It is the nature of recent times that many things no longer exist solely in the categories we give them. The concept of genre has progressed from the home artists and performers live in, to the chains they seek to free themselves of.
Stand Up & Slam reflects this shift, with their pitting of comics and poets against one another for the audience’s approval and ultimate decision on a victor. The group regularly tour the country, performing more frequently at Camden Comedy Club and Brighton’s own Komedia, where they play on Wednesday (21 March).
Komedia has become a real staple of Brighton’s cultural scene, with their excellent comedy schedule, small-time gigs and children’s theatre, plus an in house Picturehouse Cinema – it is a hub of entertainment sitting right at the heart of North Laine. The multi-faceted venue, then, could not be better a location to host this performative mash-up.
Although today they may seem different art forms, Poetry’s origin in spoken and often social storytelling shows how closely it can be positioned in comparison to stand-up comedy, which is nothing without its audience and sense of spontaneity combined with planned content. I am excited to see how the two will play off each other, and how the audience will receive it. The nature of the evening means that it will culminate in a final vote to decide the victor between Stand Up and Poetry, and I love how this addresses the elephant in the room that predominantly exists in much of comedy and performing arts: the desire to win over the audience.
It promises to be a night that is fun and thoughtful but, most importantly, funny, and a fresh new way of taking on two old dogs of the performing arts.
Stand Up & Slam is on Wednesday 21 March and again on Wednesday 18 April at Komedia.
Tickets are available at £8 and £5 for Students.