|
Alternative Cabaret
Alternative Cabaret was a collective of politically motivated performers and musicians. It was set up by Tony Allen and Alexei Sayle in the summer of 1979 shortly after they had met at the newly opened London Comedy Store. They quickly recruited comedians Jim Barclay, Andy de la Tour and Pauline Melville; plus folk duos Chisholm and Stevens and Gasmask and Hopkins, and jazz salsa band Combo Passe. Echoing what was already happening in a few fringe theatres, most notably the Albany Deptford and the Half Moon Mile End, members were encouraged to open regular club nights under the name Alternative Cabaret in pub function rooms, student union bars and community venues around London. The flagship Alt Cab night was run by Allen and Sayle in the back bar of the Elgin in Ladbroke Grove, between August 1979 and May 1980. While always an adamant non-member Keith Allen was a regular guest at many Alt Cab club nights. Among other regular guests were Maggie Steed and Arnold Brown. The non-r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Allen (comedian)
Tony Allen (born 4 March 1945) is an English comedian and writer. Best known as one of the original " alternative comedians", Tony Allen's artistic career had taken many radical turns before he temporarily abandoned his Speakers' Corner "Full-Frontal Anarchy Platform" in May 1979 for the stage of London's Comedy Store. Two months later he founded Alternative Cabaret with Alexei Sayle and ran a regular "Alt Cab" Club night in the back bar of the Elgin pub on Ladbroke Grove. Plays In 1973, Allen was co-founder with John Miles of Rough Theatre and co-wrote and performed in all five of its productions. The most memorable was ''Dwelling Unit Sweet Dwelling Unit'' (1973)—which he later adapted for BBC Radio 4's ''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' (1977)—and ''Free Milk and Orange Juice'' (1976), which had a short run at the ICA. During the seventies Allen wrote three more radio plays including an Afternoon Theatre play, ''Two Fingers Finnegan Comes Again'', co-written with Vernon Mag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alternative Comedy
Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe content that was an "alternative" to the mainstream of live comedy, which often involved racist and sexist material. In other contexts, it is the nature of the form that is "alternative", avoiding reliance on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt has defined it as "comedy where the audience has no pre-set expectations about the crowd, and vice versa. In comedy clubs, there tends to be a certain vibe—alternative comedy explores different types of material." In an interview with ''The A.V. Club'' after his performance in the 2011 comedy-drama film ''Young Adult'', Oswalt stated: I had come up out of that whole alternative scene, which was all about, "Don’t try it, man. Just go up and wing it. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Collectives
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term originated in ancient Greece: in Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing '' agon'' or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses which en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Genres
Comedy may be divided into multiple genres based on the source of humor, the method of delivery, and the context in which it is delivered. These classifications overlap, and most comedians can fit into multiple genres. For example, deadpan Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant to be blun ... comics often fall into observational comedy, or into black comedy or blue comedy to contrast the morbidity, or offensiveness of the joke with a lack of emotion. References {{DEFAULTSORT:Comedic Genres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gargoyle Club
The Gargoyle was a private members' club on the upper floors of 69 Dean Street, Soho, London, at the corner with Meard Street. It was founded on 16 January 1925 by the aristocratic socialite David Tennant, son of the Scottish 1st Baron Glenconner. David was the brother of Stephen Tennant who was called "the brightest" of the "Bright Young People" and of Edward Tennant, the poet who was killed in action in World War I. Before Tennant This elegant house, 69 and 70 Dean Street, a pair of Georgian residences, was built on the Pitt estate in 1732–1735 by John Meard, the carpenter who helped standardise the Georgian town house. *Later occupants of No. 70 included : :* Sir William Wolseley, 5th Baronet, 1734–5 :* Robert Marsham, second Baron Romney, 1736–40 :* Sir Thomas Wilson, knight and 'agent', 1761–74). *Later occupants of No. 69 included : :* George Wandesford, 4th Viscount Castlecomer (1687–1751), in 1750; :* Sir John Wynn, 2nd Baronet, 1755–73 :* Baron Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batcave (club)
The Batcave was a weekly club-night launched at 69 Dean Street in central London in 1982. It is considered to be the birthplace of the Southern English goth subculture. It lent its name to the term Batcaver, used to describe fans of the original gothic rock music, who would adorn themselves in Batwing coffin necklaces to distinguish themselves from other goth clubs. The original Batcave ran for five months every Wednesday from 21 July 1982 at the Gargoyle Club in Soho, moving out when the upper floors were sold off that December. Originally specialising in new wave and glam rock, it later focused on gothic rock. Olli Wisdom,Lowey, NickIn The Batcave With Mr & Mrs Fiend: Alien Sex Fiend On Goth & Marriage''TheQuietus.com''. 8 September 2010 the lead singer in the house band Specimen, ran the night with Specimen's guitarist Jon Klein as art director, and initially with the assistance of production manager Hugh Jones. Famous regulars at the Batcave who came for meeting friends ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saturday Live (UK TV Series)
