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New Alternative Comedy: Productive Crises c.2005-Present

Quirk, Sophie and Wilson, Ed (2022) New Alternative Comedy: Productive Crises c.2005-Present. In: Double, Oliver and Lockyer, Sharon, eds. Alternative Comedy Now and Then: Critical Perspectives. Palgrave Studies in Comedy . Palgrave, Switzerland, pp. 271-292. E-ISBN 978-3-030-97351-3. (doi:10.1007/978-3-030-97351-3_12) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:97479)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided. (Contact us about this Publication)
Official URL:
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97351-3_12

Abstract

This chapter explores contemporary alternative comedy as a response to crisis. The early-to-mid 2000s saw the beginnings of a comedy boom in which the once-marginal Alternative Comedy form rose to enjoy unprecedented popularity and commercial clout. Yet alongside this period of success, alternatives have emerged which identify crises within that very genre.

We discuss two sets of new alternative practices. One opposes a perceived homogeneity of form among the commercial mainstream, and is characterised in part by an enhanced interest in metareferential examination of, and experimentation with, the conventions and properties of live comedy by comedians such as Josie Long, Stewart Lee and Tony Law. The other battles a crisis of representation and equitability, explored here through analysis of FOC It Up, a comedy club which provides an exclusive platform for femmes of colour.

In charting these creative and structural responses, we argue that alternatives in comedy follow a pattern commonly observed in wider art forms: they are shaped in response to crisis.

Item Type: Book section
DOI/Identification number: 10.1007/978-3-030-97351-3_12
Uncontrolled keywords: Alternative comedy, crisis, experimentation, metareference, inequality, equitability
Subjects: D History General and Old World > D History (General)
N Visual Arts > NX Arts in general
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of Arts
Depositing User: Sophie Quirk
Date Deposited: 18 Oct 2022 15:00 UTC
Last Modified: 06 Nov 2023 12:06 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/97479 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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