Lounge on 25th April, and another on 10th May at a venue that is too exciting to be revealed yet.

Let's hope that this is the start of another exciting and dangerous time for stand-up comedy in Birmingham, to challenge the safety, predicability - and sometimes BOREDOM - of most live comedy that's served up to audiences who don't know what they're missing.

If You Can't Do... Teach!!

2006-03-29T12:34:00.000+01:00

Last night saw the completion of the latest of the ten-week Comedy Writing courses I present at Stratford-upon-Avon College. It has only been a few years since I did the previous one, but it has been a nostalgic experience, and I've enjoyed the challenge once more.

To round things off for this term, in last night's class we did another session of writing captions for photographs - again as a competition. We also talked about stand-up, including watching videos of Eddie Izzard and myself. I was able to offer students a gig in Birmingham next month, if they want to have a go themselves.

PLUS... very importantly... I gave out diplomas to students, which they can now frame, hang on the wall, and stare at with pride... or else screw up and throw away.

Actually the students have told me they have enjoyed the course. Over the ten weeks, we've talked about and done work on: Simple Jokes, Cartoons, Topical Jokes, TV and Radio Sketches, and Situation Comedy. Not everything I've tried this term has worked the way that I hoped it would, but comedy is ALWAYS like that!

I'm quite happy with the way the course has gone. I still haven't solved the problem of how - in one two-hour session per week - I stimulate the development of comedy writing skills in different styles for different students.

It's a difficult problem - and I'm sure there isn't a perfect solution - but I am as excited as I have ever been about having another go at it when the next course starts in September 2006.

Now Playing... Sam Kinison

2006-03-19T09:52:00.000Z

What's the difference between my bedroom and the National Film Theatre?... Very little, some of the time.

But I'm sure my bedroom just has the edge. The NFT can't have such comfortable viewing conditions, and a personal kitchen next door for easy access to tea and toast.

You see... One of the advantages of a DVD collection like mine is that I can screen my own retrospectives of the great comedy artistes. One month it can be a movie director like Preston Sturges, Billy Wilder, Howard Hawks or Woody Allen. The next it can be movie stars like W.C. Fields, the Marx Brothers, or Cary Grant.

But most of the time it will be my stand-up comedy heroes. And right now it's the work of Sam Kinison that I am savouring. In the last couple of weeks I've been through all of his work that I have available... Five DVDs, three CDs, and the great streaming video on www.kinison.com via my pc. I have to go in the lounge for that.

I've actually put a link to the best of that streaming video on this page... His first appearance on the David Letterman show just after be broke through in 1985. Those six minutes are worth more than hours of his later stuff. If you've got broadband, what are you waiting for?

Of course you could add something of Sam Kinison to your own DVD collection. The only DVD you really need is 'Why Did We Laugh?' - which you can get delivered for under a tenner - but his first HBO Special 'Breaking the Rules' is brilliant too. The rest is for completists like myself only.

I would like to know what happened to Sam Kinison between that great HBO show in 1986 and those subsequent - BORING to be honest -performances that are available to watch on DVD, which are from about 1990 onwards.

He looks a different man. In those few years, he has put on about five stone in weight and he looks twenty years older. No more running around the stage. No danger left in his performance. Nothing new to say. Not even the strong original image of the beret and overcoat. Just an obese wreck of a man dressed as a fortune teller waddling around the stage.

Only the great voice remains, and such is the greatness of his voice that it could still sustain his work on stage in some limited form even when everything else had gone. That's why the final CD 'Louder than Hell' from after his death in 1993 is still well worth getting.

I kind of know what happened to Sam Kinison really. Drugs, drink, and probably FOOD are all to blame, which goes to show the dangers of success and the resulting excess.

And THAT'S why I've delayed MY success as a comedian as long as possible. UNFORTUNATELY I don't think I can put it off much longer.

Comedy Cafe Memories

2006-03-16T13:05:00.000Z

Another gig awaits! I decided that my list of comedic engagements for 2006 should stay empty no longer, so on Monday I phoned the Comedy Cafe in London and I have a spot on Try-Out Night of Wednesday 16th August. It's a way off I know - in time and place - but I'm smiling when I look forward to it.

As it turned out, when I phoned for the gig I spoke to Julia Chamberlain, who seems to be working there now... but I think she might only be there on Mondays. Anyway... it was she who gave me a Saturday night gig at the Red Rose Club in 2004 after I did a good open spot in Brixton, plus booked me for two paid gigs at Hampstead.

To my great disappointment, those paid Hampstead gigs never actually happened. It's a boring story, partly down to bad luck on my part but partly unexplained on her part... with the result that she is not in my best books. I didn't mention it this time because I wasn't expecting her... but NEXT time she'll have some questions to answer!

Comedy Cafe Try-Out Night!! Free to get in. Comedians on the fringe of the circuit showing what they can - and can't - do. Familiar and famous comedians popping in for a drink and to see who and what is coming through before and after performing elsewhere in London.

This has been a regular weekly event for as long as I've been around the stand-up scene. And a measure of how the scene has changed in that time is that you used to go along to the Comedy Cafe on the night to try and get on, but now you phone and have to wait six months.

My first gig there - 12th December 1990 - was my second ever... and my notes of those early gigs are so good that I can even present for you the bit that I started with on that night.

"Good evening. I'd like to start tonight with a riddle... A riddle for feminists with a sense of humour... which I hope is all of them.

When is a woman like a bicycle?... Answer... When she's too tired."

BOOM BOOM!!... Well.. In those days, I clearly thought that kind of tired (tyred?) wordplay was acceptable as stand-up material. Oh God! I do hope I've learned my lesson. I think I have... AT LAST! We'll see.

My stand-up records for recent years are not that complete, so I don't know how many times I've done that gig, but it must be in the top five of frequent appearances out of my 200 plus gigs to date.

I was last there in 2004. After a performance I didn't want to discuss, I went outside during the interval to avoid conversation, but a young lady - who'd CLEARLY been drinking - came to talk to me and tell me a joke... Which was nice.

Previous visits can't be identified so precisely, but there are more memories that stay with me. I remember when Noel Faulkner - the current owner - was MC one night, and I went on stage and accused him of "trying to bring boredom back into fashion". Not a route to instant popularity... In fact I instantly realized it was the reverse.

I also remember colleagues from British Gas coming along to watch me, before I knew that too was a mistake. I remember another night so warm that I stood outside and watched through the window. I remember Rainer Hersch complementing me on my material. I remember chatting with Simon Pegg. I remember on my first visit to watch the show that the competition was won by Rhona Cameron... or Rhona Campbell as I think she was then.

But NOW I'm looking FORWARD to when I'm there in August, and seeing who wins the competition fifteen years after that. I know who I'd like it to be.

A boozy Saturday afternoon

2006-03-11T19:36:00.000Z

Saturday!!

I've done three hours work today - maths teaching - but now I'm home and relaxing.

In fact I'm so relaxed because I've had four STRONG beers, and I've got to the stage where I need to lean against the wall to piss!... You KNOW how I feel!

But I'm still in alert mode and searching the internet for good web stuff. AND I have found something good - www.comedyspeak.com - where you can hear long interviews with good comedians.

I'm listening right now. If you're interested in what good (AMERICAN) comedians are doing and thinking, you should listen too!

Confessions of a Bill Hicks Completist

2006-02-28T11:25:00.000Z

This morning at 1.30am I was sitting in front of my pc... happily clicking away.

NO!... That's NOT what I was doing... I'm bored with that. In fact I had made a VERY important find. On a whim before switching off for the night, I'd done a Google search for "comedy bootlegs", and on the third or fourth page of results, something wonderful appeared.

I found what seemed to be a newish website of Bill Hicks Bootlegs... which in fact was what it was.

On first look it appeared to be the usual suspects - mp3s of concerts that I'd already got on disc... But NO!... On closer inspection there were three Chicago gigs from 1989, 1990, and 1991 which I did NOT have available - and what's more - two of them I'd never heard before... and still haven't at this moment. For a Bill Hicks "completist" like myself, this makes for a Red Letter Day... whatever that means.

If you want to check out the site yourself, it's called www.countsofthenetherworld.com, but to make it easy for you, I've put a link on this page and on the Bill Hicks page of Geoff Parfitt Online.

Go ahead... Enjoy! That's what I intend to do.

London Calling

2006-02-18T23:26:00.000Z

It's Saturday night, and I've been sitting at home watching a DVD. (For information, it's last year's film "Festival" about performers at the Edinburgh Fringe. I'll give it **)

Yes... I'm sitting at home in front of the telly. I wish I was in London. I wish I was on stage at the Comedy Store, doing a storming...

No! Let's be realistic. I do wish I was in London... but waiting on the stairs at the Wheatsheaf pub in Rathbone Place (W1) before doing a ten minute spot with other C-list comedians for Ivan Stewart in that small room in front of a small audience... including those bemused tourists in the front row with very little English.

That's show business... and that's where I belong. Tomorrow I MUST get back to working on my new material.

The Aristocrats... A Surprising Joke?

2006-02-11T00:27:00.000Z

"The Aristocrats" is a joke... A long joke... A very long joke... A very long joke with a surprise ending.

