Smart Talkers
Comedy talents can emerge from very different locations.
It's always interesting looking at how the comedy business has evolved over the years, particularly the contrasts between the UK and the US. Nowadays there's a pretty seamless crossover between their two live circuits, as in-demand comics regularly cross the Atlantic to tour or play festivals, but the roots are quite different. The UK circuit emerged out of alternative theatre and working men's clubs - weird outfits and cheap suits - while in the US there's a shinier spin on the origin story: evocative nightclubs and comedy shows in casinos. So, lots of formal jackets and even tuxedoes.
Both London and California benefited from an influential Comedy Store along the way too, although the humour business has moved on a lot since your Seinfelds and Sayles broke through. Now comedians are as likely to emerge from YouTube as from the live stage, although perhaps transatlantic differences are still in place.
You can imagine a US comedy fan watching YouTube clips of hot new acts while also playing virtual online casinos games. Having a spin on some online slots is increasingly popular these days, probably because you can do it for free without sometimes having to deposit anything - newfreespinsnodeposit.com is a popular site showing all of these types of free spin offers online.
For comedians, where once you hoped to get a few minutes of stand-up on a major late-night talk show (in the US) or to make a decent showing on a TV panel show (in the UK), now getting commissioned to make your own stand-up special for a big streaming site is probably the best way to really show what you can do. And they beam your stuff around the world.
It's funny how things change. As well as the varied specials on that well-known internet flicks site (the one you stay in and chill with, which actually started out by posting DVDs to people), there is now a whole UK-based streaming platform dedicated to stand-up, from the UK, US and beyond. Even the site where lots of people buy their Christmas shopping now hosts a bunch of original comedy specials, on its online video service. And why not? Those shows a lot cheaper and simpler to record than a drama series or movie.
Meanwhile the actual live circuits continue, and cross over so much these days that you never know who might turn up where. In the States you'll find big multi-millionaire TV comics trying out new routines down in a murky New York basement, while acts who emerged from the aftermath of Britain's alternative comedy scene play lucrative corporate gigs, award shows, or casinos.
Let's hope they manage to meet the sometimes stringent standards for the latter, though, as your average Fringe type is hardly renowned for sartorial elegance. One TV comic's new tour show features a big section about visiting a casino after a gig and falling foul of its strict dress code, despite arriving in a posh three-piece suit. You can take the comic out of the clubs, but you can't take the clubs out of the comic.