Making a boob – what can bouncing out of your bra do for you?
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License: CC0 Public Domain |
Has anyone
experienced that pants down feeling... you know, the one where you feel
figuratively ‘naked’ in front of an audience? (This could be on stage, but also
in a meeting, an interview etc). That idea of feeling so vulnerable, whereby
fear grips you vice-like at what ‘could happen’ before you have even done your
talk/performance/interview.
Well, it is
being addressed and portrayed in a brand-new Channel 4 programme called Stand
Up and Deliver.
The Guardian writes that “all [are] thrown in at
the deep end to test their natural comedy skills.” As if performing comedy is
natural….
In reality, comedy
is a skill, that is learnt, which often involves figuratively dying on stage,
bombing and basically failing to deliver. Like the first time you strum a
guitar perhaps, or a baby learning to walk... “I keep falling over. I’m not
gonna bother doing that again – I’ll just shuffle-bum around forever!”
Can you
imagine if we never pushed through those barriers?
I wonder if
the comedians on the Channel Four programme will be ‘allowed’ to bomb – or if
it will be edited for viewing pleasure?
I only say
this – or at am at least throwing it out there after reflecting on how our PM
gained popularity through his, erm, renowned clowning antics – a coming down to
the common man’s level – “I am one of you” performance. Whatever your views are
on the PM (and I’m certainly not putting this out for debate as it’s tricky),
‘performances like these’ are orchestrated – learned – a skill utilised for
effect.
I also
remember when Teresa May was in charge, I felt like writing to her to see if
she’d like to learn how to use comedy – she kind of tried it with her infamous Dancing
Queen number at a conference - but it was a tad excruciating to watch,
and yep, she bombed. She gave it a go – kudos – but how would that dance have
panned-out had she embraced comedy to laugh with her audience instead of being
the butt?
Comedy is
serious business and if we can use it wisely, it is a force for change. It can
also crash us into the rocky, ocean outcrops of the unknown – fear at the helm.
Hands up if I should write to Keir Starmer and warn him to put his life jacket
on!
Once you’ve
bombed it’s unlikely you’ll ever feel that fear as deeply. I’m not saying that
stage fright miraculously disappears and the performer is suddenly cured after
one comedy-dying moment on stage, but – and here’s the thing – it really cannot
get worse... it can only stay the same...
Maybe if we
embraced those experiences and accepted they may happen now and again, they
wouldn’t keep us shuffle-bumming throughout life. (It’s a bit like falling off
a bike and having to force yourself to get back on. Or – who remembers daring
each other to touch the electric fence in a cow field as a child? Or was that
just me? You knew it would hurt, but last time you did it, you survived. Even
better, this time you get to decide if you’ll take a volt or two.)
The Guardian
article seems to argue that a Tory party grandee is at odds with her party: “There
is no way I’m going to let these posh bastards make me feel like I do not
belong,” she yelled, referring to her party colleagues.
“It’s not
hard to see where this tirade came from. For years, Warsi has been fighting
what has appeared at times to be a one-woman war against Islamophobia in the
Conservative party. Boris Johnson has been repeatedly accused of prejudice
against Muslims.”
“Comedy,”
says Warsi, “is a space where you can do things that politicians cannot. Up
there, I realised I could say what I wanted and get away with it.”
I wonder if
raising all this on national TV is a last resort, an act of desperation even.
Warsi’s demands for action, after all, appear to have been all but ignored when
she has made them in the press or in parliament. And this will be her biggest
platform yet. “I don’t think that was the reason for doing it,” she says, “but
I definitely learned that comedy is an incredibly powerful medium to have
debates we just aren’t having in politics.”
In essence,
she couldn’t make a difference in her political work – but she can now create a
ruddy great big stir in comedy. And good for her!
“Being to
the left of politics also means you’re more likely to be speaking for the
underdog,” Warsi chimes in, “whereas Conservatives preserve the status quo. And
the status quo meant women would have been marginalised, black people would
have been marginalised, gay people would have been marginalised. They’re the
groups punching up through comedy. Naturally it lends itself to the left.”
This is
exciting. And pioneering. Could it perhaps change how we perceive this fear of
the unknown, in the future, by watching how others confront their own
trepidation?
Everyday
muck-ups can become well crafted
comedy. Maybe this new show can throw out some light on what we can achieve if
we just give things a go despite the gut-crushing anxieties pre-performance; a
bit like a lighthouse to warn us away from crashing ashore. A way to embrace
the boob’s (no pun intended...)
Watch it and
let me how you feel... (two viewing dates so if you miss it tonight at 9pm
there’s always catch up, or a second chance Thursday 4 March).
If you want
to give comedy a go – please get in touch as I should love to teach you the ART
of writing and performing comedy.
Links to the
articles below
Channel 4
blurb https://www.channel4.com/press/news/channel-4-confirms-stand-and-deliver-celebrity-line
nice article Maggie - must watch it :)
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