As such, it shouldn't be a joke that I like, or be a joke that is told by real comedians. But IT IS... and is actually the subject of a documentary - that is now available on DVD - where over 100 comedians have fun telling that joke, and celebrate how that joke is part of the common heritage of comedians.

And here's why. In one of the USUAL jokes of this type, the surprise ending is the climax we've been DESPERATELY waiting for, where something is revealed - AT LAST! - that titillates the listener. You know the sort of thing. There's usually a deformed baby, or a man biting his own penis, or a homosexual doing what homosexuals do.

In "The Aristocrats" we KNOW how it's going to end. The punchline is always the same. The surprise at the end is actually a disappointment. It's like the final whistle of an entertaining football match that you never want to end. And WHAT a football match!! I don't want to spoil it for you, but there's always some REAL ACTION.

As I said in my first posting about this movie - after I'd been to the pictures see it at in November - I'm rather tempted to work on a version of this joke myself. It should be fun.

There are lots of people out there who like a nice long joke with a surprise at the end.

Where Do Jokes Come From?

2006-02-05T20:34:00.000Z

GOD!... Since Wednesday I've been trying to write this posting - making notes, notes, and more notes - but it has refused to come together. So... Let's make a last stab at it, before I can move on to something else, which I'm dying to do.

It's the BIG question. Where DO jokes come from?... Because if we don't know, we won't know where to look for more new ones.

The problem with the question is the word "joke". It covers such a multitude of humour, long and short, good and bad, simple and sophisticated, that the question has a different answer depending on what kind of "joke" you mean.

I'm dealing with one aspect of this question in my activity as a working comedian. I'm currently on my latest comeback and knocking out new material, which for my latest stand-up incarnation is stuff about REAL experiences, ideas, and feelings. Jokes... but with a point of view or something to say.

And in that version of the question, I'm actually OK. I feel like I know what I'm doing. I've got three journals of notes for new material, and I've got the "Killer Stand-Up Writing Guide" which is a brilliant guide to writing those kind of funny lines... or "jokes".

BUT... last Tuesday in my latest Comedy Writing class, I wanted to answer the same question for my students. I'd asked them to each bring along a copy of a joke - that they would have liked to have written themselves. Then I was going to try to tell them where their jokes had come from... so we might create more jokes of a similar ilk and quality.

THIS was not a wholely successful exercise. I quickly came to realize that the kind of jokes my students like - AND want to write - do not always support the same kind of analysis as the kind of jokes that I like - and want to write.

When the joke in question is just a long-ish contrived story leading to a surprise ending based on something titillating or even shocking... then there is NO obvious target or point of view... AND if we DO strive to see what is being laughed at in such a joke, it is often a deformed baby, a homosexual, or a penis in some situation. A long "knob gag" or - for any Americans reading - a long "dick joke".

Where do THESE jokes come from? Hard to say. Some say that these jokes are created in prison. But all I can say to help people who want more of these jokes is to advise checking out the the joke books in 'The Works'. I've bought a few joke books in there myself - for inspiration when writing sketches for Belgian TV.

By the way... Subject matter is not the issue. I LIKE shocking humour. I'm NOT adverse to knob gags... but I prefer short ones. Write about what you know!

Bill Hicks - Salvation.... Everything and More

2006-01-31T12:58:00.000Z

I've kind of ignored Bill Hicks in this Blog up to now. Strange really. He's the top Stand-Up Hero on my website. He's the comedian I listen to most. But I suppose I'm thinking about him and his work so often that it feels like I'm writing about him every day. So that's why I haven't actually done it.

Until now. I think it's worth saying a bit about the latest audio CD release "Salvation - Live in Oxford" - a COMPLETE UNEDITED two-hour performance from Bill's tour of the UK in late 1992. I emphasize that because 'samples' - you can hardly call them 'highlights' - of this show have already been released as "Shock & Awe". That album now becomes redundant, because their selection was based less on quality and more on whether the material was a duplication from previous CD releases.

Yes. Much of "Revelations" and "Arizona Bay" is here on "Salvation". The duplication on the new album is hardly a problem though. In fact it's a GOOD thing. What we've been given here is as close to a "Bill Hick's Greatest Hits" album as we've ever had, and what's more, this is a continuous performance getting an enthusiastic response - the British audience are actually laughing! - rather than edited bits and pieces from different times and places.

All the regular routines from this period of his career are here... Rodney King, L.A. Riots, Drugs, the Presidential Election, Terminally Ill Stuntmen, Kennedy, Marketing, British food, and Snooker. Plus there's familiar stuff that survives from 1980's Hicks. But there's more. The curse of marketing leads to a new bit about Joe Eszterhas, and there's a recurring theme about how we are all becoming 'puppet people' for our governments. There is much that's new for Hicks fans to savour.

There's plenty more to say about Bill Hicks right now. The new "Sane Man" DVD has also arrived recently, and that's another posting waiting to be written. Stand by.

Ian Cognito... Worth Another Chance

2006-01-29T19:31:00.000Z

How could I not go along? Stratford-upon-Avon is familiar territory for me, and Ian Cognito is a comedian I've been waiting to see. From what I'd heard, he's one of the few 'wild men' of the UK comedy club circuit, if not the wildest of the lot.

What a disappointment!

What I was presented with was a chap in a business suit wandering on and off the stage, SHOUTING at the audience, with a pint of beer permanently in his hand and never far from his lips. Occasional trips to the bar, into the audience and onto table tops was unconventional but seemed rather forced.

His manner reminded me of the stage show that Warren Mitchell used to do as Alf Garnett, especially the way that any big laughs he got were followed by a moment of smug grinning and posturing with his beer glass.

One or two of his lines were sort of controversial and challenged the audience, but they were swamped by lots of crap wordplay and old gags I had heard before... which makes me question the origin of the good lines too.

But for all my criticism of Ian Cognito, I know that the real problem on Thursday evening was that I hoped for too much. I suppose that I'm spoilt in knowing the work of US comedians like Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks, George Carlin, and closer to home, Jerry Sadowitz... and I wanted a performance of their power and authority.

So... I'm going to give Ian Cognito another chance.

I'm looking forward to seeing him again... on a day when my hopes and expectations will not get the better of me. Today I checked out his website and downloaded his book "A Comedian's Tale" which I can see will be an enjoyable read on my PC monitor over a few glasses of beer when I'm not working.

I like anecdotes about the comedians and comedy club circuit of the last fifteen years, and it will make a change to be reading about it rather than trying to write about it.

I'm doing my best!

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN???

2006-01-25T23:39:00.000Z

I have... today... in the pub... and previously over the last eleven years in many other places, with and mostly without his Balaclava.

I decline to mention his name - like Superman, Batman, and Lib Dem MP Mark Oaten, he has multiple identities known to many people - but he is a comedian and philosopher of sorts... and one could suggest that he is a key player in West Midlands comedy... but not legitimately, of course.

Today I met him openly in a pub within two hundred miles of Nuneaton, and we talked openly of many things, most of which I have long since forgotten.

However, one tangible result of this meeting is a paper napkin on which is written a shared list of the our favourite comedians alive and working... as GENUINE comedians... NOT full-time B-list celebs or second-rate actors.

I'm sure you'd like to know what names are on this sacred document. Arranged in a rough pecking order, they are:

Jerry Sadowitz
George Carlin
David Cross
Billy Connolly
Ricky Gervais
Lee Evans
Ken Dodd
Ivan Stewart
Mark Thomas
Mark Steel
Mick Miller (HIS choice only)
Billy Pierce (HIS choice only)
Eddie Izzard (MY choice only)
Dave Dinsdale (MY choice only)

But wait a minute??? IS Dave Dinsdale still alive and working as a comedian?

Let's hope so.

I Like Books. I Like Preston Sturges.

2006-01-24T14:21:00.000Z

Yes. I like books. I also like DVDs, but books have always been a part of my life, and I'm sure that will always be the case.

At any time there will be about six books that I'm working my way through at different speeds. Now and again, a new book will take over my reading time exclusively - like the Eric Morecambe book I got for Christmas - but generally I have a selection of books that I get back to as the whim takes me.

My favourite books are those that are by or about the creative artists that I like in comedy or drama. Oh yes! Drama too... Dennis Potter, Willy Russell, Harold Pinter, Alan Bennett, Alan Bleasdale, Alan Plater etc. etc... Lots of Alans it seems.

But NOT... I repeat NOT... Alan Ayckbourn! I've tried... I've been to three or four of his plays in the theatre, but they were all very painful experiences. I can never work out what the other people in the audience are laughing at. I'm not saying that those people are wrong. I'm just saying that I don't get it myself.

But... Back at the books, the latest one that I've come to the end of is "Madcap - The Life of Preston Sturges" by Donald Spoto. And if any of you comedy fans out there don't know who Preston Sturges is, or don't know his work... then you SHOULD.

Preston Sturges was the writer and director of a series of comedy movies, most of which are amongst the best of all time. He started as a screenwriter in the 1930's, and by 1940 his stature was such that he could induce Paramount to let him direct one of his own scripts - "The Great McGinty".

This was a great success, and led to his golden period. Between 1940 and 1944, he wrote and directed a further seven movies: "Christmas in July", The Lady Eve", "Sullivan's Travels", The Palm Beach Story", "Triumph Over Pain", "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek", and "Hail The Conquering Hero".

