Elis James: Funny Nation

Elis explores the history of Welsh comedy from the early days in pubs, village halls and theatres to the mainstream on Live At The Apollo.

Elis explores the history of Welsh comedy from the early days in pubs, village halls and theatres to the mainstream on Live At The Apollo.

He looks back at the golden age of Welsh comedy (1966-1977) when live performances were at its core. At that time, performers at the peak of their talents aimed to play Wales' biggest cabaret venue, the Double Diamond in Caerphilly. The venue was key to the rise of the double act that kicked off the golden age, Ryan and Ronnie.

Rob Brydon describes going to see the double act in Panto in Swansea as a young boy and being left in stitches of laughter. This was the period that a young comedian, Max Boyce was given his English language TV debut on Poems and Pints.

Max and Elis discuss the scenes at Max's first big label album, Live at Treorchy, where tickets had to be given away for free as it hadn't sold enough. His follow-up album, We all had doctors papers reached number one in the album chart and still remains as the only comedy album to reach that milestone. The impact of Max Boyce's comedy genius was felt around the world as Rhod Gilbert explains how he was bombarded with questions about Max while doing a show in South Africa.

Stand-comedy has now gone mainstream, helped by the success of shows such as Live At The Apollo and Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow. Wales had the comedian to ride this wave, Rhod Gilbert. In the episode, Rhod speaks of his experience on the comedy circuit and how it empowered him to become fearless on stage in the search for success.

Stand-up comedy has found a foothold in Wales, you can no longer count our professional comedians, comedy writers and performers on one hand. Is it time for us to now say, with confidence, that Wales is a funny nation?