Could I do stand-up comedy?

Written by Robert Rutherford

Monday, 01 June 2009

Due to my skill as a documentary film maker, or possibly my skill to borrow camera equipment at short notice, I was carefully selected to film a stand-up comedy workshop at a large call centre in Romford.

The one day event, run by successful stand-up comedian and experienced coach Padraig Hyland (pronounced Porrick - an Irish thing, apparently), was undertaken by employees of a local insurance company who had never performed comedy, nor been on stage before. The desired outcome of the one day course wasn't to turn a group of insurance workers into stand-up comedians, but rather to aid confidence with public speaking and presentations, as well as being a unique and enjoyable day. At the end of the day, all the participants would be given the option to appear on stage, alongside a professional comedian, to test their own material and their ability to deliver it with confidence in front of an audience.

I was due on site for twelve hours with an absolute maximum of four hours of footage to capture. It doesn't take a genius to do the maths and figure out that twelve minus four meant that I could quite easily relax for around eight hours of my working day. So my ultimate plan was to take it easy, drink several cups of tea and capture the small amount of required footage on the camera. Better still was that the last three hours of the day was taking place in a pub. I couldn't think of anywhere better to have time on my hands than in a pub, so I was looking forward to a very easy day.

However, once Padraig began teaching the course, I was instantly hooked. I wished I had taken the course myself and that someone else had been hired to film it. Actually, I wish that I'd taken the course myself and that no-one had been hired to film it, which is probably exactly what the people taking the course were thinking about me. When you spend enough time behind a camera, you start to notice that you often get this certain look in people eyes, just as they make eye-contact with the camera at an awkward moment; a brief look that says in no uncertain terms, "Fuck off with that camera, won't you." I'm just glad that they didn't know I was going to be writing about it too.

Although I've seen a fair few comedians in my time, I've never really looked at their work from an analytical stand point. Padraig's experience and insight into comedy performance allowed him to break down the process into specifics, making it easy for everyone to understand. The attendees then began to generate their own material. Initially, I must admit thinking that none of these people were ever going to be funny and that putting them on stage would be nothing short of cruel. But Padraig's own confidence never wavered. Whilst I had expected the course to teach people a few gags before throwing them (to the wolves?) on stage, it proved to be far more reaching than that. The process was guided by Padraig, but each of the people attending the course went through their very own journey to generate their own material, which was both honest and specific to their own opinions. In one single day, they leapt from the rigid confinement of insurance to the freedom of observational comedy.

Everyone who attended the comedy course gladly opted to briefly perform on stage in a local pub that very night and all of them got a genuine laugh from the small audience. Alongside Padraig's improvised comedy routine, professional comedian/poet Mac McFadden performed some of his unique comic style of poetry. His main set comprised such poems as a lament about the decline of slow dances (erection section) at the end of discos, plus a poem about being a Northern Monkey (which was something I think Mr Edge may have related to). But it was his first poem that was a truly unique experience for me. The first poem he performed was written backstage that very night, during and specifically about the acts that appeared on stage before him. It was a poem that would make sense to no-one except that small audience in front of him who'd witnessed the previous performances. It was, effectively, a disposable, use only once, never to be heard again, poem, and I truly enjoyed being one of the very few people that it would ever make sense to.

Anyone interested in Padraig Hyland's one day stand-up comedy course can obtain details via Keeley Lawrence on: 07818 071610 or at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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