Those of the above that remain are all brilliant, but "Triumph Over Pain" is lost. The completed film was taken out of Sturges' hands, edited, chopped up, mixed around, and made into a disappointing movie called "The Great Moment".

This brought an end to the relationship Preston and the Paramount studio. From 1945 till the end of his life, the choices he made in his personal and professional life led to diminished creative output, and a rapid fall from grace, and his death in 1960.

But the quality of those movies from 1940-1944 remains. My favourites are "The Lady Eve" and "The Palm Beach Story" - with which many other movie critics agree - and I wholeheartedly recommend them and the others to anyone who loves great comedy, especially great dialogue.

Go on... Treat yourself to the DVD Box Set.

Comedians... Class Comedy and Class Drama

2006-01-21T21:16:00.000Z

Evening. A classroom. Six adult students... there to learn about comedy. The teacher is an experienced comedian... determined to promote comedy as a progressive art form in which real feelings and ideas about life are shared and explored... and equally determined to condemn the abuse of comedy as cheap entertainment based on slick technique, stereotyped characters, contrived wordplay, and prejudice.

No... That teacher isn't ME at Stratford-upon-Avon College in 2006, although I share those values. That teacher is Eddie Waters, in the Manchester of 1975. It is the play "Comedians", written for the stage by Trevor Griffiths, but also produced in a version by Richard Eyre for BBC television in 1979.

I have seen the play on stage, but it is the TV version that I've been prompted to dig out of my home-recorded video collection and watch again, after one of my students mentioned it in this week's class in Stratford. I wasn't thinking of introducing my students to this play, but I'm now thinking that I will.

It is a serious play, not completely authentic, but truthful about what it says about the choices that comedians are faced with, and illuminating for anyone interested in comedy. I've probably watched it more than a dozen times, and I still finding it absolutely compelling.

I can do no better than leave my own words here, and devote the rest of this posting to Eddie Waters' address to his students, imploring them to take the right choice for their future as comedians. I only wish all comedians were listening.

...If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times. We work through laughter, not for it. If all you're about is raising a laugh, OK, get on with it, good luck to you, but don't waste my time. There's plenty of others as'll tek your money and do the necessary. Not Eddie Waters...

...It's not the jokes. It's not the jokes. It's what lies behind them. It's the attitude... A real comedian - that's a daring man. He dares to see what his listeners shy away from, fear to express. And what he sees is a sort of truth about people, about their situation, about what hurts or terrifies them, about what's hard, above all about what they want.

A joke releases the tension, says the unsayable, any joke pretty well. But a true joke, a comedian's joke, has to do more than release tension. It has to liberate the will and the desire. It has to change the situation...

There's very little won't take a joke. But when a joke bases itself upon a distortion - a stereotype perhaps - and gives the lie to the truth so as to win a laugh and stay in favour, we've moved away from a comic art and into the world of cheap entertainment and slick success... You're better than that, damn you. And even if you're not, you should bloody well want to be...

...A joke that that feeds on ignorance starves it's audience. We have the choice. We can say something or we can say nothing. Most comics feed prejudice and fear and blinkered vision, but the best ones, the best ones... illuminate them, make them clearer to see, easier to deal with. We've got to make people laugh till they cry. Cry. Till they find their pain and their beauty.

Comedy is medicine. Not coloured sweeties to rot their teeth with.

So Far... Even Better

2006-01-18T13:02:00.000Z

Last night was the second class of my current Comedy Writing course at Stratford-upon-Avon College.

It went very well again, and the group seems to be coming together, sharing their thoughts and questions about comedy, and most of all enjoying the experience of being amongst like-minded people.

The group are already being creative in class. The exercise with the cartoons resulted in some good new jokes, and even multiple jokes about the concept of 'Happy Hour' that could have been combined into a stand-up routine.

From this week the class seems to have extended. The two hours at the college last night were followed by an hour or more in The Bell at Shottery. I think I can live with that. No need for overtime payments.

Next week, I know that we will be practicing telling humorous anecdotes and ideas of our own (including ME), and talking about sitcom development. I can hardly wait! I bet you wish you were coming too.

Geoff Pontificates: 1) Joke Technique

2006-01-17T15:44:00.000Z

I have a rotten time. At one o'clock this afternoon I was laying back in a hot bath, accompanied by jazz music, a glass of beer, and an A4 sheet of cartoons blu-tacced to the wall beside my head - to look at and think about. Such are the ordeals of the presenter of an evening class in Comedy Writing.

Tonight is the second week of my latest ten week course, and we will be continuing an exercise we started last week. I issued the sheet of cartoons, with the task of identifying the 'comedy idea' behind each cartoon, and adapting and improving that idea to be presented purely verbally as a joke that could be told by a comedian.

So... to be half a step ahead of my pupils tonight, that's what I was thinking about in the bath... most of the time. Plastic ducks are very distracting, aren't they? But I did the work, and I thought you lot out there might be interested in this stimulating process.

So... to illustrate and illuminate, see the two selected cartoons above.

Right let's take the first one. What's the 'comedy idea'? Not difficult. It's simple wordplay. THIN hair and THIN body. A diet should result in a THIN body, but not THIN hair.

NOW... With a wordplay joke like that, an important technique is to make sure the key word or words come as near to the end of the joke as possible. And I think the key word is not THIN but HAIR. That's the word that creates the surprise in the 'punchline', after hearing about the diet in the 'setup'.

So I think the new joke:

I've been on a diet for a year, but the only thing that's got thinner is my hair.

is marginally better than:

I've been on a diet for a year, but it's only my hair that's got thinner.

Think about it. Am I right? It's a poor joke however you tell it, but even a poor joke can be made as effective as possible.

And what about the second one. What's the idea? Again not difficult. The wife is waving her husband goodbye in the morning, but so is the milkman. Infidelity in marriage. A classic subject for humour. And with the MILKMAN!!... Top cliche.

So how can I tell that one? How about:

Every morning when I leave for work, my wife always waves me goodbye... So does the milkman.

But here we have the opportunity to employ another technique... the 'topper'. That's when a joke appears to have finished, but following the punchline there is another line to extend that joke. Some sort of escalation or the addition of a more controversial element.

So with the topper the joke becomes:

Every morning when I leave for work, my wife always waves me goodbye... So does the milkman... I wouldn't mind so much, but from the bedroom window??

Well... I'd like to say more, but I'm running late. Time to go out and teach some Maths. Aren't I versatile?

Lenny Bruce: Busted... The Ultimate End to a Gig

2006-01-15T22:36:00.000Z

Any comedian will try to find a good ending for their performance - preferably something dramatic, which is the culmination of what has gone before. Lenny Bruce always found this difficult for himself, but that's where the police came in.

When I say "where the police came in", the police actually came in, went onto the stage and arrested him. This was a regular occurrence for Lenny Bruce wherever he worked towards the end of his career, because after one state had decided that his act was obscene, it was difficult for another state to say that it was not.

On December 4th 1962, Lenny performed at the Gate of Horn in Chicago. The show that night was recorded... and that's the recording I've been listening to in bed some early mornings recently with my eyes closed. Well... You've got to do something when you can't sleep.

This is a recording that needs more than one listen without distractions. This is not an accessible comedy album of selected and edited segments to be easily enjoyed. This is an unedited performance, often hard to follow, with diversions, dead ends, interruptions, and walkouts... including whole tables of the audience leaving... and not quietly.

This is not Lenny Bruce as crowd-pleasing comedian, whose prime duty is to get five laughs a minute. This is Lenny Bruce as Lenny Bruce, who feels free to talk about anything and everything he wants to talk about... even if he defies the standards of the time... and defies the audience to laugh.

Religion, the police, politics, sexuality, marriage, the death penalty, the Holocaust, the H-Bomb, war crimes, infidelity, race, the Kennedy's, homosexuality, Rock Hudson, and drugs.

And that's when the police start to walk towards the stage. Lenny sees them. He knows what to expect. One last and hasty improvised 'bit' about a possible escape, and he is escorted from the stage. We hear a few bars of distant music, before somebody flicks a switch and the recording has ended.

It's usually light in my bedroom by now. Time for a cup of tea, and a little reflection on stand-up comedy... then... now... and in the future... hopefully MY future.

Max Wall... True Comedian

2006-01-14T22:06:00.000Z

Max Wall was a master of comedy. A modern audience for comedy may not know him or his work at all, but if they do he is most familiar for his eccentric dancing and the grotesque faces he could pull. But for anyone who can recognize good comedy and a true comedian, there was always more to him than that.

This is the conclusion I have come to after studying the video I recorded of the Channel 4 'Heroes of Comedy' tribute from a year or two ago. I watched it last night while sitting at home nursing a twinge in my back, and was captivated by him... so as there's so little worth watching on Saturday night telly, I've watched it twice more tonight.

Max was born in 1908. His father was a comedian, his mother and step-father performers also, and Max became familiar with all the great comedy performers of that era, such as Little Tich, Robb Wilton, and the clown Grock. He brought all their influences to his own work, as he was always ready to admit.

By the 1940's he was a successful stage and radio performer. Then in the mid 1950's he reached the peak of his success with the West End stage musical "The Pajama Game", but at that point marital problems and scandal in his private life interfered badly with his career, as it could in those days.

By the 1970's, he had been reduced to working in working men's clubs and doing the bits and pieces of variety TV that he was offered. But the recordings that exist from that time show a comedian who was genuinely ahead of his time - a phrase that is so often abused.

