Friday, June 26, 2009

Comedy Show

British humor is known for being "witty" and "clever" and overall hilarious. With this type of expectation, anticipation and excitement were the emotions that we all felt when arriving to our first British comedy show, "Soul-Crushing Vicissitudes of Fortune" featuring Andrew Lawrence. Aware of the reputation of British humor, as well as an understanding of how it differed from American humor, I was ready to be overwhelmed by enticing jokes leading to uncontrollable laughter. Initially I was intrigued by Lawrence's brutal honesty about his life, his job, and his red hair. I found myself falling into the comfortable situation between a comedian and his audience where the audience begins to trust that every word coming out of the mouth of the man on stage will at least evoke some type of chuckle.

However, soon my laughter lessened and then it became nonexistent. Some might say this is because I did not understand the jokes made about British culture, and they would be partially right. Some of the jokes Lawrence told were obviously funny to those who are aware of British politics and pop culture. As an American in the audience, I could understand why his jokes were interpreted as funny, but did not know the actual reason they were so funny to others in the room. Also, I found myself extremely turned off to some of his more crude jokes. Many of his jokes could be compared to a conversation among a group of 13 year old boys who have just discovered the hilarity that 13 year old boys find in profane language. Many of his jokes were not clever, but rather disgusting. For example telling a story about consuming his own feces to prove his immortality is not something I would find funny whether it was a British comedian or an American comedian. I found it odd that others in the audience laughed at this story and still do not understand how anyone could find this amusing.

While I realize that my critique is exactly the type of critique Lawrence hates because he believes reviews like mine bring creative people down, I would have to disagree. I didn't find him very creative. Most of his jokes were unnecessarily crude and lacked comedic timing. I am not sure if Lawrence's humor is typical British humor, but if it is, I do not think I can consider myself a fan. I can say that I am open to another comedy show experience for the hopes of a different perspective on British humor.

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