| Description | Harry Hill interviewed by Oliver Double on 26th August 2004, by telephone. This interview was conducted by Double for his book 'Getting the Joke: The Inner Workings of Stand-Up Comedy' (2005) .
Summary: [00:25] “How long have you been doing comedy?” [00:35] Student revues as a medical student, saw comedy at cabaret shows [00:53] 10 open spots over about 2 years [01:20] 1990, gave up medicine, bought a copy of Time Out. [01:47] Meccano Club [01:57] Harry Hill talks about the number of hours he worked as a Hospital doctor [02:10] Harry Hill discusses how he was never going to be a GP or a psychiatrist
[02:40] Comic influences. Comparisons to Ronnie Corbett and Harry Worth by critics. [03:10] Harry Hill started as a deadpan comic, heroes from cabaret clubs were Stewart Lee, Jack Dee, Norman Lovett, Arnold Brown and Jo Brand, [04:27] Harry Hill says that his problem with being a deadpan comedian was that he used to smile a lot
[04:59] Critics called him post-modern, Al Murray explains to him what this means, copying an old style, using old things that have already been done. [05:47] Discussion about the difference and relationship between character comedians and comedians like Billy Connolly who are the same onstage as they are offstage. [07:43] The freedom of saying something outrageous or obscure as a character and getting a huge laugh, Al Murray with a similar gag, misdirecting and tricking the audience. [09:00] Oliver Double talks about seeing one of his routines of Saturday Live and discusses it with Ross Noble when he used to run a club in Sheffield
[10:48] Discussion about writing process [11:43] Harry Hill compares his work ethic to revision when he was a medical student [12:22] Venues for warm-up gigs, Hampstead Comedy Club, around the circuit, difficult to try out material [13:04] opening for Ivor Dembina. [14:22] Harry Hill says he can’t bear rehearsing
[15:45] planning a five minute spot on TV, [16:00] Des O’Connor, Saturday Night Live. [17:24] Oliver Double says Al Murray’s act similarly stood out in the live floor show [17:45] quick-fire gags work well on TV, why Eddie Izzard never did TV. [18:24] Good memory, lots of small details and recurring threads, [18:44] Tim Vine’s act is similar, [18:53] Alan Davies does a series of gags about a single subject or two. [19:15] Discussion about paranoia about the length of a set [19:29] Harry Hill cites Lee Hurst as policing the time a comedian has been on for [19:54] Emo Philips,
[20:29] Discussion about a live phenomenon like stand-up as a recorded product, such as albums and DVDs. [21:01] Harry Hill discusses how Avalon DVD give him all the control [21:58] Discussion about Harry Hill’s reincorporation and running gags. [23:50] Harry Hill discusses how his act has changed to become more gag oriented and less non-sequitur.
[24:33] Discussion about distinctive frames of reference, pop culture references and old-fashioned references. [25:30] Sohoho club run by Paul Duddridge.
[26:43] Rhyming and childish pleasure of playing with language. [27:25] Audience participation and Frank Skinner, [28:11] Harry Hill discusses hecklers. [28:29] discussion about the relationship between the comedian and the audience. [29:18] Ian MacPherson.
[30:25] discussion about comedic rhythm and economy of words. [33:15] discussion about and not doing the stage persona in TV interviews. [34:58] Harry Hill admires Tommy Cooper and Eric Morecambe for doing the persona all the time.
[35:40] Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce introduced the idea of stand-up being self-expression in the 50s, discussion about whether Harry Hill’s material is self-expression and whether it means anything, ridiculousness says something about the human condition, [36:55] discussion about how Tim Vine does wordplay and comedy is about comedy, compares him to Tommy Cooper. [38:05] anyone who writes their own act is an artist [38:27] the comedy of Jim Davidson and ‘The Comedians’ isn’t art but craft.
[39:39] discussion about the origins of the costume, and what a comedian should wear on stage.
[41:42] interview ends. |