As the best comedians do today, he doesn't slavishly stick to a script or a particular character or style. He worked inside, outside and around his material - his comedy instinct always being more important. He continually commented on his own technique, performance and his imagined reaction of the audience. Plus he still had his physical stuff to add to the brew.

It's sad there's so little dangerous, unpredictable comedy and true comedians around us today. A visit to your local comedy club can be a depressing experience. Flipping the remote control tonight just demonstrates how bland television is. What is one to do?

Easy... I've still got that tape in the VCR. The next thing I've got recorded on it is 'Derek & Clive Get The Horn'. That'll do until it's time to go to bed.

The Barbara Nice Situation

2006-01-12T23:47:00.000Z

No... That's not the title of a new show on primetime ITV... Thank Goodness!... Such a title would seem to imply something about the content of such a show that would not make it essential viewing for me.

Oh... There I go again... Slagging off that nice Barbara Nice... Isn't it terrible?... And no... This isn't the first time. I've been making a habit of this. You should have SEEN the shocking things I wrote on my home-made website about her. (Sorry... but if you want to read them, they've gone now.) I seem such a nice chap, don't I? You would have thought I'd have come to my senses by now.

But I haven't.

Anyone who is interested and involved in comedy as I am will have opinions about it. What they like. What they don't like. Who they think is good. Who they think is... not good. And all I'm doing is expressing those opinions - Sharing my views with anyone who wants to read them, who perhaps have views of their own, and may even be more inclined to share their own views in future.

Especially people on the comedy club circuit. Perhaps then we can get away from this terrible culture there seems to be among comedians that their egos are all so fragile that genuine views about each other's acts should be repressed and replaced by the compulsory mutual back-slapping that you hear in back rooms or "comedian's corner" at every comedy club. "Oh... You were good!" "Oh.. And YOU were good." Never mind how many laughs they got.

Unfortunately for my popularity on the circuit, that's NOT what I tend to say to (and about) other comedians, and it seems to come as rather a shock to them. Especially ones who are far more successful than I am. What a shame.

And what DO I think about Mrs Barbara Nice? Simply... It's an old-fashioned comedy character, deeply boring to me, clearly not to others. I think Hilda Baker did it better. Ten minutes of an act like that I can comfortably sit through, but half an hour or MORE in one show! Come on!! I think audiences deserve better... but again, that's just MY opinion.

In fact Barbara is INCREDIBLY popular with some comedy critics. A review in the Scotsman said that she is "as hilarious as it is possible to get." A very good review, and I'd only change one word of that.

She is popular. But what I'd say to anyone who thinks that popularity is an indication of quality is this: What is the most popular daily newspaper in this country???

By the way, it's only the Barbara Nice character I don't like. I have genuine respect for Janice Connolly, the successful writer and actor who performs it. She done some very good things. She's worked with Peter Kay. She's been on Coronation Street.

So how long will it be before this latest unprovoked attack of mine on Mrs Nice brings an inevitable response? Well I'm ready. What I say is this: What level of fascism am I dealing with?? Is it that I shouldn't be EXPRESSING my opinions, or that I shouldn't HAVE opinions??

Right... Which successful comedian shall I slag off next?? I know... Silky. No... Just a joke. He's very good... Only I think Jasper Carrott did it better.

So Far... So Good

2006-01-11T00:53:00.000Z

So... My new Comedy Writing course has started, and the first class went well. In fact it was... "first class" (JOKE!)

I've got six (perhaps seven) students, and that worked really well with the plans I'd made. The two hours went very closely to what I'd hoped for. I'm really pleased, and confident that everyone will come back next week.

One of the group is Steve Jackson, who I've known for a good few years. After the class we stopped at the Wharf Tavern in Hockley Heath for a pint... on our way back to Dorridge and Solihull respectively.

What a conversation we had!... Tonight's class, Hovis Presley, poetry, Stephen Fry, my stand-up comeback, Steve's greetings cards, the similarity between the Solihull News and the Solihull Times, Steve's dead sitcoms, Barbara Nice, Janice Connolly, and artistic integrity and how it stops you being successful. And then it was 10.55, so we decided to go home.

Right... Tomorrow I'd better start planning next week's class.

New Year... New Opportunity

2006-01-10T12:55:00.000Z

I'm back! Happy New Year to all my readers. I've spent a relaxing Christmas holiday away from home, but now I'm here again, and getting back to work.

The photo shows where I'll be tonight. It's the first meeting of my latest course of Comedy Writing evening classes at Stratford-upon-Avon College. This is the first course for a few years, and I'm pleased to be doing it again, and will be trying to make this the best so far.

There's more information on my home-made website Geoff Parfitt Online, and if you're interested in seeing what the classes are like, I am happy for people to visit one week to see if they might like to enrol for the following term.

Stand by for more out-of-sequence postings about Christmas. There was lots of comedy on the telly that I want to talk about.

Jimmy Carr... The new Bob Monkhouse??

2005-12-20T11:26:00.000Z

At the British Comedy Awards last week, Jonathan Ross made a good joke about there being one day next year when Jimmy Carr isn't working. As with all good jokes, there's truth at the heart of it. Jimmy does pop up on the telly quite often - mostly short-lived quiz shows, or as a droll cynical presenter for those endless "100 Best @@@@ Moments" programmes.

For @@@@ read 'Christmas' / 'Horror' / 'Easter' / 'Game Show' / 'Reality TV' / 'Humourless' / 'Boring' / 'Repetitive' / etc. I've actually sat through one or two of those shows. When there's three hours of your life that you want to lose with no cultural or intellectual benefit to yourself, there's no better way to do it. It can't be long before we have "100 Best Jimmy Carr Moments".

How has Jimmy risen to this height of TV stardom?... Simple... Through his earlier success as a stand-up comedian. In the mid 1990's I was often at new act gigs and competitions where he was on, and I know how hard he worked. I overheard him saying how many comedy clubs he went round every night trying to get as much stage time as he could.

He was spotted by TV talent scouts, and after much more hard work on his part he must now be one of the "Top 100 TV Celebrities". I did a search on his name on blogger websites, and he is incredibly popular. He's got lots of young girlie fans. You know... The ones who hang around stage doors and book signings, hoping to have their photo taken smiling inanely next to their favourite B-list celebrity of that day.

Steve Allen makes a good point about TV success in his book where he discusses the great comedy talent Jonathan Winters... who DIDN'T have much success on TV. The point is that it isn't great talent that gets you major success on TV. The most success goes to bland performers with lesser TALENT, but great VERSATILITY.

We've seen in on British TV before, with the omnipresence of Bob Monkhouse, Bruce Forsyth, and Des O'Connor while great comedy talents like Max Wall and Chic Murray have had a very low TV profile.

Anyway... a few days ago, Channel 4 showed a Jimmy Carr stand-up concert film from 2004. I was thinking of buying that on DVD, so that's saved me £14.99. I recorded it, and have now watched it a couple of times. I don't think I'll keep it though. I'm not that sad.

As a comedian, he is actually a very effective writer of jokes based on language and other cliches of modern life. He also knows how to get extra laughs from subverting his conservative look by talking dirty. He seems quick-witted in his chatting with the audience. I appreciate the comedy he does, but I don't actually laugh at comedians who rely so heavily on joke technique any more.

These days I want a comedian to bare his soul for REAL... REAL feelings, REAL thoughts, REAL experiences, REAL problems.

SO WHY DON'T I DO THAT???

Note: That is a rhetorical question. No cruel suggestions, please.

Death in Rugby

2005-12-19T15:49:00.000Z

If you're going to die as a comedian, a Sunday night in Rugby in front of a small audience is probably a good place to do it.

And so it was. The boring details are these:

Date: Sunday 18th December 2005
Venue: Style (Wine Bar)
Location: North Street, Rugby
Compere: Demitris Deech
First Act: Roland Gent
Half Spot: Geoff Parfitt
Headliner: Ian Stone

The painful details are these. Last night was my worst gig experience for a long time. I can't say how it compares exactly with bad gigs I've had in years gone by, because those memories don't come back easily - Thank God - and I'm not going to try to find them.

There was a small audience in a small room. Not a bad room for comedy by any means. But... half the audience were very drunk, and not very receptive. This I had been told by Roland Gent after he went on first. Then, just before I went on a new drunk arrived, and decided it was HIS job to interrupt me every few seconds.

I don't deal with that sort of problem very well. I never have, and the reason is... I haven't ever really tried to deal with it. The token efforts I made to shut this guy up last night were too late and too feeble. I had made the mistake of trying to ignore him and get on with the material I wanted to do.

It's a bad mistake, and one that I need to try not to repeat if I want to be serious about working on stage. The lessons I need to learn in this regard however will not be learnt at home reading a book. I will have to face many of these arseholes before I become adept at dealing with them.

So how does this leave my much heralded new set?... Still untried for the most part, coz I only got through about half of it before I had to give up on it. But I sensed that there was a section of the audience that like the stuff I did get to do. There were laughs!

But the failure as it was makes me think that this material and style is too gentle, particularly for demanding audiences. I need to keep working on new stuff in a variety of styles... and I WILL! Roll on 2006 and more gigs!

Woody Allen... Respect!!

