Histcompod Episode 8 – Nick Toczek’s Cracker

Episode 8 of ‘A History of Comedy in Several Objects’ is now available on iTunes and acast. In this episode we look at a few different flyers from Nick Toczek’s collection. The main focus of the episode is two flyers dating from 1994 for the Bradford comedy cabaret club ‘Cracker’. You may spot a familiar name on both flyers… We also feature an archive audio recording of Olly compering at the Last Laugh in Sheffield in the 1990s.

Cracker at the Java cafe Bradford flyer, 8th October- 26th November 1994. Featuring acts such as Ross Noble, Mary Unfaithful & Attila the Stockbroker (c) Nick Toczek

Don’t forget to get involved! You can contact us via standup@kent.ac.uk or tweet us at @histcompod. You can search the online catalogue for more information about the holdings of  the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive at http://archive.kent.ac.uk.

Images of some objects featured on the podcast can be found on our flickr site in the ‘History of Comedy in Several Objects‘ album.

Histcompod – Episode 7 ‘Meccano Club Bookings Book’

Episode 7 of ‘A History of Comedy in Several Objects’ is now available on iTunes and acast. In this episode (‘Meccano Club Bookings Book’) we discuss one of the archive’s most popular items: the bookings book from legendary London alternative comedy venue, the Meccano Club, part of the Monika Bobinska Collection (reference BSUCA/MB/1/1/7). This episode looks at the stars of the circuit that played the Meccano Club in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as featuring an exclusive interview clip with the club promoter Monika Bobinska. Further information about the Monika Bobinska Collection can be found in the blogpost ‘Spotlight on: The Monika Bobinska Collection‘.

Meccano Club Bookings Book. January 1987. Featuring acts including Ian McPherson, Mark Thomas, Johnny Immaterial, Kevin Day & John Hegley

Don’t forget to get involved! You can contact us via standup@kent.ac.uk or tweet us at @histcompod. You can search the online catalogue for more information about the holdings of  the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive at http://archive.kent.ac.uk.

Images of some objects featured on the podcast can be found on our flickr site in the ‘History of Comedy in Several Objects‘ album.

Histcompod – Episode 6 ‘Jim Barclay’s letter of complaint’

Episode 6 of ‘A History of Comedy in Several Objects’ is now available on iTunes and acast. In this episode we look at strongly-worded letter written to that legend of early alternative comedy, Jim Barclay. This angry missive was provoked by a riotous show by Alternative Cabaret at Goldsmiths College Students’ Union in 1979. Expect deviance, titillation and Keith Allen. We also have excerpts from an exclusive interview with Jim Barclay himself!

Don’t forget to get involved! You can contact us via standup@kent.ac.uk or tweet us at @histcompod. You can search the online catalogue for more information about the holdings of  the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive at http://archive.kent.ac.uk.

Images of some objects featured on the podcast can be found on our flickr site in the ‘History of Comedy in Several Objects‘ album.

Histcompod – Episode 5 ‘Mark Thomas’ Absurd Object’

In the fifth episode of A History Of Comedy In Several Objects, now out on the iTunes store, we talk to legendary political comedian, Mark Thomas. We look at his particularly absurd object (a squeezy hand grenade! You’ll have to listen to find out more information…) which leads us to discuss big topics as whether comedy can create change and what is the role of a stand-up comedian? Join Olly and Elspeth to explore Mark’s unique engagement in the world stand-up comedy and the world in general.

Squeezy stress grenade (Mark Thomas Collection). Photo Matt Wilson

Squeezy stress grenade (Mark Thomas Collection). Photo Matt Wilson

Don’t forget to get involved! You can contact us via standup@kent.ac.uk or tweet us at @histcompod. You can search the online catalogue for more information about the holdings of  the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive at http://archive.kent.ac.uk.

Images of some objects featured on the podcast can be found on our flickr site in the ‘History of Comedy in Several Objects‘ album.