''Saturday Live'' (retitled ''Friday Night Live'' for the 1988 series and 2022 one-off special) is a British television comedy and music show, made by LWT and initially broadcast on Channel 4 from 1985 to 1988, with a brief revival on ITV in 1996. A few one-off editions have also been screened sporadically, including a contribution to the BBC's 1993 Comic Relief telethon. It was based on the American sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' although it had no direct connection to the show. The series made stars of Ben Elton and Harry Enfield, and featured appearances (in some cases first television appearances) by Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, Patrick Marber, Morwenna Banks, Chris Barrie, Julian Clary, Emo Philips, Tracey Ullman, Craig Ferguson, Craig Charles and many others. The show featured comic duo Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall in their act The Dangerous Brothers. The introductory theme was an original composition by Paul Hardcastle. History All episodes were transmitted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Comic Strip
The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders, with appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane, Alexei Sayle and others. Early history Two double acts, Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall under the name " 20th Century Coyote" and Nigel Planer and Peter Richardson as "The Outer Limits", started performing at the newly opened Comedy Store in London in 1980, alongside compere Alexei Sayle who had been resident there since the Comedy Store opened in 1979. Concurrently Richardson searched for a venue to mount a play he had produced with Michael White. He planned to run the Comic Strip late at night after the play's performances. He sourced the Raymond Revuebar in Soho, but reali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Comic Strip
The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders, with appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane, Alexei Sayle and others. Early history Two double acts, Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall under the name " 20th Century Coyote" and Nigel Planer and Peter Richardson as "The Outer Limits", started performing at the newly opened Comedy Store in London in 1980, alongside compere Alexei Sayle who had been resident there since the Comedy Store opened in 1979. Concurrently Richardson searched for a venue to mount a play he had produced with Michael White. He planned to run the Comic Strip late at night after the play's performances. He sourced the Raymond Revuebar in Soho, but reali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raymond Revuebar
The Raymond Revuebar (1958–2004) was a theatre and strip club at 11 Walker's Court (now the location of The Box Soho nightclub), in the centre of London's Soho district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-frontal, on-stage nudity of the sort commonly seen in other cities in Europe and North America. Its huge brightly lit sign declaring it to be the "World Centre of Erotic Entertainment" made the Revuebar a local landmark. In 1980, the Boulevard Theatre section of the venue was hired by comic actor Peter Richardson (actor), Peter Richardson to stage his alternative comedy revue, The Comic Strip. This attracted a younger Punk subculture, punk audience to the venue. In 1989, the Boulevard became Eddie Izzard's stand-up venue. In the 1990s, the Revuebar struggled, with its dated image and competition from newer venues such as Spearmint Rhino and Stringfellow's. The name and leasehold was bought by Gérard Simi in 1997. The Revuebar closed on 10 June ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arnold Brown (comedian)
Arnold Brown (born 1936, in Glasgow) is a Scottish Jewish comedian, one of the main figures in the alternative comedy scene of the early 1980s. Originally an accountant, Brown worked hard at live standup, until he found a knack of presenting observational comedy in a slow, meandering but entertaining style. He won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1987. His catchphrase was “And why not?” He quotes the highlight of his career as supporting Frank Sinatra on stage in Glasgow's Ibrox Park. He can be seen on: the original Julien Temple film ''The Comic Strip'' (1981), performing live on stage; the film '' Comfort and Joy'' playing a psychiatrist in a manner reminiscent of his stand-up style; ''The Comic Strip'' television series (1982 on) in various roles; '' The Young Ones'' in various roles; and in ''The Dangerous Brothers'' (1985). He appeared as himself in the 1994 partially-improvised comedy film '' There's No Business...'', starring the comedy duos Raw Sex (Si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexei Sayle
Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic of all time on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007. In an updated 2010 poll he came 72nd. Much of Sayle's humour is in the tradition of Spike Milligan and Monty Python, with riffs based on often absurd and surreal premises. His act is known for its cynicism and political awareness, as well as physical comedy. Early life Sayle was born and brought up in the Anfield suburb of Liverpool, the son of Molly (Malka) Sayle (née Mendelson), a pools clerk, and Joseph Henry Sayle, a railway guard, both of whom were members of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Sayle's mother was of Lithuanian Jewish descent, and some members of his family were devout Jews. From 1964 to 1969, he attended Alsop High School in Walton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
