The Outcast Comic

Documentary-makers weren't straight with me

A few weeks ago I was rather surprised to discover I was listed as a contributor, having no recollection of ever being interviewed for any doc entitled Outcast Comic nor having ever been asked if I wanted to be involved in a documentary based on one man's Facebook update a few years ago. In fact I probably would've declined given the oh-so trite subject matter.

TV review: The Outcast Comic, Sky Arts

Others remember where they were when they heard that Princess Diana had died. I remember where I was when I read Andrew Lawrence's famous Facebook post about the state of modern comedy and the state of the nation in October 2014. I thought it was, erm, interesting, and messaged him quickly to ask if I could post it on beyondthejoke. I then got on a train and when I logged back on he had replied, politely saying: "Good to hear from you, but I'd rather you didn't".

The Outcast Comic review

It's a strange phenomenon of modern times that Andrew Lawrence can foster an edgy, rebellious image for adopting the exact-same reactionary tone of the government and most of the press.

The story of how mid-table standup Andrew Lawrence went from Live At The Apollo landfill to controversy-courting rightwing rottweiler, replete with freshly chipped shoulder regarding "media censorship" of his material. Ignore the almost identical paucity of leftwing rhetoric expressed in current TV and radio comedy and discount Lawrence having his own Radio 4 sitcom, and you could almost have a convincing argument.