 

Linda Smith Lecture 2017: Susan Calman

We are delighted that the brilliant comedian Susan Calman has agreed to give the 2017 Linda Smith Lecture. Susan is known to Radio 4 listeners as a regular panellist on The News Quiz, and for her two series, Susan Calman is Convicted and Keep Calman Carry On. On television she has appeared on QI and in the sitcoms Fresh Meat and Dead Boss. She is also known for her superb stand-up act, and her first DVD Lady Like is available from Go Faster Stripe.

Susan Calman, photographed by Steve Ullathorne

Susan Calman, photographed by Steve Ullathorne

The deposit of Linda Smith’s personal archive with the University of Kent in 2013 provided the inspiration for the formation of the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive, which is now growing into a substantial collection, for use by comedians and for those researching stand-up comedy and associated performance arts. The Linda Smith Lecture was established in 2015 to be an annual event to celebrate Linda’s life and work, her interest in comedy and its use in and for political and social commentary, and to promote the work of the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive.

You can get your tickets for the Lecture via the Gulbenkian box office, online or in person.

HistComPod – Episode 4 ‘Robin Ince’s Postcards’

In the fourth episode of A History Of Comedy In Several Objects, now out on the iTunes store, we get to grips with comedians’ set lists, whilst exploring how scripts and prompts are used in stand-up. We see some archived materials from influential comedians, including Josie Long’s spider diagrams, Linda Smith’s notes, Andy de la Tour’s scripts and, the main feature of this episode, Robin Ince’s postcard set-lists written for one of his ‘Robin Ince is as Dumb as You‘ 2005 shows. We also feature exclusive audio clips from Andy de la Tour and Linda Smith performing life stand-up comedy.

Don’t forget to get involved! You can contact us via standup@kent.ac.uk or tweet us at @histcompod. You can search the online catalogue for more information about the holdings of  the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive at http://archive.kent.ac.uk.

Images of some objects featured on the podcast can be found on our flickr site in the ‘History of Comedy in Several Objects‘ album.

Robin Ince set list (Robin Ince is as Dumb as You)

HistComPod – Episode 3 ‘Comedy Trade Union’

The third episode of A History Of Comedy In Several Objects (or HistComPod for short) is now available via iTunes.

Join Olly and Elspeth for another week spelunking in the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive as they look at an attempt to establish a Comedy Trade Union in 1983, and go through a list of all the key acts in the alternative comedy scene of the day, where future stars like French and Saunders rubbed shoulders with long forgotten performers whose gags are now lost in the mists of time.

The specific focus of this episode is a letter written in 1983 by Andy de la Tour and Lee Cornes to others involved in the alternative cabaret scene at the time about the formation of a ‘union’ for performers, looking particularly at pay from specific venues. This letter is from the Andy de la Tour Collection (within this folder of material).

Olly also talks about a new group, the UK Comedy Guild; the article discussed (‘Gagging rights: British comedians set up UK Comedy Guild trade union’ by Paul Fleckney) can be found on The Guardian website.

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If you want to get involved you can contact us via standup@kent.ac.uk or tweet us at @histcompod.

You can search the online catalogue for more information about the holdings of  the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive at http://archive.kent.ac.uk.

HistComPod – Episode 2 ‘Alternative Cabaret Flyer’

In the second episode of ‘A History of Comedy in Several Objects’ (now available on iTunes), Olly and Elspeth discuss a promotional flyer for Alternative Cabaret which was deposited by Andy de la Tour (the flyer is within this folder of material). Alternative Cabaret were one of the key groups in the early alternative comedy scene. Olly and Elspeth talk about the formation of the group, find out what became of its key members and discover who designed the flyer.

Also featured in this episode is an exclusive audio clip of Olly interviewing Alexei Sayle at Edinburgh Fringe in 2015 (you can access the full interview in the Special Collections & Archives reading room) – don’t say we never treat you!

Flyer advertising the Alternative Cabaret collective

If you want to get involved you can contact us via standup@kent.ac.uk or tweet us at @histcompod.

