HumourUS

Humour US the serious business of comedy

The Alternative Issue Dan Mitchell Sarah Bridgeman

Contents

what we are all about 02 STEP UP TO THE

MIC

Meet the team

e love writing. We love comedy. A W magazine that pu ts these two toge wh th

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er is at we offer. This iss ue of HumourUS the gamut of alter runs native forms and aspects of comedy – not the the unexpected... usual punchlines but

ATIVE 03 THE ALTERNrah Bridgeman Interview with Sa

E 04 CENTRE STAG il Davies Interview with Ne

We look at the un derbelly of what m the funny man or woman… humou akes rous well as how the int ernet has created , as a new breed of funny fo lk.

MEDY

05 DARK SIDEkeOFillnCO ess bearable?

Can humour ma

MOUR 06 VIRTUAL HU medy? ernet changed co How has the int

07 WHAT A SHff’sOW comedy circuit A taste of Cardi RE

WHE 08 WHAT IS ON ary to March 2016 s to hit from Janu The best show

Image credit: Cover — Dan Mitchell, Sarah Bridgeman. Back cover— Tom Stade, The noise next door, Mark Watson, Contents — MomentCam

step up to the mic

Neil Davies and Sa their tales of being rah Bridgeman share on latest dose of show stage. Also, get your s and venues you hit from January need to to March 2016.

Finally in the word s of Porky Pig, “T Th-... That’s all, fo h-Th-Thlks.” Now go have a read.

Meet the team — What comedy tickles their funny bone?

AOIFE ‘SARCASM’ BENNETT

EUGENIA “WORD PLAY” FERRER

RIVAN “DOUBLE ENTENDRE” RS

LAUREN “STAND UP” PHILLIPS

AMANDA “SATIRE” PETERS

The dry wit you find in it is just like my own sense of humour. I love Jack Dee for his really dry sense of humour. His selfdepreciating style is just like my own.

I enjoy play on words and the creative (intentional or unintentional) use of language.

Stephen Fry, Woody Allen and Oscar Wilde are my favourites.

I love puns. They make me chortle.

I also enjoy the occasional dadjoke and double entendres. Bill Bailey and Robin Williams are the comedians I like.

Lee Evans’ Wired and Wonderful show and Alan Carr’s Tooth Fairy Live show are my favourite. I love the facial expressions they pull on stage.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is legendary. I am in awe of his research into glaring problems in our society and the witty skill used to present them.

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The Alternative Page Three Page Three - but not as you

know it

Funny Fatale

Sarah Bridgeman tells Aoife Bennett about the trials faced by female comedians

n opinion long held is that women comedians aren’t funny. Cardiff’s comedy scene is the perfect rebuttal.

Swansea comic Sarah Bridgeman is particularly keen to abolish this belief.

“It’s complete bullshit,” Sarah argues. She can list at least hundred women who make her howl with laughter and she still has not covered the majority.

Sarah focuses on observation for her act. A natural storyteller, she eases into her interview quickly. But she has been doing this for years, “Comedy is how I interact with my family.”

Sarah started comedy classes in Swansea to encourage more women to try their hand at it. At a recent show in Cardiff, one of her protégés, Beth

A

“

I Comedy is how .” ily m fa y interact with m

Jones, was listed on the bill alongside her. The crowd’s reaction was testament to the class’ success.

The five workshops have clearly been a great confidence boost for those who attended. Her students say if it weren’t for the class, they would never be in comedy at all.

That’s not to say comedy isn’t without its downfalls; Sarah admits she has never been more aware of her gender since starting in stand-up six years ago. She says, “Whether it’s some guy going ‘Oh god, it’s so tough for women, isn’t it? You’ve got to work hard to get anywhere.’ Every single night I’ve been to, I’ve been made to feel aware that I’m a woman in some way, shape or form.”

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Image credit: Sarah Bridgeman, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki

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the scandal of the 1800s ankles everywhere!

ter

Centre Stage Neil Davies talks to Amanda Peters about the lighter side of having Parkinson’s

Mind over Mat

Francesca M artin Cerebral palsy ez:

Ted Shiress: Cerebral palsy Michael J. Fo

here are certain things you expect when you meet a comedian – a sense of humour for starters. And 56-year-old Neil Davies does not disappoint. The mild mannered grandfather of two walks into the cafe wobbly, but in no time has his audience in splits. He shows off his t-shirt that says, “I have Parkinson’s. I will try and shake it off.”

