The study of funny
Cambridge Footlights getting the joke for past 135 years
The Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club was founded in 1883 for students to have a bit of fun. For 135 years The Footlights have presented their unique style of comedy, and graduated some of the biggest names in English wit.
Among those whose names have graced past revues by the group are Monty Python’s John Cleese and Eric Idle, The IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade, Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver, and — in 1981 — the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Perrier Award-winning crew of Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Tony Slattery, Penny Dwyer and Paul Shearer.
As members of the society gear up to take the sketch-comedy show titled Pillow Talk to North America, there are some pre-tour jitters. Being a Footlight means joining a historic legacy of humour.
“Oh there is no denying that it carries weight to have The Footlights name attached to yours if you are hoping to pursue this as a career,” says co-director Daniel Emery. “It’s also just a brilliant thing to be involved in for the fun of it, too.”
Emery and writer/performer Meg Coslett were preparing material for The Footlights’ coming North American tour. Keenly aware of the sense of legacy that accompanies anything to do with the group, the pressure was on during the writing week. But Coslett, who is reading English at Cambridge, keeps things in perspective.
“Knowing these people have all gone to the same pubs as you have to write and performed on the same stage as you, it all feels a bit like hallowed ground, I guess,” said Coslett. “But the pressure is off a bit when you remember that John Cleese didn’t write the Dead Parrot sketch when he was 19. But it’s a cool thing to keep aspiring to nevertheless.”
All the members in the interview touched upon the way that the “unique atmosphere” of the campus has created a style of comedy different from others. For North Americans, where humour tends to be targeted at the Ivy League rather than from it, this idea needs some expanding upon.
“You will still find that the butt of the joke is often the people who attend these very same red-brick universities,” said Coslett. “Because they are taking the mick out of themselves.”
“We know we have a substantial amount of privilege being allowed to study here, and are very self-aware in the knowledge,” said Ash Weir. “It’s better than being dicks about it, really.”
So a style of comedy that is whip smart, introspective and, frequently, zany can be seen as The Footlights’ signature. But even something as revered as this group can sometimes need a good round of re-examination and The Footlights saw president Ruby Keane quit amid claims that the group was elitist and lacking in diversity with no ethnic-minority students on its 10-strong committee. This led to what is believed to be the first reorganization of the society in many years.
Weir is the first Footlights female vice-president, as well as a writer and performer. The society is addressing gender and class imbalances via general-accessibility discussion groups, and the application process has changed considerably since any of the members interviewed joined as performers, comedians and writers. The Footlights are branching out into different areas of performing to bring in a more diverse perspective. The consensus among these society members is that it makes sense. Humour must evolve.
“Cambridge students are nerds and just as nerdy about comedy. It would be silly to expect that the only people we are interested in are those who were in their prime 40 years ago,” said Coslett.
“What has always stood out for me about Cambridge comedy is that everyone is so aware of the fringe scenes, up-and-coming London comedians and super-obscure things on the internet. It’s always an amalgamation of different styles.”
Are there any weird pig’shead initiation-type rituals involved in becoming a Footlight?
“Very boringly, the initiation process is sort of being good at what you are applying for,” said Weir. “So we have people who are doing and interested in doing comedy and people who want to help them do it to the best possible level. I’m not opposed to tattoos, though.”
“Or a ceremonial dunk in the river Cam, that would be OK,” said Pillow Talk co-director Molly Stacey. “A nice knitted jumper with Stephen Fry’s face, perhaps.”
There is no mistaking the inherent Britishness of the members and that leads to the time-tested question of what makes people laugh in different places. English comedians such as Oliver and James Corden have taken over late-night TV with a more cutting and sharp style of political observation, but does The Footlights’ brand of sketch humour have the same reception across the pond? Pillow Talk has a skeletal structure, but material is constantly being added on tour so the performers don’t “get insanely bored.”
“I guess we’re aware that American comedy is much more born out of improv traditions than the sketch tradition, which is far more built upon the theatrical,” said Emery. “Obviously, we don’t want to do the same bit 60 times in a row. But we do tend to add material that has been previously written.”
“What past groups have said is that Americans seem to find the whole ‘essence of Britishness’ funny in itself, and kind of fetishize it to a degree,” said Coslett. “Canadians seem to straddle both worlds and have a greater proclivity to irony and self-deprecation.”
It might have something to do with the neighbours.