Aaron
Saturday 10th December 2011 10:33pm
Royal Berkshire
69,958 posts
Quote: raul415 @ December 10 2011, 4:35 PM GMT
I am an American completely in love with British comedy but I have a questions.
It seems that so many of the most famous comedy performers, and writers all seem to come out of Cambridge and other public schools. From John Cleese to Richard Ayoade, it seems that making connections at these school (if you're talented) puts you in a very good position for success. This in itself is not surprising, most of the business world works the same way.
What I am curious about is whether there is a perception that having a public school education confers on one a sort of superior comic intelligence, or is it more of an all boys club. You went to school with the guy who now works for the BBC...sort of thing.
I know that there are successful comedians in Britain who did not go to these schools but it seems that the vast majority did and do.
In America there are writers and comedians who have the same sort of educational background as the public school crowd, but for the vast majority of folks the most important thing being making industry contacts, getting an agent etc..
It does seem to be a bit of a comedy class elite situation in Britain (though it seems to be changing) and I'd appreciate any insight.
Cheers!
It's certainly true that many of the best-known British comedies in America are from the better educated end of the scale, but I don't recognise any such "perception" as existing, no. There is, and always has been, a large mix of backgrounds amongst both writers and performers, as highlighted by Oldrocker.
It would be quite fair to suppose that the higher end of the education scale tends to also imbibe its pupils with extra confidence and determination, which certainly help with both making and using connections.
Of course, there's also the matter of what the public perceive as opposed to what actually goes on - but that's a different matter.
Quote: raul415 @ December 10 2011, 7:47 PM GMT
I just wonder if it's something your country men and women are aware of or am I just being an over sensitive.
People tend to be reasonably aware of it because it's often reflected in a performer's accent. For unseen writers, it's far less obvious. Whether it bothers the general population, or whether they interpret any difference in quite the way you have done, are different questions again.
With performers such as Jack Whitehall, Sarah Millican, Frankie Boyle, Michael McIntyre and Micky Flanagan, I think we've got a pretty good contemporary mix.
