Juliette Burton: The Loveliest Revolution

Comedy has changed of late – stand up Juliette Burton takes a close look at the rise of loveliness

Blog by Juliette Burton | 02 Apr 2013

Back in the late 90s, Foster's Comedy Award nominees at Edinburgh Fringe were those traditionally cruel comedy knights (Rich Hall, Johnny Vegas, Al Murray). In the early noughties though, loveliness crept in; sometimes musically (Flight of the Conchords), sometimes surreally (Noel Fielding, Demetri Martin), sometimes in stories (king of loveliness Daniel Kitson).

In the last five years, nominees have been an increasingly long list of loveliness: 2009 – Tim Key, Idiots of Ants; 2010 – Josie Long, Sarah Millican; 2011 Josie Long (again), Meanwhile by Sam Simmons. But 2012 loveliness landed with a nominations list more lovely than a bubble bath filled with puppies: Pappy’s, Tony Law, Josie Long (again!), Claudia O’Doherty, James Acaster and, the winner, the slightly menacing, but still oddly lovely clowning genius Doctor Brown.

This style of comedy doesn't ‘get one over’ on the audience. It’s a pathos-fuelled ‘come with me on this journey’ escapism where the hero isn’t the comedian alone but the whole audience with them. The performer isn’t in conflict with the audience, rather befriending them.

The herald of this loveliness was the recession. Since it hit in 2008, we want to be not just diverted by comedy, but fully escape from the terrifying, double-dip-filled world we’re living in. We want to go on an adventure with our comedy hero – like Claudia O'Doherty in Telescope, Sam Simmons in Meanwhile and Pappy’s in their Last Show Ever. We want to be welcomed into an imagined world that helps us feel safe, uplifted and renewed.

The recession also caused us to re-consider what and who we can trust. We can't trust banks, we can't trust the economy, we can't trust to keep our jobs; but we can trust loveliness.

Last year The Boy with Tape on His Face kept on selling out his 700 seat venue at the Edinburgh Fringe. When his show ended with hundreds of red balloons falling on stage, I came away so gleeful I felt like a child again. And children have an untainted ability to trust: right now we need to cling on to whatever helps us rediscover that.

There are still the traditional knights of course. Adam Riches and Nick Helm were both Foster's Award nominees in 2011 and both are brash, bullish and confrontational. And of course, there's the cruelty comedy king; Frankie Boyle. We do need them. We need those brave knights to attack politics, religion, racism, the recession and deal with our anger for us.

Lovely Comedy deals with what lies beyond anger. The Boy With Tape on His Face may not attack politics, religion, racism, the recession or anger directly but he shows us the alternative. He brings an audience together in childlike joy.

Traditional stand-ups can rip things apart but lovely comedy pulls us together again. It can help us remember our gleeful selves and rediscover that part of us that believed in knights, didn't know what a recession was and trusted anyone who gave us a bright red balloon.

All hail the new comedy cavalry. Long live loveliness.

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More on Juliette Burton at Edinburgh Fringe Festival:

'Look at Me' Juliette Burton Fringe show review / Juliette Burton interview for Fringe show 'Look at Me' / 'When I Grow up' Juliette Burton Fringe show review / Juliette Burton: How to crowdfund a Fringe show / Mace and Burton at Fringe: Rom Com Con / Fringe review of Rom Com Con by Mace and Burton

Mace & Burton's Rom Com Con is at the Frog & Bucket, Manchester on 3 Apr. Doors are at 7pm and tickets are £6/£5 http://maceandburton.com