7 The language of comedy

One of the most important purposes for which we creatively manipulate language is humour. Pinning down precisely what constitutes humour is a perilous business, and the concept covers a huge range of different forms of action and expression, from gags to slapstick. Rather than concentrate on something archetypal like the linguistic format of a joke, however, in this section you’ll look at other ways in which a sensitivity to language can contribute to the creation of comedy.

In the video below, you’ll hear from the comedian Graham Fellows, creator and performer of the character of John Shuttleworth, about the various influences and motivations behind his creation. As you’ll see, issues related to language have played a central part in the creation of the character, but in rather subtle ways. The humour comes from his observations of how people in his hometown speak, both in terms of their accents and turns of phrase. He then mixes this with slightly incongruous examples of language play – rhymes such as ‘burial / Mary will’ and puns such as ‘undertake’. The result is something which highlights the whimsical absurdities of normal life – and everyday language use – without resorting to stereotype or mockery.

It’s worth noting that humour is often quite culturally-specific – it draws on an audience’s recognition of peculiarities and incongruities in the environment around them. This is certainly the case with the interview with Graham Fellows and the way that he creates his comedy from observations of the environment in which he was raised and has lived.

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Transcript: Video 8 The language of comedy

[LIGHTHEARTED MUSIC]

[LAUGHS]

[CLICKING FILM REEL]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

GRAHAM FELLOWS

John Shuttleworth is a Northern character. He’s from Sheffield, which is where I’m from originally. But I started doing him when I moved to Manchester, and I think I was a little bit nostalgic for the Sheffield of my teens. So I started playing around with this sort of ‘Now then, how’s tha doin? Alright?’

But quite soon, I took him away from a Sheffield accent, from the sort of Billy Casper, sort of Kestrel for a Knave, sort of ‘Now then, how’s that doing? Alright?’. I can’t really do that anymore. And I think living in Manchester affected the accent, and it became ‘Just sort of like that, you know, sort of, you know’. Actually, because I live in Lincolnshire now, it’s gone a bit Lincolnshire. ‘You know’. Or is that Staffordshire? I don’t know.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

(SINGING) My wife Mary made a lovely shepherd’s pie and peas.

John Shuttleworth’s language is definitely not from the present day.

(SINGING) I said, that looks fantastic, love. And I tucked in hungrily.

I think it all comes back from my dad, who is kind of a little bit out of time. Well, he’s dead now. But when I started doing John, I probably-- in fact, I know I did, I used him as a template. Though, ironically, my father is from Croydon.

(SINGING) A shandy bass in a lady’s glass.

The line ‘a shandy bass in a lady’s glass’, that really is sort of me paying homage to Sheffield, to the working men’s club where I used to work in Sheffield. And I’m sure these guys used to come up, and they’d say, half a double diamond in a lady’s glass. But in this way of saying it in quite a butch way, I thought it was quite amusing. So yeah, I mean, I guess that’s a Northern expression. I don’t know if it’s used in the South, but lady’s glass.

(SINGING) I will attend you when you’re very ill, plump the pillows beneath your head. I’ll undertake your burial, or my wife Mary will if I’m already dead.

That came about because I think I realized ‘burial’ rhymed with ‘Mary will’. Mary is John’s wife, so I played around with the ‘undertake’. See, that was a little joke. I undertake-- ‘I’ll undertake your burial, or my wife Mary will if I’m already dead’.

(SINGING) I can’t go back to savoury now, oh no, my taste buds would go crazy. Can’t go back to savoury now.

‘I can’t go back to savoury’ is a song all about obsession, isn’t it? It’s about listing all the things in the meal and all the little aspects of the meal. So it’s very character-driven because John Shuttleworth would do that.

(SINGING) Hush now, my child, lie you very still. Eat your tomato soup and soft white bread.

[BEEPING TONES]

There’s a friend of mine who actually is-- all the time, he sort of says, oh, yes, that’s a bit claggy, isn’t it? Good old Northern word. You know, you’ve met people like that, that do that sort of thing. They’re self-conscious about the use of words because they love language. Well, John loves language, but he doesn’t know he does.

(SINGING) Oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh, oh, oh-oh, oh, oh.

[LIGHTHEARTED MUSIC]

End transcript: Video 8 The language of comedy

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