An approach to traditions of British stand-up comedy.

This thesis is the first to examine stand-up comedy within an
academic framework. It begins with a review of various theories of
humour and examines the three major strands of thought; the idea
that humour is a way of expressing hostility; the idea that humorous
laughter is caused by incongruity; and the idea that humour is
connected with a release of tension. Parts of each of these are
taken on, in order to establish a method of examining stand-up
comedy. A particular emphasis is placed on the incongruity theory,
and it is argued that this implies an intrinsic link between the
joke and its cultural context; humorous incongruity involves
deviation from the normal and the expected, and ideas of what
constitutes abnormality or unexpectedness will differ from culture
to culture.
The three major traditions of British stand-up comedy, (the Music
Hall/Variety tradition, the Working Men's Club tradition, and the
Alternative Comedy tradition) are examined. In each case, the
stylistic tendencies of the tradition, and the attitudes towards
class, gender, and race implied by the comedy are examined. The
major characteristics of each of these traditions are linked with
particular aspects of their organization, and it is argued that in
each case, professionalization has tended to discourage stylistic
innovation and political radicalism. The work of three comedians,
Frankie Howerd, Les Dawson, and Ben Elton, is then examined in
detail, with a view to establishing how important the influence of
tradition is on the work of individual comedians.
The thesis concludes by restressing the importance of the cultural
context of humour, and by discussing the reasons why
professionalization should discourage radicalism and innovation. It
is argued that the full artistic and political potential of the form
of stand-up comedy has rarely been attained.