By Terri Paddock
Tweet

Boss Blog: Theatre's Debt to Comedy

It’s a common complaint amongst theatre fans that the Edinburgh Fringe has gone to the comedy dogs. And there are plenty of stats that would seem to back up this view.

Just six years ago, theatre ruled the roost as the largest festival genre, representing 37% of the overall Fringe programme. In 2011, it’s comedy that claims 37% of the programme, with theatre running a fairly distant second at 30%.

So in terms of domination, yes, it’s true, comedy is the victor. But it’s not that the Fringe is any less a breeding ground for drama than it was before. Comedy’s win is merely proportional to the rapid growth of the festival overall.

Theatre’s 37% of the programme in 2005 amounted to 666 shows of the 1,799 on offer that year. This year’s 30% amounts to 763 shows. That’s a perfectly respectable – some might even say impressive - 13% increase. So theatre is still growing in Edinburgh – it’s just that the rest of the Fringe, fuelled largely by comedy, is growing faster. (In fact, more than twice as fast.)

My personal experience of the Fringe is that it’s very easy indeed to take in nothing but theatre - and, if you select well, nothing but highly original and inspirational theatre at that. And when I’m not feeling so rigid with my scheduling, an occasional comedy interlude makes me enjoy more intellectually challenging theatre even more.

Besides, is there really such a massive division between the two? As Nica Burns pointed out at this week’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards launch, “Comedy and comedians are making a larger and larger contribution to our cultural life as a whole.”

My own trip to Edinburgh this year was delayed by the opening of Double Feature at the National Theatre, featuring a new play written by Tom Basden, a stand-up who won the Comedy Awards’ Best Newcomer prize in 2007. Basden also acts in both his own play and another in the NT season.

Other former Comedy Awards winners who have made and are continuing to make a splash in theatre include Daniel Kitson, whose storytelling pieces have always defied categorisation at the Fringe (and as a result, earned him a coveted annual berth at the Traverse). In October, Kitson will also be at the National, bringing his Fringe First-winning It’s Always Right Now, Until It’s Later to the Lyttelton, with extra dates already added in December.

Then, of course, there’s Australian madman Tim Minchin, who made his musical writing debut with the Royal Shakespeare Company’s hugely acclaimed adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, now transferring to the West End’s Cambridge Theatre.

And even at the Fringe itself, there’s plenty of crossover evidence. The schedule allows theatrically inclined comedians to multi-task, doing theatre during the day before delivering their stand-up schtick at night. The Comedians Theatre Company was founded here in 2005 to take advantage of this very situation – and it’s still going strong. Another Comedy Award alum, company co-founder Phil Nichol, has provided me with one of my five-star experiences at this year’s Fringe, the new one-man play Somewhere Beneath It All, A Small Fire Burns Still, written especially for him.

Nica’s own CV proves the point. She’s run the Comedy Awards (formerly the Perriers, now sponsored by Foster’s) since they were founded 31 years ago. She’s also just stepped down as president of the Society of London Theatre (SOLT), and as boss of Nimax, is one of the West End’s biggest theatre owners and producers. If she can criss-cross the comedy and theatre divide, I don’t see why the rest of us can’t too.

- by Terri Paddock

Any opinions expressed above do not represent the view of Whatsonstage.com nor any of its staff or contributors beyond the bylined author.

Related Content

Booking Tickets & Show Listings
	Matilda Listing Page
	Double Feature Listing Page
	Double Feature Listing Page

