Are you ‘aving a larf? Is there such a thing as Cockney humour? Event with Arthur Smith
Is there such a thing as ‘Cockney humour’? How a stoic and irreverent wit has been a hallmark of London life will be explored in a free on-line discussion at 12 noon on Monday April 3rd part of the Modern Cockney Festival
A panel featuring legendary London comedian Arthur Smith, musicologist and singalong expert Tom Carradine, and leading academic expert on humour Dr. Mary Irwin will examine how a joke can tell a shedloads about its culture, times, and attitude.
The Modern Cockney Festival (March 3rd to April 4th) celebrates a Cockney identity based on positive, inclusive values. It is a non-commercial event organised by Cockney Cultures, a partnership between social enterprise Grow Social Capital and the Bengali East End heritage Society.
In his book ‘The Autobiography of a Super-tramp‘ written in 1908, W.H. Davies praises the Cockney wit: “Cockneys make good beggars. They are held in high esteem by the fraternity in America. Their resource, originality and invention, and a never faltering tongue, enables them to often attain their ends where others fail, and they succeed where the natives starve.”
Is London humour a myth, or is there really a definite quality style of Londoners and their humour? Our expert panel will have an enlivening and convivial explore of the subject. Join us for edification. frivolities, and a laugh. The event panel includes:
Arthur Smith comedian, writer, broadcaster and erstwhile ‘Grumpy Old Man’. He has performed comedy all over the world and has written every form of comedy from stand-up to full-length plays and screenplays. His play 'An Evening with Gary Lineker' ran for several years in the West End and his most recent show ‘Syd’, about his father was a sell out at the Edinburgh festival. He appears regularly on Loose Ends on Radio 4 and presents The Comedy Club on Radio 4 Extra.
?He wrote an acclaimed autobiography?My name is Daphne Fairfax?and his most recent book ‘100 things I meant to tell you’ is in book shops now.
Tom Carradine will be tinkling the ivories to engage, entertain, and illuminate with both renditions of great singalong classics and peaks into their back stories. He will be peeling back the layers of love, pathos, and saucy innuendos to reveal fascinating insights into social history and Cockney music hall humour.
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Currently resident Musical Director at Brick Lane Music Hall in London, Tom has worked extensively as a pianist and musical director on the London cabaret circuit. He has performed at many prestigious venues such as the Queen’s Theatre London, the Hackney Empire, Cafe de Paris, Crazy Coqs, the Cafe Royal, and the Savoy Hotel.?He is also musical director for Champagne Charlie and the Bubbly Boys, a 1920/30s style dance band
Dr Mary Irwin, a leading expert on regional British humour. A cultural historian and TV studies specialist, Mary is currently honorary research fellow in the Media, Communications and Performing Arts Division at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh.
She is, co-editor of ‘UK and Irish Television Comedy: Nation, Region and Identity’ and author of ‘Love Wars: Television Romantic Comedy’.
The event will also be taking a sneak peak into the pages of ‘Punch’ magazine to reveal some literally old jokes about Cockneys from Victorian times.
Free tickets are available here: https://bit.ly/3lTqYxo and more information from www.growsocialcapital.org.uk/cockney
What’s your view? Is there such a thing as a London or Cockney humour?
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