2005-12-18T10:06:00.000Z

There was a new interview with Woody Allen on BBC1 this morning.

He obviously felt obliged to do it, as he's making movies in the UK now, and he has a lot of fans over here... still. But when he's pushed onto Parkinson or the like of today's programme, his heart is never in it. He grits his teeth, plugs his latest film as much as possible, and gets through it without revealing any more about himself than he can avoid.

But it doesn't matter. All you need to know about Woody Allen is his talent as a creator of good comedy. He has made some of the best comedy movies of all time, and he was an interesting stand-up performer too. He knows how to construct effective jokes as well as anyone ever has. Oh... and his books of prose from the 1970's are wonderfully funny too.

I don't make a big effort to watch his movies of the last twenty years, but I don't avoid them if they come on TV. But when I feel low and want to indulge myself for 90 minutes, I put "Stardust Memories" or "Manhattan" into the DVD. All the movies before those are good too... Of course I don't include "Interiors" in that statement.

On the same show this morning, Rory Bremner did another of his live political monologues.... Embarrassing! I think I could hear two people in the studio laughing - clearly forced.

Spike Milligan... Respect!!

2005-12-17T21:15:00.000Z

A few minutes ago I was watching a new programme on BBC2 - "I Told You I Was Ill: The Life and Legacy of Spike Milligan"... made by Australian TV.

As ever, when I am watching or even just thinking about Spike, there is a feeling of AWE. I have looked up that word, and that is what I mean. What he did is so important to me. I like DANGEROUS comedy and DANGEROUS comedians, and he was the first and perhaps the best.

One momentary clip of him tonight made me laugh more than the one-hour show from a currently succesful comedian I watched this afternoon. Who that currently successful comedian is I won't reveal, but stand by... There'll be a blog about that show coming soon.

Learning from George: 2) On Location with George Carlin (1977)

2005-12-17T15:21:00.000Z

Tomorrow sees my historic gig in Rugby, where I will try to re-invent myself - at last - in terms of being a stand-up comedian, working with a new selection of material in a different style. OK... I know I'm the only one who thinks this is worth writing about... but this is my blog, and I'll write what I want to.

That's a good idea for a song: "It's my blog site, and I'll write what I want to, write what I want to, write what I want to. You'd write this too... if it mattered... to... you."

Anyway... As I've said in earlier blogs, my current plan is to work in a similar style to George Carlin in the 1970's. To guide me, I've started listening to the audio albums from that period, and that helps with voice work and delivery, but I thought it should be helpful to also SEE George working that way.

So yesterday and this morning I've been watching my DVD of George's first HBO Special from 1977 - "On Location with George Carlin". This is his earliest concert performance available on video.

He is playful from the very start. Even before he has spoken, he tries to get laughs from the mic lead. He doesn't seem completely comfortable, and talks about being nervous - which seem quite genuine. A new phase of his career is starting... after the age of 40!

He begins as gently as he can, with observations of shared modern life. The comedy of common experience. Stuff he's done on his albums, which he knows is reliable, and very audience-friendly. He clearly feels the need to get off to a solid start.

He tries so hard to be visually funny that his mimes are probably too exagerated, and to me sometimes distract from the material. Not everything he does works, but the encouraging audience lets him miss a few times as long as keeps trying to come back with another hit.

Unfortunately, some of the observations seem inane to me in 2005. Dogs and cats! I ask you. I suppose it's not his fault that subject has been done to death since then... to such a degree to make that a comedy cliche in itself.

In the middle of the show, George takes time out to do his contrived news items - showing his mastery of set-up punchline jokes. This is encouraging for me, coz I've got material like that which I would like to use again if I can find an effective context within my set.

What George Carlin also does that no other comedian has done to such a degree is to analyse language. Not just phrases, but individual words. And things like oxymorons (look it up if you don't know what it means!). The stuff that flies by in our daily lives, that we all accept without thinking about it.

There in practice we have a principle that George talks about when describing how to create comedy - "Anything we ALL know about, nut NEVER talk about... is FUNNY."

George ends this show with his stuff on language concerning "the words that can't be used on TV." Here we have another principle in practice. Leave your most controversial or edgy material till last, because you won't be able to follow it.

I haven't played this DVD for a while, and I'm very glad I did. Watching this performance has been helpful in showing how I might work in performing my new set tomorrow. Simply put, I think the essence is to try for a relaxed conversational style, talking TO the audience rather than AT them.

Easier said than done. Let's see how it goes tomorrow.

Little Britain... Little Comedy

2005-12-16T18:50:00.000Z

I watched Little Britain today, for the first time.

I recorded it last night, coz I thought I should see a show all the way through, after their second successful year at the British Comedy Awards. Of course, like everyone else who watches TV at all, we can't avoid watching bits of Little Britain. Well... It is the latest fad, so it's hard to get away from it.

And I DID force myself to watch it all the way through... but although I could hear laughs coming from the telly, I couldn't find any of my own.

So... What is it like? It's a sketch show recorded on film, with high production values. The characters are a group of grotesques who do and say the same things whenever they appear - a sort of cross between 'Fast Show' and 'League of Gentlemen'. The humour comes from insult humour, and shock - mainly references to gay sex.

It all has the whiff of drama students about it. Lots of energy and flashy visuals, with something gross or semi-shocking before quickly starting a new bit.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams are clearly good performers and particularly good at these types of characters. I saw Matt work at the start of his comedy career. We did try-out gigs together about 1993. He was doing his Sir Bernard Chumley character.

I won't be making the effort to watch Little Britain again, but rest assured I'll still get to see the best bits over and over again... like it or not.

Until a new fad comes along.

British Comedy Awards 2005

2005-12-14T23:43:00.000Z

Tonight the British Comedy Awards were on telly. I watched (or listened to) it while I was writing my Christmas cards.

Most of the awards were predictable - Little Britain, The Simpsons, and Little Britain again, etc... but there were some guests to laugh at - Jade Goodie, Chico (who??), and Carol Thatcher.

Jonathan Ross was good as usual. I enjoyed the Gary Glitter joke... "being shot in January". I just hope it's a better show in two years time, when I'm there to collect my Best Newcomer award.

What's the difference between Malcolm Hardee and Jesus?

2005-12-14T14:34:00.000Z

A day and a bit ago, my previous post was a short tribute to one of my stand-up heroes, Richard Pryor, whose death I had just heard about.

While checking out Chortle for further news of Richard's death, another name was sharing the headlines, albeit lower on the page. In a few weeks time, a benefit show is to take place At Hackney Empire on behalf of the family and creditors of Malcolm Hardee. And it seemed rather fitting that they were on that page together.

Richard Pryor and Malcolm Hardee... What's the connection? IS THERE a connection? YES! For me, both men were bastions of truth and honesty in comedy, in the midst of the insincerity, dishonesty and blandness of most of their peers.

Next month marks the first anniversary of Malcolm drowning in the Thames... on the way home to his boat... allegedly still clutching a bottle of beer. I only worked with Malcolm three times, but I saw more of him than that, and I was always impressed.

Finding out about Malcolm's early life reveals that he was clearly a man with anti-social tendencies in terms of his criminal activities. But in terms of his work in comedy, I see him as a far more honest and truthful man than is the norm for people on the comedy club circuit.

Not for him the mutual backslapping, and the giving of praise that isn't due, to ensure return of the same. There seemed to be an honesty of "I'm just a bloke with a comic sensibility being MYSELF... NOT an actor or drama student doing an ACT."

I first met him in Norwich in December 1992. I was in the audience at Norwich Arts Centre. Malcolm was compere that night, and John Thomson had not arrived, leaving the show without sufficient comedy entertainment. We were told that he was the victim of a car breakdown or something. I now suspect that John was in a pub somewhere.

So up I stepped! I went to speak to Malcolm offstage and offered to do ten minutes. I'm loathe to call this a mistake, but it didn't go brilliantly, and it is a decision that I did regret a few months later when I went to Greenwich for my first Up The Creek Open Spot.

The key moment of my Up The Creek debut was my introduction from Malcolm. He'd bought me a drink beforehand, and I got the feeling that he was feeling thankful towards me for steeping into the breech in Norwich.

But... the key words of his key introduction that night are these... "I've worked with this chap before..." and this is where I expected the thankful words to come... "..and he was shit then, and he'll probably be shit tonight." With those words still hanging in the air, I approached the stage. I need say no more about that gig, but I forgive him.

I had actually prepared a special introductory joke for this Up The Creek gig... "What's the difference between Malcolm Hardee and Jesus?... Jesus is dead."

When I wrote that joke, I saw it as a comment on the unforgiving nature of Malcolm, calling a shit comedian a shit comedian... but now that joke has found a better meaning. Like Jesus, Malcolm had that quality of dealing with people with respect, i.e. with truth and honesty... even if that did make him tell the audience I was shit before they had the chance to find out for themselves.

Malcolm would never know the comedic influence he has had on me, but if he had seen me as compere at the Black Horse in Aston, Birmingham in 1995, introduce an act then go off to heckle him myself from the side, I'm sure he would have given me respect for that.

Even if Malcolm did think I was shit.

Richard Pryor is Dead

2005-12-12T12:53:00.000Z

I heard this morning that Richard Pryor is dead.