Other Posts By Terri Paddock
	Boss Blog: WOS 15th birthday: Reporting on the Oliviers over the years - 24th Apr 2012 blog
	Boss Blog: WOS 15th birthday, counting years & stats - 2nd Apr 2012 blog
	Boss Blog: ETA for New-Look Whatsonstage.com = March 2012 - 26th Sep 2011 blog
	Boss Blog: She-wee, He-wee, We all wee for She-wee - 4th Aug 2011 blog
	Boss Blog: Are You Part of Whatsonstage.com's Future? - 11th May 2011 blog
	Boss Blog: Friday Capers & Our Twitter Milestone - 12th Apr 2011 blog
	Boss Blog: Who's Squealing Like a Stuck Pig? - 5th Apr 2011 blog
	Boss Blog: The Lure of the Longrunner - & Other Tourist Tales - 29th Mar 2011 blog
	Boss Blog: Oliviers 2011 - My View from the Stalls - 13th Mar 2011 blog
	Boss Blog: A Personal Awards P.S. - 22nd Feb 2011 blog
	More...
Internal Links
	- 1st Jan 1970
	Foster’s Enhances Fringe Profile, 31st Comedy Awards - 30th Jun 2011 News
	Exclusive Video: Matilda's Bertie Carvel 'interviews' Tim Minchin at Drama Desk Awards - 10th May 2013 tv
	Matilda the Musical & Kinky Boots lead Tony nominations - 30th Apr 2013 news
	Review Round-up: Matilda storms Broadway - 15th Apr 2013 roundup
	Photos: New production pics released for Matilda - 3rd Jan 2013 photos
	Top Ten: London shows for half term - 23rd Oct 2012 features
	Matilda releases 400k more tickets for Roald Dahl Day - 13th Sep 2012 news
	RSC announces four new girls for West End Matilda - 9th Aug 2012 news
	Matilda the Musical confirms Broadway transfer, opens March 2013 - 20th Jul 2012 news
	Michael Boyd announces final RSC season, Ravenhill responds to Candide - 10th Jul 2012 news
	David Leonard & Annette McLaughlin take over in Matilda - 1st Jun 2012 news
	Matilda, Faust & Frayn triumph at South Bank Awards - 2nd May 2012 news
	Matilda wins seven, One Man overlooked at 2012 Oliviers - 15th Apr 2012 news
	Matilda, Guvnors & Constellations compete at South Bank Awards - 2nd Apr 2012 news
	Bertie Carvel sets Matilda departure date, show extends - 28th Mar 2012 news
	Matilda, Guvnors & Ladykillers lead the field at 2012 Oliviers - 15th Mar 2012 news
	Sondheim sounds off - 5th Mar 2012 blog
	RSC confirms plans to take WOS Award-winning Matilda to New York - 28th Feb 2012 news
	Jo Caird: Why Can't We Resist Adaptations of Children's Classics? - 9th Jan 2012 blog
	RSC Keeps Control of Matilda on Broadway??? - 9th Jan 2012 gossip
	Matilda The Musical - 25th Nov 2011 reviews
	1st Night Photos: RSC Matilda Swings into West End - 25th Nov 2011 photos
	Review Round-up: Matilda is Top of the Class - 25th Nov 2011 roundup
	Photos: 57th Evening Standard Awards Shortlist - 7th Nov 2011 photos
	RSC Cancels First Five Previews of West End Matilda - 29th Sep 2011 news
	Matilda & Girl Lead Theatre Awards UK Nominations - 29th Sep 2011 news
	Take Ten ... London Autumn Season Highlights - 13th Sep 2011 features
	Photos: New RSC Matildas Fly into West End - 13th Sep 2011 news
	Cast Announced for West End Transfer of RSC Matilda - 23rd Aug 2011 news
	Double Feature - 5th Aug 2011 reviews
	Photos: NT Opens Paintframe for New Play Double - 4th Aug 2011 news
	Opening: NT Paintframe, Scoop Fest & EdFringe - 1st Aug 2011 news
	Christie Brinkley Delays West End Debut in Chicago - 8th Jul 2011 news
	Photos: First Peek at London Matilda's New Look - 19th May 2011 photos
	RSC's Matilda Confirms London Opening, 22 Nov - 19th May 2011 news
	London Extends, NT Opens Backstage to Double - 16th May 2011 news
	Moore, Basden, Holcroft & Puwanarajah Featured - 12th May 2011 news
	Minchin's Matilda Comes to West End in Autumn - 31st Mar 2011 news
	Will Minchin's Matilda Dream Come True??? - 13th Dec 2010 gossip
	Review Round-up: RSC Move Critics with Matilda - 10th Dec 2010 roundup
	Tim Minchin: Why You Should Come & See ... Matilda, A Musical - 6th Dec 2010 interviews
	RSC Sets Dates for Dahl’s Matilda Musical, 9 Nov - 24th Mar 2010 news
	RSC Premieres Musical of Roald Dahl’s Matilda - 30th Sep 2009 news
External Links
	Edinburgh Comedy Awards website

Reader Comments