Whats right with Northern Irish comedy By Ciarn Bartlett Comedian, Journalist Public Health: This article has

been written in response to Whats wrong with Northern Irish comedy, written by James McLaughlin, published by Chortle 13th January, 2012. Theyve painted over all the graffiti in the tiny dressing room. I can remember scrawling my name up there with four other lads when we were into pop-punk and got booked to open a rock night. Ciarn Bartlett- Vocals, Banter it said. Its gone now. Painted over, fresh names scattered across the once-filled walls, never forgotten. You see, playing the Empire in Belfast, whether its for music or comedy, is a big deal. I suppose Im one of a relatively small group that has managed to do both. Some people who have played it a few times might read this and think, What a nonce, but Im sure they felt the nerves before going on. Its impossible not to feel somethingten years of live music shows and two in standup and the Empire still makes my palms sweat. Its the reputation of the tough crowd, the possibility of being tossed to the lions competing against your memories of previous success at smaller clubs, battling against your natural comical instincts- I think its safe to call it shit-inducingexcitement. Luckily, after each of my five shows in the Empire, Ive walked off to cheers and raucous applause and once, even a bit of a standing ovation- not bad for a fat man with a guitar, in any language or scene. What an unbelievable rush; a blood boiling, head sweating, smile forming rush! How would I know this if there wasnt a comedy scene here that works? I read an article on Friday the 13th by James McLaughlin and I remember thinking that the day had been proverbially unlucky for him. Unfortunate rather, as he seemed quite misguided when speaking about comedy in Gods wee acre, my beloved six counties. When I spoke to other comedians about the article we all agreed that the original had been poorly put together and executed with the all the hackish accuracy and side swipes of Lizzie Bordens axe instructor. The first and only thing Id agree with is that there have been too many articles which have over-praised our comedy in Northern Ireland- it isnt perfect and it is admittedly amateur level in some of the clubs. However, this is common knowledge, this is even admitted by the promoters of these clubs. If a lineup is filled with open-mic comedians, it is advertised as such, so complaining about this is a bit like moaning about having a used car when youve just

bought one from a second-hand car dealer. If the author had even the slightest inkling about comedy, he would know that open-mic nights are vital in getting new acts onto the stage and for established acts to try new stuff in preparation for bigger shows. Later we are told of the two camps of Northern Irish comedy- one headed by Barry The Blender Henderson; the other, a mismatched bunch of Aspergers sufferers who have been doing open-mic level comedy for too long. The sheer inaccuracy causes problems. Firstly, Barry Henderson is a character devised and played by a successful stand-up comedian, Colin Geddis. His Youtube video hits number closer to four million than two million and whether you enjoy his type of comedy or not, his appeal can hardly be sneered at- a bit like saying Peter Kay is a crap comedian due to having a wide fan base. Nonsense. Next, to say that Colin is the head of some camp of comedy is truly laughable and we, the Northern Irish comedians had a good laugh reading the first article and commenting about it to one another. Oh, how we laughed! We are individuals. Moreover, suggesting that a second camp of open-mic comedians competes somehow against this first camp is ludicrously out of touch. I think perhaps the author has been reading too much Tolkien and has somehow become obsessed with the search for duality, the ultimate battle between Good and Evil, between Barry Henderson and some first-time open-mic orc. This tack pigeon-holes a vast majority of comedians. We have straight-up old fashioned joke tellers, story tellers, musical comedians, magicians, a crop of female comedians, one-liner specialists, alternative comedians, sketch troupes and an improv team- not bad for a scene in Northern Ireland which- if the author knew ANYTHINGhas struggled seriously to find its feet in terms of having an infrastructure for the arts after the civil war which we rather comically summarise as the Troubles. We shouldnt be boxed in such a way. Its inaccurate, untimely and ultimately unfair. I for one do not consider myself to be some clone of another comedian. In this instance, I was doing regular shows at the smaller clubs in Northern Ireland and Dublin before Colin had started performing around the circuit. Nor do I consider myself some old hat comedian, hoping someone will listen to my mucky material about when I was young- Im 25, Ive been at comedy for two years and, while Id consider myself moderately successful and well-thought-of, Im still learning. The real problem I have with the first article is that it criticises those who have been too quick to praise comedy here and then slates the efforts of those who have reinvented and tirelessly promoted Northern Irish comedy- we arent all cyborgs doing jokes about bombs and playing up to the oafish image of the eternal Irish Paddy. We are a diverse group of people who want the time to let our scene develop and grow. There is one professional club here in Belfast, realistically the only one in Northern Ireland and thats the Empire (*stands back and waits for rotten tomatoes from promoters at the university). I want someone to explain to me then, if our scene is so

overrated and terrible, how on the first show back after Christmas, three quarters of the acts were local lads- Micky Bartlett, Sean Hegarty and a certain rotund journalist in a multi-coloured onesie.