As he takes his seat, Neil introduces himself with a joke, “Parkinson’s is God’s way of saying, ‘Dance bitch!’”

He has been doing the Cardiff comedy rounds for the last two and a half years. His chosen brand – stand-up mixed with humorous poems, and music. What makes him special is his ability to deliver the punch line while suffering from Parkinson’s.

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DEBUNKING MYTHS Neil explains he got into the comedy circuit when another comedian, Dan Mitchell told him to write a set about Parkinson’s. Apart from looking at the lighter side of the condition, his act debunks a few

myths too. “It is often confused with Alzheimer’s disease, or people think you are dancing when you are crossing the dance floor,” exclaims Neil.

COMIC RELIEF For him, comedy is cathartic because no one but he knows what it is like to be trapped by “unseen bonds”. Humour helps to bring to light subjects that are taboo. “People come up to me to say that they are inspired or have a loved one suffering from the big P,” explains the comedian. “Comedy helps to openly talk about it.” Neil is often asked to do his act for people recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s. As some are often depressed, it works as a means to get through a trying time.

When asked if it really made a difference, with a gleaming smile on his face he replies, “If I can laugh about it after being diagnosed 14 years ago, then there is hope for everyone.”

He concludes with his often ‘fool proof’ coping mechanism, laughter.

Neil Davies’ book 32 Poems Mostly Humorous is available on www.blurb.co.uk

quick fir e

Biggest fear Forgetting m y lines

Greatest regr et Not starting comedy soon er

Talent you w ould like to have Play the pian o Current stat e of mind Manic Most treasu red possessi on Not a posses sion, but my grandchildre n

Image credit: evenbreak.co.uk, andina.com.pe, cynic.tedshiress.co.uk

x: Parkinson’s

The Dark

Side of

Comedy With a spotlight on the psychology of comedy, Lauren Phillips investigates if there is a dark side to the laughter? t face value, stand up comedy is one dimensional. You get up on stage, make people laugh and go home. Simple. But as recent cases show it isn’t simple at all.

Last year a report published in the British Journal of Psychiatry stated that those working in comedy have higher levels of psychotic personality traits. What do the local comedians have to say?

Image credit: TheeErin

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STAGE FACE Cardiff-based comedian Dan Mitchell explains the issue affecting the comedy circuit. “You find that a lot of comedians are the least confident people ever,” he says. “They put on this stage persona and they can get away with it for a while but then they shrink back again.”

The comedian has a stage face that they present as part of their act. Dan describes his stage face as an exaggeration of his own thoughts, “When people

laugh at them, I feel I have been accepted and can go home happy.” The comedian is both an extrovert and introvert looking for acceptance by making people laugh.

CATHARTIC NATURE Just like art, music and poetry, comedy is a creative outlet for the unspoken or taboo subject.

Local up-and-comer, Elliot Blake says he would always make jokes about his diabetes

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You mock the dise you’ve got and yo ase u’re belittling the dise ase.”

when he was younger. “You mock the disease you’ve got and you’re belittling the disease”, he says. Comedy allows you to poke fun at an illness to show how obscure and ironic it is.

Col Howarth, Crafty Laughs MC at the Cambrian Tap, says that the very act of writing comedy is not as spontaneous as it looks. “It’s cathartic bcause you can get it all down on paper,” he explains. “You live the character you want to live. You don’t have to be yourself.”

Comedy takes something dark – mental health and illnesses – and puts them into the spotlight to scrutinise and mock them for their absurdity.

BEST MEDICINE It can be generalised that all comedians are battling a hidden demon and must have an illness to want to make people laugh.

To laugh at something taboo can appeal to someone suffering from an illness. It is not comedy that has the dark side but the aspects of the human identity which stand-up makes easier to deal with. In essence, comedy becomes the best medicine.

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“

Oh, so they have computers now!”

internet on

- Homer Simpson

YouTube comedians Dan and Phil

Virtual humour Eugenia Melissen Ferrer explores jokes in cyberspace

Image credit: Dan and Phil, Chris McCausland

Many comedians are starting to use the internet as a creative tool. The rise of YouTube superstars has proven that vlogging is a convenient way to make millions laugh, but Vine, Twitter and Instagram are just as impotant.

