It has often been said that comedy does well in a downturn. Alternative Comedy started in the dark days of the late 70s/early 80s, and in our current economic crisis, stand up comedy has never been more popular. Michael McIntyre’s Roadshow, Live at the Apollo and many many panel shows dominate the TV schedules, and comedians seem to be filling more arenas around the country than rock stars these days. The rest of the country may be in recession, but comedy is booming.
However, if the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that if you have a boom, you’re going to have a bust. Why should comedy be any different?
The signs are already there. The open mic circuit is bursting at the seams with new, young comics desperate to get their chance in the spotlight. Unscrupulous promoters, the Bernie Madoffs of this world, exploit naïve newbies with pyramid scheme-like deals – bring a friend nights, pay to play deals. And yet still the new comics emerge from more and more stand up comedy courses, rushing into the lower levels of the circuit in an unregulated torrent, like debt-burdened graduates flooding in the job market just as employment opportunities dry up. It’s a supply and demand disaster waiting to happen.
The signs are already there. The open mic circuit is bursting at the seams with new, young comics desperate to get their chance in the spotlight. Unscrupulous promoters, the Bernie Madoffs of this world, exploit naïve newbies with pyramid scheme-like deals – bring a friend nights, pay to play deals. And yet still the new comics emerge from more and more stand up comedy courses, rushing into the lower levels of the circuit in an unregulated torrent, like debt-burdened graduates flooding in the job market just as employment opportunities dry up. It’s a supply and demand disaster waiting to happen.
The internet could also play a part, just as in the dot.com crash. Sites like Twitter and Facebook spread new jokes around the world in seconds. Topical humour saturates our daily lives – trying to come up with original material is getting harder and harder as everyone is surrounded by comedy all of the time. From Youtube clips to text jokes to clever status updates, comedy has become democratized and therefore devalued. Why pay for laughs when you can listen to your mates mucking around on a new podcast?
Within a couple of years this could all come to a head. Rates of laughter will suddenly plummet. There’ll be a run on puns leading to a collapse in the value of observational material and the government will have to step in to prevent the collapse of large scale comedy clubs.
This will in turn lead to massive cutbacks in humour, with only a few wry remarks allowed as we have to pay back a huge chuckle deficit that will leave the next generation of comedians struggling under the massive weight of public frowning. Once famous comedians will be forced back into tiny comedy clubs and thousands of hopeful wannabes will have to find jobs in other devastated sectors such as teaching or banking.
And then with a single one liner it will start all over again.
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