As with all the best comedians, his legacy is not only his own work in comedy, but also of the ones who came after him whose work he influenced - by showing just what is possible. I'm thinking particularly of Bill Hicks and Eddie Izzard.

His use of multiple voices and the way he populated the stage with other characters while standing alone was ground-breaking, and it's hard to name any comedian who has done better.

So Farewell Richard Pryor. Later today I shall have a beer in hand and will be drinking to you.

Any excuse.

Two Nights at the Theatre - The Canterbury Tales

2005-12-11T13:38:00.000Z

This week I've been back at the theatre - twice. Both times it was the Swan Theatre of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. The first time it was "The Canterbury Tales - Part 1". I didn't realize it was only "Part 1" when I booked it... but anyway... we enjoyed the show... so the next morning we booked tickets to see "Part 2" three days later.

The Canterbury Tales in dramatic form is an abridged adaptation of the original verse by Geoffrey Chaucer. This production has been a major project by the RSC - the work of the writer Mike Poulton, three directors, and two assistant directors - resulting in over five hours of theatre. After seeing the first half, I already knew that the project was a great success. The second half confirmed it.

This is a work comprising a series of many tales told by pilgrims, within the framing story of their journey to Canterbury together. Having different characters telling the stories results in a wide variety of tales - some melodramatic, some comic, some bawdy, some very dark. Consequently the show itself is not purely a comedy, but there is comedy in large doses, and these were the best parts for me.

The writing, direction, and performances employ elements that we would accept and expect from a thoroughly modern comedy-drama. We have understatement and exaggeration in the language, coincidence and misunderstanding in the plot, and stereotypes for characters, all topped by the use of props, mime, and the most expert slapstick.

The language can be difficult, especially at first before you get used to it. The translation has retained a strong flavour of the original verse, but for the most part the story and dialogue can be easily followed.

Some of the strongest comic moments come from the engineered incongruity between the ancient origin of the verses, and the modern dramatic adaptation. The character of Chaucer regularly comes on stage to introduce, comment on, combine with, or even interrupt the tales being told. It is the Chaucer character who most brings the modern world into the drama, as when he transforms himself into a rap artist or Marlon Brando.

But the biggest laughs of the show are faithful to the original text, and demonstrate how little comedy has changed in six hundred years. Then as now, sex is the best basis for a comic story, the human condition is the best subject for a joke, and a dirty joke is always more effective than a clean one.

And the most effective jokes of all don't even need words. All we need for a guaranteed laugh is a randy old man chasing an innocent young girl, a bare bottom or three, or the noise of a loud fart.

Damn! I've just given away the three best bits of the show.

Learning from George: 1) FM & AM (1972)

2005-12-10T16:26:00.000Z

In eight days time, I shall have another gig, and I am determined to write a new set, using material of a different style to the contrived gags that have been 90% of my act in recent times.

The stuff I'm looking to do this time will be playful but based on real life - the modern world that I share with the audience. I have my journals of notes for all types of stand-up material, and I've started to pick out the bits to develop and put together.

So... What else can I do to prepare for putting this new set together? Well... I have a great collection of recordings of my stand-up heroes, performing in all styles. They have done so well in the past the type of comedy I want to do now. I need to learn from them.

Who will be the best teacher for the stand-up style I want to use right now? No question... George Carlin. But NOT the ultra-angry George Carlin of today or plain angry George Carlin of the last twenty years. I need to go back to the gentler George Carlin of the 1970's and early 1980's.

In my Carlin collection is the CD boxset "The Little David Years" which covers his multi-album output for that period, and the best place to start is certainly "AM & FM", for which George won his first Grammy award. So this week, I've been playing it again.

For me, this was the first time I had heard a comedian work with such a natural and relaxed playfulness, in contrast to the slick precision that most comedians used - and still use. I see George as the pioneer of playful stand-up in a variety of styles that remain the choice of the best comedians since then.

1) Firstly - and most importantly to me right now - there is the playful use and analysis of everyday language. George takes the speech and other language we use and experience, and looks at it and plays with it without the shackles of accepted meaning and use. We see words and phrases we know very well in a new light.

Within this material is the first stirrings of the style later majored by Steven Wright, where cliches of speech are cleverly adapted, combined and put in a context that defies accepted logic. As Steven will do later, Georges does here, enhancing the comic effect by using a particular voice. And this is continued by newer acts today. See Anthony J. Brown on the current UK comedy club circuit.

2) Next, there is the playful observational humour of everyday modern life. This has clearly been an influence on subsequent modern stand-ups - a style made very familiar by Jerry Seinfeld, in his stage work AND even within his hit sitcom.

Unfortunately, this style is the one that has been abused so much by less imaginative comedians, so the now-cliched stand-up phrase "Have you noticed..." now triggers the "Oh No!" response from me, as it must do with others who love good comedy and hate the bad. But when it's done well, this is the comedy that really unites comedian and audience.

3) George shows how to playful with your own life. In this album he uses genuine anecdotes about how he moved away from his earlier incarnation as a safe mainstream comedian, towards becoming the hippy-fied "Real George" as he was then referred to. An interesting example is how he used rhyming material with some audiences to deal with his new look of beard and long hair.

By the way, there's a good account of this stage of Carlin's career in Phil Berger's book "The Last Laugh" about post-war stand-up comedy in America. I looked through it while writing this, and I'm looking forward to re-reading the whole book.

4) Sneaked into this album is also some more socially-aware stuff on alcohol and drugs, but this is not pushed as far as will do in the rest of his career. A low-key preview of things to come.

5) To fill out this album, there are also the remnants of the more acceptable stand-up George had been doing for many years in Vegas casinos and the like. So we have stereotypical comedy characters like his radio DJ character, mocking the same cliched DJ-language that Smashie & Nicie will later be doing in the UK.

And there are spoofs of TV game shows, so expertly written and presented that it sounds like somebody acting out a Monty Python sketch on their own. Monty Python is my comedy first love, so I mean that comparison as a real compliment to George.

There endeth my long-bearded analysis of this album. For my current lesson from George - to help with building my new set - I shall focus on the first two of these styles - "language" and "observational" - but I shall certainly be back to learn more from George - not only this 1970's George Carlin, but the 1980's, 1990's... and even 21st Century George.

Ryan & Ronnie??

2005-12-04T17:14:00.000Z

Last weekend I was in North Wales. On the Friday evening I went to see a play - "The Life of Ryan... and Ronnie"... at the Galeri in Caernarfon. It was an enjoyable show.

Ryan Davies and Ronnie Williams were that famous comedy double act from the 1970's, who had great success on stage and TV.

Wait a minute! Famous? Successful?... I'd NEVER heard of "Ryan & Ronnie" but... apparently... they were very big for about seven years - working initially and mainly in their native Welsh, but also doing three TV seies in English for the BBC between 1971 and 1973. I can't remember seeing them. There must have been something better on ITV.

The play is about the creative activity and creative tension that takes place within the life of a busy comedy double act. I particularly enjoyed hearing the pair talking in their off-stage scenes. Comedians talking always engages me, especially if I'm one of the comedians talking.

The scenes of them on-stage clearly couldn't have the resonance for me that they would for anyone who remembers the real Ryan & Ronnie. But in those parts, I was enjoying the play in a different way, learning about comedians I didn't know though a re-enactment of their work.

This play is the latest in a series of plays in recent years that explore the life and work of real-life comedians. I'm thinking of the Lenny Bruce play "Lenny" by Julian Barry, "Hancock's Last Half-Hour" by Heathcote Williams, and David Benson's play and performance about Kenneth Williams.

There have also been the two tribute or celebration type shows in the last few years, about Morecambe & Wise - "The Play What I Wrote", and Tommy Cooper - "Jus' Like That".

I have an ambition to write for the stage at some point, and this play had made me think about what comedian or comedians I might write about in dramatic form. Lenny Bruce has been done. Others of my heroes are still alive. The show "Bill Hicks - Slight Return" was at Edinburgh in 2004 and 2005... which I haven't had the chance to see yet.

That doesn't leave me much choice right now. Oh well... Max Wall it will have to be, but who the hell could play the main part??

Two Momentous Gigs: 2) Lenny Bruce in San Francisco - August 1965

2005-12-04T00:37:00.000Z

The DVD played on. While I was considering my own momentous gig of the night before, another momentous gig was proceeding before my eyes.

I'm a Lenny Bruce fan. I know about Lenny Bruce, and I know about 'The Lenny Bruce Performance Film'. I know the circumstances under which the film was made, and the circumstances of Lenny's life and career at that time. Consequently, my expectations for this performance were low.

But from the very start... he's good. Not brilliant... but good. Unfortunately, good is such a come-down for Lenny Bruce. And the performance is not helped by the way it is filmed. Lenny is never seen in full figure, which tends to be the best way to show stand-up. The dim lighting was also as strong as Lenny's eyes could stand.

He looks rather chubbier than in his prime, and the trademark sharp suit has been replaced with looser clothes to hide his bulkier body. But THIS IS Lenny Bruce performing on film, and it is because so little of this exists, this this film has the fascination it does.

Lenny is working with a document in hand - a transcript of one of his prosecutions - and the bulk of his performance revolves around what this contains... How what he has said and done in nightclubs has been misrepresented by the legal system of America.

And this main section of his performance works remarkably well. He knows the points he wants to make, he easily find the sections of the transcript he needs, his vocal technique is still very much in evidence, and he is FUNNY.

