Abstract
This chapter discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stand-up comedy. I argue that the pandemic made visible inequalities that already existed within the industry. The chapter outlines some of the key funding mechanisms that were used during the pandemic, but also the way that these mechanisms reinforced cultural hierarchies that mean that comedy is viewed unfavourably in comparison to other cultural industries. The second half of the chapter explores initiatives such as the Live Comedy Association, Get Off and Equity’s Comedians’ Charter. I argue that such initiatives are useful but difficult to sustain within significant investment and structural support.
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Notes
- 1.
Although most restrictions were lifted in July 2021, many venues cancelled performances in the run up to Christmas 2021 due to the rise of the Omicron variant.
- 2.
Although not within comedy, the high-profile defamation trial against Amber Heard after she published an article in The Washington Post highlights the extent to which sharing experiences of domestic violence can lead to litigation. Similarly, the Channel 4/Times investigation Russell Brand: In Plain Sight described how one accuser was threatened with litigation from Brand’s lawyers after sharing her experiences with his literary agent.
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Sedgwick, C. (2024). COVID-19, Precarity and Comedy. In: Inequality in Contemporary Stand-Up Comedy in the UK . Palgrave Studies in Comedy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55932-7_4
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