Call me old-fashioned, but, as Tim Vine tells me, “Jokes are the thing when you go onstage … you must have jokes. Otherwise you are like a brickie going to build a wall with no bricks.”
Now, the quick fire, one liner style of comedy may not be for everyone. The career of the solo stand up comedian has always been, of course suited to those of a robust ego, the arguably self indulgent, the probably self obsessed.
In a Fringe up to its ‘comedy’ USPs in ADDHD diagnoses and weight losses being waved around like hankies at a Morris Dancing marathon, in the expectation (one assumes) that every mental health ‘issue’ or extra yard from the binary gender norm wins another star for your poster, it is an absolute joy just to find the funny.
Tim also tells me that one of his reviews read “it is refreshing to go to a show and come out knowing only as much about the performer as you did when you went in.” And, indeed, it is.
The Scottish Comedy Festival, down at The Beehive in Grassmarket offers the show which without doubt, wins the Fringe Brochure this year. Jay Lafferty’s Club Sets promises “In a festival that pours scorn on comedy without a poignant ending, one show dares to celebrate the undiluted, unadulterated and altogether far funnier Club Set.” Honestly? Cannot wait to get down there.
But, back with what is one of the purest, most pared back forms of comedy (along with slapstick, probably), to say nothing of the most labour intensive, the one liner comic is all about the craft.
In the full realisation that this is probably the most outrageously overblown metaphor for any kind of comedy that I have ever written (look away now, if you cannot bear hyperbole), when they asked Michelangelo how he created David out of a block of stone, he allegedly replied “I just carved away everything that wasn’t David.” I shall move swiftly on now, that you might hear from actual practitioners of the art and craft of the funny that is (as I believe the young people call it) ‘all killa, no filla’.
I’ve been asking around and a couple of comics have talked about the relative ‘status’ of different kinds of comedy … political (high) … observational (hmmmm) …and about how one liner comedy is regarded as a low status genre of comedy…
Richard Pulsford
It’s weird, isn’t it? One liners often get lumped in with ‘Dad jokes’ (in a disparaging way), maybe because there can be a fine line between a groaner and a laugh-inducer. I guess making up a pun on the spot is fairly easy but not necessarily that funny and many people don’t realise the intense writing and honing process which goes into creating gems at the other end of the scale. The best one-liner comics perfect the art of comedic surprise which is a joyful experience.
Olaf Falafel
It’s a strange one because conceiving and crafting a great one-liner is a skill that a lot of the other comedian types you mention would struggle to do. I’m guessing it must be jealousy!!!
Will Mars
I used to think that too. Reviewers and agents and people in TV give it very little respect. That makes it wise to avoid if you really want to progress in the industry. Everything changed for me a couple of years ago when I decided to carve out a new form of one liner comedy. I’ve taken the autobiographical style of comedy that the industry seems to like the most and I perform it in a one liner style making it almost unrivalled for laughs and pretty good at personal narrative too.
What drew you to one liner comedy?
Richard
If I was being honest, I just find it easier to write short form jokes. I enjoy the challenge which goes into it. I soon find out when a joke or series of jokes isn’t quite working when in front of an audience.
Olaf
They are the first jokes we learn as children, whether that be joke books, Christmas crackers or from friends in the playground. The ‘retellability’ factor and the immediacy of the laugh were always a big factor when I was young, also there was less to ‘get wrong’ compared to longer jokes. I guess I never really grew up. Perhaps that’s part of the reason behind your first question – we’re seen as less grown-up and more childish?
Will
MY LIFE! When you have a troubled upbringing and come from a poor working class household then you need humour to protect yourself. One liners are very quick-to-use protection. They’re the air bags of life. If observational comedy was an airbag it would come with a foot pump and you’d still be blowing the thing up as you exited through the windscreen.
It is, surely, the most labour intensive of all types of comedy. What makes that worth all the work when you KNOW half of Edinburgh is full of first timers wittering on about their ADDHD diagnosis and coming to terms with being non-binary with a joke ratio of one laugh to the kilo of self obsession?
Richard
You’re not wrong there! I need about 17 really good jokes for just 5 minutes of material. I enjoy writing and performing to a high standard and making an audience laugh. What other comedians do is up to them.
Olaf
I think for me the challenge is NOT filling my show with one liners. I like to find things that break it all up – I’m big into audience participation this year I’m going to be getting audience members to throw sausages into my bumbag (in return for a one-liner of course!)
Will
Any good comedian can think up a premise and add a few punchlines to it. Only the bravest of us decide on the best punchline – and use only the best punchline – before moving on to write the next joke. When you work hard like that you’ll eventually have an armoury of premises with the best possible laughs attached to them. Weaponry like that makes it extremely hard to die on stage. It’s the nearest a comedian can get to immortality.
