Objects representing the best in British stand-up comedy will provide the inspiration for a new series of podcasts being launched at the University.
Each of the weekly podcasts will feature an object chosen from the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive, which is based at the University’s Canterbury campus.
Entitled A History of Comedy in Several Objects, a number of the 30 podcasts will be presented by well-known comedians, while the others will be presented by Dr Oliver Double, Director of the University’s Popular and Comic Performance research centre and Elspeth Millar, Archivist in Special Collections and Archives. The first podcast, featuring an orange as its inspiration, will be available on iTunes from 24 February.
As well as providing lots of laughs, it’s hoped the podcasts will raise awareness of the academic study of stand-up comedy, as well as the Archive’s unique collection. This includes material such as Harry Hill’s stage jacket, Attila the Stockbroker’s notebooks and Alexei Sayle’s TV scripts.
The deposit of the late comedian Linda Smith’s personal archive with the University in 2013 provided the inspiration for the formation of the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive, which is now growing into a substantial collection, for use by comedians and for those researching stand-up comedy and associated performance arts.