But very soon, we see what is lacking in this Lenny Bruce. The incisive mind may still be there, but the playfulness is gone. While discussing the law, he talks about mime artists losing their "freedom of speech". What an opportunity! He misses what could have been one of the best laughs of the night.

But even this adequate performance can't be sustained. The end is heart breaking. An obligation of this performance was that Lenny reproduce some of the classic routines of just a few years earlier... and suddenly he tries.

Very sad. He can't do it. He can't reproduce his original passion or delivery of those bits. Maybe he can't remember. One routine lasts a few seconds, before he tries another. Important lines we know should be there are missing. Lenny is clearly in trouble.

It is like watching one of those "peace officers" he earlier criticizes for hopelessly trying to portray Lenny Bruce the performer in court. Without the real Lenny Bruce speaking, these famous routines quietly die a death.

Eventually the performance dwindles to a close. Lenny goes to a side door, and improvises some lines to passers-by. We can't really hear what he is saying, and it seems embarrassing to try. After a minute or so, the door allows his escape.

This was Lenny's next to last nightclub performance. Within a year he will be dead.

Two Momentous Gigs: 1) Geoff Parfitt in Lichfield - December 2005

2005-12-03T21:41:00.000Z

Yesterday morning. 9am. I take a cup of tea and a banana back to bed, to begin easing myself into the day.

There is much to think about. The night before had been my gig in Lichfield. While I start to chew over that - and my banana - I decide to watch one of the new DVDs that has arrived from the USA this week. My choice is 'The Lenny Bruce Performance Film'. The machine accepts the disc, and we are away. Back to my bed and my banana.... and my thoughts.

So... What happened last night? The boring details are these:

Date: Wednesday 1st December 2005
Venue: The Stroke Comedy Club
Location: George Hotel, Bird Street, Lichfield
Compere: Tom Binns
Opening Act: Rob & Scatz
First Half Spot: Geoff Parfitt
Second Half Spot: Rick Giddings
Headliner: Jack Cowley

Rob & Scatz went on first and did their songs. Then we had a break. I came next. We all had to come on the stage from double doors at the back of the small stage, that led from the kitchen. That's show business. After me came Rick Giddings. Then we had another break. Then Tom read out entries for the joke competition. Then Jack came on, did his 45 minutes, and we were done for the night.

Was I any good? Not muchly. Not good. Not terrible. I got the laughs my old bag of tricks usually gets. I fucked up here and there. I disappointed myself. I lost confidence a bit. Skipped some gags. Wrapped up early. The same sort of performance I can usually rely on doing. Not good enough to get me anywhere. Not bad enough to stop me getting more unpaid gigs.

BUT NOW for the bit that makes this gig so important. This will have been the last gig before I finally reinvent myself as a comedian. I've decided. If Madonna can reinvent herself, so can I.

Fifteen years of work and research has given me great knowledge about how good and bad stand-up comedy can be. I've learnt a lot from watching and listening to the great and the not-so-great practitioners of the craft. At the same time, fifteen years has seen so little improvement in my work on stage, when I know so much that could have made me such a better comedian.

So let's go for it.

From now on - Real material about Real life. Real thoughts. Real Feelings. Real Experiences. No more crappy, shallow, superficial, contrived jokes, with no meaning... I think. I might mix it up a bit, I suppose, like George Carlin used to do in the 70's. But that's not Plan A.

It's so exciting to feel that I'm moving forward. I don't want to go back.

Steven Wright has a Pony... I had a Bath, and have a Gig

2005-12-01T01:07:00.000Z

Tonight - an hour or so ago - I was having a long relaxing bath, listening to the Steven Wright album 'I Have A Pony'. I didn't laugh once... or more.

That's actually surprising for me. I am long-standing admirer of Steven Wright's work as a comedian, and I DO physically laugh at comedy that appeals to me even if I've heard it many times before. I play the same Bill Hicks tapes in my car day after day to great satisfaction.

I hadn't listened to 'I Have A Pony' for years and as I suspected, my taste in comedy has changed... or developed. My admiration for Steven Wright remains, but my appreciation of his work from the position of a listener has markedly declined.

So why DID I dig this album out while my bath water was running tonight?

Well... By this time tomorrow I will have done my gig in Lichfield and should be back home. For this gig - as with NEARLY all the gigs I've done in the last few years - I'm once again (through laziness) compromising my desire to do truthful intelligent material, and will be churning out my repertoire of contrived jokes.

To be fair, these jokes aren't bad. I have developed my skills in constructing set-up punchline gags... most of which are in a similar style to Mr Wright's work. So... on the thought that it might be helpful to my technique when telling my own jokes tomorrow, I thought I'd listen to him telling his jokes tonight.

I used to be such a fan of Steven Wright. When I was studying his style and technique years ago and creating jokes in his mould, I would play around with possible titles for my first one-man show at Edinburgh. 'Steven Wright Couldn't Make It' was my favourite. For a couple of gigs, I even tried to talk like him.

But as a comedian and lover of comedy, I've moved on. To me now, the best comedy has a strong grounding in real life - real thoughts, real feelings, real experiences. Strong comedy technique in contrived superficial jokes has it's place, but it's no longer first place with me.

But (through laziness) I shall be on that stage in Lichfield tomorrow - or rather, later today - reciting my contrived superficial jokes. But whatever the success - or lack of it - of that performance, my hope is that soon I can finally let go of my comedy ties to Steven Wright and his style.

Before future gigs let's hope I have a different comedy guru to listen to in the bathroom, to guide my style and technique.

Yes... Bill Hicks.... or George Carlin... or Sam Kinison... or Billy Connolly... or Eddie Izzard... or Richard Pryor... or Lenny Bruce... or...?

Buster Keaton... First Thoughts

2005-11-29T11:26:00.000Z

I pride myself on having a wide interest in comedy, with a resulting wide knowledge. But one area where I still have much to experience and learn about is early silent film comedy.

There are the three acknowledged geniuses of the genre... Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. Currently, my DVD and video collection is without any of the celebrated works of Chaplin or Lloyd, but I do have a package of nine Keaton movies (three features and six shorts) that cost me £3.44 from DVDPACIFIC.COM - a website by the way which I would recommend when buying Region 1 DVDs from the US, for good service and great value.

I have already seen the Kevin Brownlow documentary 'A Hard Act to Follow' and 'Steamboat Bill Jnr' which are in my girlfriend's video collection. This morning I was having a cup of tea in bed at 5.30am, and decided that the short time before returning to sleep could be quietly spent getting better acquainted with with Buster. I started with the earliest short in my DVD package - 'The Boat' (1921).

I enjoyed it. I can't say that I actually laughed, but visual comedy is less likely to have that effect on me than great dialogue. Many of the physical and visual gags in the movie looked familiar - mainly from the dialogue-free work of Eric Sykes ('The Plank' etc.) and especially Michael Crawford in 'Some Mothers Do Ave Em'. Now I know where it was all stolen from.

Like all great comedy characters and performers, Buster Keaton has his very own look, mannerisms, and movements. In the midst of an eventful, dangerous world, he maintains his reactionless face. There is his trademark delayed reaction, before extreme bursts of energy. His character is forever inventive, and snaps into action, with an innocent confidence that anything he attempts will succeed.

Now I'm looking forward to my next early morning cup of tea, when I want something peaceful to watch for twenty minutes. I can further enrich my experience of the visual comedy of Buster Keaton, before returning to sleep and my dreams of becoming the new Bill Hicks.

What's Happened to the Bear?

2005-11-20T11:50:00.000Z

It happened like this. This week I got an email from Ken Jenkins who organizes the Stroke Comedy club in Lichfield, where I'm doing a spot next Thursday. He asked me if I would put a link to the Stroke website on MY home-made website.

You see, I've got a page for Midlands Comedy - where I show a summary of the current comedy club venues in Birmingham and nearby, plus links to their websites. Thus I was prompted to update that page of my website, and do it properly - check for new venues to include, and check the ones already on the page, and delete the dead ones.

That's when I knew for sure something that I sort of knew already. There was no news of any comedy going on at The Bear.

The Bear Tavern in Bearwood, Birmingham has been putting on live comedy since 1989, when Frank Skinner was regular compere. In those days it was called the XXXX Cabaret, and the promoter was Malcolm Bailey. By about 1991, Frank had gone to be replaced by Alan Davies.

My first visit to the XXXX Cabaret was in mid 1992, by which time Alan had also departed. Before the end of 1992 - 22nd October to be exact - I had done MY first spot there. That night Bob Mills was the headline act - doing his genuinely great stuff on the prospect of the Olympics in Manchester - and Tim Clark was MC. Malcolm Bailey was still in charge, but before long, he had gone too.

In the thirteen years since then, comedy at the Bear has continued on and off, never being off for too long. The shows have been organized by such household names as Nick Bonneau, Rob Wilkinson, and others. In recent years, local acts James Cook, Dan Smith, and Andy White have all had a hand in keeping it going.

There have been times when the standard of the entertainment has dwindled. I remember being in the audience one night when the show was continually being interrupted by the sound of people laughing in the bar downstairs. Not a good sign at a comedy club.