Have you always loved the one liner guys? Who are your favourite comics?
Richard
I didn’t really appreciate what a one liner comic was when I was a child but I always loved short gags by TV comics such as Tommy Cooper and The Two Ronnies.
I think Gary Delaney is hilarious, and he’s a lovely guy too. The first time I saw Jimmy Carr doing a 20 minute set at the Edinburgh Fringe (in 2003?) I was blown away. He set a standard (though not a style) I try to live up to.
Olaf
Before I started comedy, I loved the jokes of Tim Vine, Harry Hill, Milton Jones and Stewart Francis. I used to work in advertising as an art director but I also dabbled in copywriting. As well as making pretty pictures, I loved messing around with words, to my coworkers delight and dismay in equal measure. There used to be an annoying office worker character in the Fast Show who was always trying to be funny called Colin Hunt. He was like a line in the sand for me – occasionally at work I’d stray into Colin Hunt territory!
On top of the four I mentioned above, I’m a huge fan of Terry Alderton, Paul Currie, Tony Law; basically anyone a bit silly.
Will
Absolutely! I’ve always been one too. It’s just that I lived in hiding – and denial – as a mediocre observational comedian for over a decade. Of course I love all the usual dead American ones. Yeah, the dead American comics were the best in the world.
Why is one liner comedy not ‘cool’?
Richard
It’s not usually a style which is wanting to ‘have a go’ but to just ‘have a laugh’. Maybe some people don’t like the childlike simplicity of one liners, being silly or surreal, instead of having a well-worn pop at the government or religion. It is also possibly even more male-dominated than other forms of comedy.
Olaf
It can be – Mitch Hedberg got pretty close. I guess though if you drew a graph of one-liner comedians with Mitch Hedberg at one end and Colin Hunt at the other, most of us would be closer to Mr C. Hunt.
Will
Some of the coolest things in the world often start out as uncool. The real question is, do you wanna be the sort of person that gets told what’s cool? Or would you prefer to be the type of person that discovers new ‘cool’?
Is it, arguably, the bravest form of joke writing because the laugh (however dark the subject) has to stand without context. Jimmy Carr used to get a lot of stick for that.
Richard
It can feel like a bit of a high-wire act sometimes, especially with darker jokes. The rhythm and emphasis of the joke often have to be exactly right for it to make sense to an audience.
Olaf
I thought it was funny when I won the [Dave’s] Funniest Joke Award because the joke they chose was from a segment where I show how even really bad jokes can be improved with a ‘badum-Tsh’ drum roll at the end. I would tell the Florets joke and then because it was so rubbish I had a paper mache puppet of Phil Collins delivering the drum solo from ‘In The Air Tonight’ after it. It got plucked out of context and held up as my greatest achievement!
Will
Luckily I’ve created a pretty unique style of performing one liners. Every joke links to the next one and all of the jokes are about me so I get to weave context into my show and even the darkest moments will work themselves out in the end.
Is there such a thing as the perfect one liner? (and no that is NOT the same as Dave’s Joke of the Fringe)
Richard
Some one liners come close to perfection. Those which take you by surprise, have the right rhythm, are pithy, well-rounded and original. But beauty ultimately lies with the beholder.
Olaf
Ooooh not sure, there are things I come up with that I think get as close as I’ve ever been to perfection. I still struggle to top ‘Expect the unexporcupine’.
Will
No. One liners are like children, they’re always evolving (and I like some more than others).
About the comics
Richard Pulsford is renowned for his one-liners and light-hearted jokes. Winner of the 2022 Pun Championships and Scottish Comedian of the Year runner-up in 2021, Richard has an impressive history, touring solo every year since 2010 (except 2020).
Find him at Edinburgh Fringe this year, 8.10pm August 5-13, 15-27 Venue 53, the Space @Surgeons Hall, Theatre 3
Olaf Falafel proudly owns the title of ‘Dave’s Best Joke Of The Fringe’, guaranteeing two things from his gigs – stupidity and a lot of laughs.
Find him at Edinburgh Fringe, 3pm August 4-15, 17-28 Venue 257, Laughing Horse @Pear Tree, Main Room
Always presenting more jokes than you ever thought possible, Will Mars delivers punch after punch of great material. Known for Fox’s Showtime at The Apollo, BBC’s Stand Up for Comic Relief and NBC’s Trial by Laughter, Will is ‘a fearsome comedy creation’ **** (Scotsman).
Watch him at Edinburgh Fringe, 2.20pm August 3-28, Venue 24, @Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, Coorie
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