You can search the online catalogue for more information about the holdings of  the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive at http://archive.kent.ac.uk.

HistComPod – Episode 1 ‘Foodstuff’

The first ever episode of ‘A History Of Comedy In Several Objects’, alternatively known as ‘HistComPod’ is now available on the iTunes podcast store.

The podcast, devised and presented by Dr Oliver Double (Director of the Comedy & Popular Performance Research Centre and previously a professional comedian) and Elspeth Millar (Archivist in the University’s Special Collections & Archives), aims to illustrate the history of stand-up comedy through objects found within the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive. Each episode features a particular item/object/record from the archive, which Olly and Elspeth discuss to show what it reveals about the art and craft of stand-up and the recent history of the form.

In the jam-packed inaugural episode, Olly and Elspeth discuss the origins of the archive, the project of the podcast and whether it’s possible to archive a performance. The articles that we reference are:

The main feature of this first episode is an orange from the Josie Long Collection. The orange was originally from one of Josie’s ‘Trying is Good’ shows, but was returned to Josie as part of ‘All the Planet’s Wonders’ (check out Josie’s call for ‘Edinburgh Ephemera’ here). Olly and Elspeth engage with the decomposing citrus fruit and the significance it has, whilst touching upon Elspeth’s “archivist’s guilt”.

An orange in a box donated to Josie Long as part of her ‘All of the Planets Wonders’ tour. Image: Matt Wilson, University of Kent

 

If you want to get involved you can contact us via standup@kent.ac.uk or tweet us at @histcompod. You can search the online catalogue for more information about the holdings of  the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive at http://archive.kent.ac.uk.

Search the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive collections!

I’m pretty thrilled to say that the new online catalogue for Special Collections & Archives, and where material within the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive has been catalogued, is now available to search and browse. You can find it at http://archive.kent.ac.uk.

You can search for performers, promoters, comedy clubs, or other key words using the simple search option on the homepage, or you can use the advanced search option to search in more detail. For example, you can search or browse by date (searching for 1970s will result in records created in this decade), or by category (for example, browse through all of the audio recordings, or set lists and notes). You can also just browse all of the BSUCA collections using the BSUCA hierarchical tree.

BSUCA hierarchical tree

BSUCA hierarchical tree

Most collections within the BSUCA are catalogued in a hierarchical structure – this is because we follow an international archival cataloguing standard called ISAD(G) – with a top-level collection record (such as this for the Linda Smith Collection) which describes the collection as a whole, followed by levels below (called ‘series’, ‘sub-series’ etc) which cover specific groups of material (such as business records, performance records, audio-visual records). Some individual items are catalogued down to ‘item level’ (such as this audio recording of Tony Allen and Andy de la Tour performing in as part of Alternative Cabaret Collective in 1981) although some items (leaflets, flyers) are catalogued to a folder level (such as this record for flyers and posters for The Santa Claus Science Experiment in Tiernan Douieb’s collection). The way in which a collection has been catalogued reflects as closely as possible the way in which the original creator of the material (in the case of BSUCA, this is often the depositor themselves) had organised the material.

Catalogue record for posters in the Mark Thomas Collection

Catalogue record for posters in the Mark Thomas Collection

The catalogue is a work-in-progress and there are a few collections in the BSUCA which are not yet catalogued or are in the process of being catalogued. We are able to provide a listing for these on request – just email specialcollections@kent.ac.uk.  This online catalogue will also be incorporating, over the course of 2016, Special Collections & Archives material (such as our theatre collections, windmill collections, and personal archives) which are currently available via the web pages or Library Search. If you are looking for material which you think we have, but can’t find, please email us.

Because of copyright restrictions we are not able to provide digital access to much of the material, although we are providing access where we do have permissions. If there is material you discover through the catalogue that you would like to access for research, teaching, or just out of general interest please email us! We are open to everyone although we do need at least two days’ notice in order to retrieve material from the archive store. More information about how to access the collections can be found on the Special Collections & Archives web pages.

So please go, search, explore the stand-up comedy collections!