I must admit that I myself have never had as good a response from audiences in Birmingham as I have in London - where I first started as a comedian. After I'd done five gigs at The Bear, I prepared the following joke for my next spot. "This is the sixth time I've performed here at the Bear. I'm planning to turn the story of my previous five gigs here into a movie... I'm calling it "Four Funerals and a Funeral".

I've done about seven or eight gigs there up to now, the last being in December 2004. This year I heard that Andy White had handed over the organization of shows to Karen Bayley to be part of her Comedy Junction chain of comedy clubs. And now, a few months later, there is no news of the Bear Tavern on their website. And you know what they say... "No news means live comedy at the Bear seems to have been discontinued".

Let's hope that comedy returns to the Bear Tavern soon. As I know myself, it has been a great place to see good acts from the national comedy circuit, and also for giving stage time to locally based performers as they work their way up the comedy ladder.

And I'm thinking of one locally based performer in particular... I haven't got any gigs lined up after next week.

The Aristocrats

2005-11-16T13:34:00.000Z

Last Wednesday afternoon I treated myself to a trip to the movies. I saw 'The Aristocrats' at the Picture House in Stratford-upon-Avon... A great way to spend an hour and a half between lunch and starting work for the day. On saying that, this seems like a good time to tell you that my day job is as a self-employed private tutor in mathematics, and many days I don't start work till 4pm. Envy me as much as you like. It's a great life.

I'd been looking forward to seeing this film, if only on DVD when it becomes available in January, and my hopes were high. Luckily, I never let my expectations get to the same heights as my hopes. My hopes were high, my expectations high-ish. As I expected, my high hopes for the movie were not reached, but my high-ish expectations were surpassed. I love to hear comedians talking... as I like to myself... if I can find other comedians who are willing to talk with me or even just listen to what I've got to say.

I knew that this was a documentary film where a large cast of comedians talk about one particular joke... "THE ARISTOCRATS'. What this joke is you can find out for yourselves, but I'll warn you that the punchline has already been revealed in the name of the joke, so don't expect that surprise element - so crucial to a punchline - to be as evident as you would like. And therein lies the particular interest and fun that creative comedians find with this joke. The surprise element of the punchline is not as important as the effectiveness of the set-up, and the effectiveness of the set-up in this case is directly proportional to the level of sexual perversion and detailed scatological description that can be combined in such a way as to most disgust and revolt the listener. Lovely!

By the way, the principle within a joke that the set-up is more important than the punchline - is actually true for ALL jokes with a punchline. The punchline of a joke needs to be what it is, but there is great variation possible in content and phrasing of the set-up to make the punchline as appropriate and yet surprising as possible. (For more discussion and explanation of this fascinating comedy theory come along to my Comedy Writing evening classes at Stratford-upon-Avon College. The next ten week course starts on Tuesday January 10th at 7pm. To enrol, phone 01789-266245.)

I knew that this film featured a cast of many well-respected and successful comedians, mainly from the US. In particular George Carlin featured, my Number One Stand-Up Comedy Hero. George is an important presence in this film, but two of my other stand-up heroes, Billy Connolly and Eddie Izzard, make contributions, although less significant. Billy seems happy to talk about the joke, but not get his hands dirty by telling the joke himself. And I'll need to see the film again to try and discover what Eddie was saying - or trying to say. His interview seems to be cut repeatedly and haphazardly while he was in mid-flow. This film was also the first opportunity for me to meet many US comedians who until now I knew only by name, reputation, or second-hand anecdote... People like Shelley Berman, David Brenner, and Don Rickles.

This feels like a man's movie... because as I've had to explain to my girlfriend - "men like dirty jokes". The major female contribution comes from Phyllis Diller, who seems to be there purely to do her trademark laugh, and.. I'll have to check out the DVD later to check if she said anything of interest. But the movie did give me my first encounter with Sarah Silverman, who in her short segment does get into the spirit of the joke. Since then I've become more familiar with her stage work after finding some streaming video clips on the internet of her new concert movie that's showing in the US.

My only real complaint with this movie is that it is too short. I would have been content to sit with it for as many hours as they had got available footage, and hopefully more will be offered in the DVD package. That DVD will be excessively viewed after it arrives in the New Year, and rest assured I shall develop my own version and delivery of that famous joke - "The Aristocrats".

What's Happening?

2005-11-14T12:15:00.000Z

So... What's happening? What am I doing right now comedy-wise or - MORE USUALLY IN MY CASE - what SHOULD I be doing if I could summon up the purposefulness I should have.

Well firstly, I have a gig to prepare for. On Thursday 1st December, I'm supposed to be doing a ten minute spot at the George Hotel, Lichfield. And when I say 'supposed' I WILL be there... unless the show is cancelled or something happens that against my will stops me from getting there. In other words, I'm not going to back out.

The problem is... what am I going to do, set-wise? As ever, I'm determined to prepare an honest truthful set of intelligent material - NOT the contrived setup-punchline stuff I always end up doing. I have two weeks and a bit. I need to get busy thinking about what I WANT to talk about, decide what it is I have to say about whatever that is, and see if I can make that funny. It sounds so simple, but my life is SO FULL of distractions. Anyway, I will see what happens, and hopefully having to report back here will help.

What else is on my 'TO DO' list? There's my new Comedy Writing course starting in January. I have broad plans for the ten weeks, and I have more developed plans for the first week. I should look ahead and plan some activities and work for other weeks, but I'm quite confident that my exact plans will build from week to week. Or in other words, that's my excuse for putting off doing too much work right now.

Anything else I want to do or should be doing? YES! My sitcom idea that'd been around for about five years (which I'm not revealing too much about as yet) seems like a good project to develop based on what's been successful on TV of late. The two Ricky Gervais series' 'The Office' and 'Extras' have shown that successful comedy characters no longer have to be as politically correct or have a heart of gold that will lead them to do the right thing in the last five minutes.

And it's not just here in Britain that this has happened in sitcom-land. HBO in the US certainly started the ball rolling with Larry Sanders, and are keeping up the good work with Larry David's 'Curb Your Enthusiam'. I finished watching the second series on DVD this morning while I was eating breakfast in bed.

I suddenly seem to get an idea why I don't get things done.

Where do I stand?

2005-11-14T10:25:00.000Z

A week from today, I will be 48 years old. I know that's old, but that's how old I am, and as much as I don't like it, I'm not going to be getting any younger. So as much as I'd like to be making plans for my life starting at 25, 30 or even 40 years old... I can't! I have to make plans that start from where I am, not where I'd like to be.

So where am I as my life stands comedy-wise?

I have been actively doing bits and pieces in comedy - as writer and performer - for about fifteen years now. I did my first gig as a stand-up at the beginning of November 1990 - at Try-Out Night, Downstairs at the King's Head, Crouch End. So... fifteen years and about 250 gigs later, how far have I progressed as a working comedian?

Not as far as I'd have liked - certainly. But how far? I'd like recognition and respect from other comedians - and, hard to believe, I think I do have (have had?) that to some degree. But no breakthrough in impressing audiences or promoters. No regular paid gigs doing over ten minutes sets.

Do I still hope for that? Sort of... although I'm quite sure that I'm not temperamentally suited to driving round the country doing one-night stands to audiences who wouldn't know progressive intelligent stand-up comedy if they saw it - and what's more - wouldn't like it if they did see it.

Does that make me sound bitter? Yes... but that's only because I am. By the way... I'm not saying that I can actually DO progressive intelligent stand-up comedy, but when I dream of doing regular paid gigs, I extend the dream to doing good work like my heroes would - George Carlin, Eddie Izzard, Bill Hicks, and friends. (For more on my heroes, go to my home-made website 'Geoff Parfitt Online'.)

And what about my claim to be a comedy WRITER? Well, so far in these fifteen years I have made about three thousand pounds from selling jokes and sketches. I haven't added it up exactly, because it's probably less than that.

These sales have been mostly quickie sketches for those progressive comedy heartlands of Belgium, Germany, and Wales. I have had sales to mainstream British TV, but one sketch for Hales & Pace, one more for Freddie Starr, and simple stuff for Children's TV is not much to boast about.

ALTHOUGH... I HAVE made it into the latest edition of the 'Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy'. There I am on page 317 (and the index on page 888) for my contribution to that ground-breaking show 'Giggly Bitz!' for Children's ITV.

I suppose the best recognition I have had as a writer is from the gags I sold to Bob Monkhouse. These were primarily for his banter with the contestants on his lunchtime BBC1 quiz show 'Wipeout', but he did use a joke of mine during his spot of a prime-time Friday evening BBC1 entertainment show, hosted by Jim Davidson. I didn't keep a video of that, because I didn't want that to be the pinnacle of my career as a comedy writer. I wish I'd recorded that.

But let's not forget my comedy TEACHING. Since 1999, I have put on a few courses of evening classes in Comedy Writing at Stratford-upon-Avon College - plus one failure at trying to get being get started as performers. After a break of a couple of years when I couldn't get the students, I'm due to start another ten week course in Comedy Writing on Tuesday 10th January 2006. Enrolment information is on my website. Don't delay. The class might be full!

First Blog

2005-11-11T20:26:00.000Z

I've just set up my blog, and this is me having my first go at it. I've set this up thinking that this will be my way of sharing my thoughts and experiences in the wonderful world of COMEDY. God... I sound like an anarak (spell check please) already.

No thoughts or experiences to report right now. Later!