I was delighted when EYA got in touch to ask whether we’d contribute a post to the August theme of humour for, in the words of Elizabeth Bennet, ‘I dearly love a laugh’. I’m not even fussy what form the humour takes; whether I’m roiling in hysterics or merely indulging a chuckle, I will take my comedy fix however and wherever it comes from. And the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive (BSUCA) at the University of Kent has it all, from original script notes to audience contributions to live recordings. This is a testimony to the talent of individual stand-ups and giving longevity to their hilarity beyond the bounds of their performances. In this blog post I’m going to introduce you to some amazing comedians and my favourite finds from their collections.
Please note that this post contains some swearing and bad language.
Linda Smith and her legacy
First up, Linda Smith (1958-2006), without whom the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive simply would not exist. Her founding collection was deposited by her partner Warren Lakin in 2013 and supported by Dr Oliver Double from the University’s School of Arts. From what I’ve grasped of Linda through her archive is that she was a principled and sharp-witted leftist tinted with idealism. She tore up the political landscape and delivered it to her audience in delectable, accessible jokes with a liberal use of expletives and an unrelenting savagery towards the politicians she deemed to be incompetent, ignorant and iniquitous. She sided with the underdog, swelling her act with activism and contributing to multiple benefit gigs.
Below is a poster from her Pit Stop Tour (February/March 1985) and a contemporary excerpt from her Beighton Miners’ Welfare gig in which she speculates what might have been had Margaret Thatcher (then Prime Minister) been killed by the Brighton Bomb:
Can you imagine the televised funeral? There she’d be laid out in a glass coffin – in the blue gear, the hair-do and all the rest of it. Just like she was in life … a bit warmer (laughs). And then of course it wouldn’t stop at that. There would be films: The Night Brighton Rocked; there’d be musicals. Tim Rice would be churning out the musicals about her life – Magita. I couldn’t handle it, I’d rather she lived, quite frankly. You can’t win, can you? I know one thing. I know a lot of people who are going to win and that’s the miners. Victory to the miners! Goodnight, comrades (much applause).
BSCUCA/LS/9/2/5
Mark Thomas and his manifesto
One of the most sizable collections in BSUCA (pronounced bazooka) is undoubtedly the Mark Thomas Collection (which, I might add, includes a plastic grenade). Mark is a political comedian and campaigner whose activism borders on anarchy and whose jokes can get a bit smutty. He gives the impression of not giving a f***, yet his fights for justice, for disarmament and for civil liberties, are as vital as his shows are funny.
I’ve particularly enjoyed his 2009 show, It’s the stupid economy, during which audiences submitted suggestions for policies that he subsequently campaigned for, compiling the top 40 into a book titled Mark Thomas presents The People’s Manifesto. The archive holds these original submissions (which vary comically between the silly and the severe), a hi-vis jacket worn by the ‘manifesto officials’ collecting them, and some excellent audio recordings of Mark’s show. One bit that tickles me nicely is how Mark treats audience demand for the death penalty:
Every show we get a couple of suggestions that go ‘Bring back the death penalty! Bring it back now!’ so now I think we should. We should bring back the death penalty, but on a voluntary basis. (laughs) So if you’re in favour of the death penalty you should sign a register saying ‘I approve of the death penalty’ and then, if you fuck up, we’ll kill you (laughs and applause).
BSUCA/MT/2/12/2/11
Josie Long – a crafted collection
Last on my list for today is the Josie Long Collection, which I love for being the quirkiest and most colourful in the archive. Josie’s comedy is perhaps best summed up in her own choice of tour name, Kindness and Exuberance. For her act does ooze out to the audience, whether it’s oranges she’s throwing to the crowd during a gig, or the camaraderie she’s crafting in her club, The Lost Treasures of the Black Heart. There’s a do-it-yourself spirit that ripples through Josie’s collection, from the sketchbooks and cardboard puppets she’d use to riff off in her set to the zines she’d sell and mementos exchanged with fans. My favourites are probably the felted artworks representing stops on the London Underground created by audience members at her club. Can you guess each one?
Further information
Do check out the other fantastic collections in BSUCA via the online catalogue and contact us if you’re still curious about these or our other collections at specialcollections@kent.ac.uk.
Written by Christine Davies, Special Collections and Archives Coordinator, University of Kent.
Edited by Isabel Lauterjung, Blog Coordinator for Explore Your Archive.
