Characterization in stand-up comedy: From Ted Ray to Billy Connolly, via Bertolt Brecht

Stand-up comedy is often distinguished from straight acting by its apparent lack of characterization-the comedian appearing onstage apparently as him or herself. But within gags and routines, comics often briefly take on the voice and posture of the characters they describe. Here Oliver Double contrasts the approach of two comedians of different generations-Ted Ray and Billy Connolly-to this technique of 'momentary characterization.' He notes the links between Connolly's conversational approach and Brecht's notions of acting, and goes on to examine the broader questions of comic personae, representation of the self, and the changing performance conventions within British stand-up comedy.