FILMED FUN Vlogs and YouTube videos are intimate, fun and jokeappropriate. Dan and Phil are both in their late twenties and cover everything — from video games and discussions about the existence of aliens to live baking. They have their own radio show and are now touring the country with their new book, The Amazing Book Is Not on Fire.

Ben Philips (22), aka Online Prankster, is Cardiff’s main video blogger. He now has a Vine

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series starring a toddler giving fake medical advice and his own YouTube channel. Expect ketchup bombs and tooth pastefilled Oreos.

DIGITAL COMICS Online comics are easily accessible and sharing content is just a mouse click away. Everyone loves a web comic popping up in their news feeds.

Mat Troy (33) posts cartoons online. Active on Twitter, he has a continuing web comic called The Depressed Detective.

He’s not planning to quit online comedy anytime soon, he says, “Future plans include more comedy web content and probably a podcast.”

With so many new tools at their fingertips, the possibilities for comedians to share a joke have become endless. As long as you can share or tweet it, it’s bound to be good.

Chris McCau sland This blind comedia n pictures of what he posts thinks is there.

“

I thought I might as well start with the sea view from my flat window. Eig ht years I have lived here, I believe it’s beautiful.” @blindcomic

What a show A taste of Cardiff’s comedy laughs

Glee Club, The Bay - 21 Nove mber

he blend of Funk music played as the voiceover announced “bums firmly on seats”. MC Jarred Christmas warmed the audience up before the first act, Jamali Maddix. But Jamali’s material failed to hit the mark with the audience. The second act, Paul McCaffery, faired better. He hit the stage mocking his appearance leaving the audience in stiches. His relatable comedy and good improvisation won the crowd over. The final act was American comic Dave Fulton whose dirty and offensive humour divided the audience. To which Dave assured them the jokes would only get worse.

Show entry: £15.

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Image credit: Ewing Galloway

- by Aoife Bennett

mber

- by Rivan RS

- 20 November

rones offers a weekly comedy session that won’t cost the earth. Local acts Leroy Brito, Sarah Bridgeman, Beth Jones, Owen Niblock and headliner, Noel James, came in to test some brand new material, with Ignacio Lopez playing host.

You might recognise the songs featured in the show, but the lyrics are nothing like you would expect. Beth has songs you never knew you were missing. We all know how raucous a lad’s holiday in Marbella can be, but team it with Rihanna’s Umbrella for a local’s insight. Drones begins at 8.30pm in Chapter Arts Centre at just £3.50 at the door.

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O-Mete

oet Tim Richards performance gave great insights into life. Funny and naughty, Tim’s poems struck a cord with the audience by being relatable and humorous. His poems range from young people having sex in public to giving legal advice concerning living allowance for the differently abled. The coup de grâce was hilariously named “Fuck ‘Em” which taught the audience survival skills.

The event raised awareness of prostate cancer with proceeds going for Prostate Cancer UK.

- by Lauren Phillips

Drones, Chapter Arts Centre

Laugh-

PickNMix, GwdIHw - 24 Nove

P Jarred Christmas warms up the show with audience interaction

Reviews

Pick ‘n’ Mix offers a variety of comedy and musical acts

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What is on Where

An ode to

Humour US

Matt Forde

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A great night out,

When: 28 January Where: Glee Club Cost: £10

orde tackles some of the many great questions facing our country in the aftermath of the election

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Tom Stade

n't fall behind.

do

When: 28 January Where: Glee Club Cost: TBC oin Tom as he ruminates on life’s oddities and revels in his own perpetual shortcomings

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Tom Stade

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(p - by Neil Davies

The Noise Next Door Mark Watson When: 20 March Where: Glee Club Cost: £14.85 night of mind-blowing songs, jaw-dropping characters and side-splitting punchlines from the masters of off-thecuff comedy

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The Noise Next Door

When: 12 March Where: Sherman Theatre Cost: £18

I’M NOT HERE

ith Watson’s customary flailing and chaotic audience interactions, if you don’t come and see this, you will be missing out

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Mark Watson

Mark Thomas

TRESPASS

When: 2 February Where: Sherman Theatre Cost: £18

n odd mix of theatre, stand- up, activism, a dash of journalism and a dollop of mayhem. No one knows where this show is going to end up...

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