by Visitor » Thu Aug 26, 2004 4:16 pm
bingolong,
Shocking lack of black humour
The Richard Pryor Award for ethnic comedy is all about controversy and talent, says his wife Jennifer Pryor.
We knew there would be plenty of interest when we came up with the idea of the Richard Pryor Award for ethnic comedy in Edinburgh, but we could never have imagined it would receive this much publicity. Reginald D Hunter’s comments about not wanting an award because he is black have really stoked up a debate. We couldn’t be happier about that. We’ve been following it and Richard thinks it’s great that it has caused so much interest, and sees any reaction at all as positive. Richard loves that kind of controversy.
I suppose the original idea behind the award is to foster great comedy and to open it up to a broader range of performers and audiences. We thought this would be a great opportunity to highlight Richard’s legacy and also to put the spotlight on people who are genuinely funny. And if they are performers who might not have been given the same chances previously then great, that’s what it’s about.
What was a big surprise to us was to find out that only 16 acts on the fringe qualify for the “ethnic” category. That was just amazing when they told us that. What is going on? It’s not as if the people aren’t there. Britain is a pretty ethnically diverse place, so why is the fringe so white? That’s partly what this award is addressing, that dearth of performers, and the audiences as well.
In America it’s not quite the same. When Richard first came along everyone was bowled over because the material was so powerful, because he was speaking about such raw issues, and because he was talking about black people in a way that had never been addressed before. Nobody had mentioned race — well, maybe Red Fox, or Lenny Bruce talking about his Jewishness, but nothing like Richard. Nowadays that’s not unusual: there’s nothing new about black comics in America talking about that kind of experience any more; so it’s a surprise to us that the UK situation seems so different.
Sure it’s about affirmative action, because Richard and I believe in giving that helping hand to those that otherwise might struggle to overcome inequalities. Richard and I both came out of the US civil rights movement that fought for those rights, and we believe in establishing a level playing field. You’ll get idiots who are products of affirmative action but who claim it’s not beneficial, but we know about the need to give people that hand up, not just to ethnic minorities but to women . . . or anyone who doesn’t get that equality of opportunity.
With Edinburgh, well maybe it needs someone to come in and stir things up a bit. I think it was Lenny Henry who said that if more black performers came to the fringe, there would be more black people in the audiences, but you have to do something to make that happen, to get it started. We’re looking at making this an annual award, but we’re seeing how it goes first, making sure it’s working the way we want.
In the long term I suppose the ideal situation would be if we could drop the “ethnic” tag altogether. For now, I think the winner will be someone who reflects their background in their show, and can communicate that to their audience.
We’re looking for comics who are talking about their own experience, their pain, heartbreak or struggle. That’s what Richard was doing when he started, talking about pain and his demons, and people, whatever their race, saw beyond the ethnic element and thought, “Shit, I get it.” It had that universal appeal. Richard could do that. That’s something Denis Leary said when I was gathering material for the I Ain’t Dead Yet Motherf***** DVD, that Richard was to comedy what Babe Ruth was to baseball, with that short glorious career, meteoric really, in which he reached everybody.
There really isn’t all that much of a chasm. Everyone’s got their own humanity and can relate on that basic level. I grew up in a privileged white family in New England, and somehow I found this commonality with a man who grew up in a whorehouse in Peoria, Illinois, so I guess I know what I’m talking about.
That’s what it is about, making people see they are the same, making their own experiences reach everybody. That’s what we’re looking for with this first award. All that aside though, the main thing is that they have to be a great comic, they’ve got to come up with the goods. Or, as Richard puts it, “you better be funny, motherf*****.”
The winner of the Richard Pryor Award for ethnic comedy will be announced on Wednesday. The nominees are Ahmed Ahmed, Stephen K Amos, Danny Bhoy and Matt Blaize
bingolong,
Shocking lack of black humour
The Richard Pryor Award for ethnic comedy is all about controversy and talent, says his wife Jennifer Pryor.
We knew there would be plenty of interest when we came up with the idea of the Richard Pryor Award for ethnic comedy in Edinburgh, but we could never have imagined it would receive this much publicity. Reginald D Hunter’s comments about not wanting an award because he is black have really stoked up a debate. We couldn’t be happier about that. We’ve been following it and Richard thinks it’s great that it has caused so much interest, and sees any reaction at all as positive. Richard loves that kind of controversy.
I suppose the original idea behind the award is to foster great comedy and to open it up to a broader range of performers and audiences. We thought this would be a great opportunity to highlight Richard’s legacy and also to put the spotlight on people who are genuinely funny. And if they are performers who might not have been given the same chances previously then great, that’s what it’s about.
What was a big surprise to us was to find out that only 16 acts on the fringe qualify for the “ethnic” category. That was just amazing when they told us that. What is going on? It’s not as if the people aren’t there. Britain is a pretty ethnically diverse place, so why is the fringe so white? That’s partly what this award is addressing, that dearth of performers, and the audiences as well.
In America it’s not quite the same. When Richard first came along everyone was bowled over because the material was so powerful, because he was speaking about such raw issues, and because he was talking about black people in a way that had never been addressed before. Nobody had mentioned race — well, maybe Red Fox, or Lenny Bruce talking about his Jewishness, but nothing like Richard. Nowadays that’s not unusual: there’s nothing new about black comics in America talking about that kind of experience any more; so it’s a surprise to us that the UK situation seems so different.
Sure it’s about affirmative action, because Richard and I believe in giving that helping hand to those that otherwise might struggle to overcome inequalities. Richard and I both came out of the US civil rights movement that fought for those rights, and we believe in establishing a level playing field. You’ll get idiots who are products of affirmative action but who claim it’s not beneficial, but we know about the need to give people that hand up, not just to ethnic minorities but to women . . . or anyone who doesn’t get that equality of opportunity.
With Edinburgh, well maybe it needs someone to come in and stir things up a bit. I think it was Lenny Henry who said that if more black performers came to the fringe, there would be more black people in the audiences, but you have to do something to make that happen, to get it started. We’re looking at making this an annual award, but we’re seeing how it goes first, making sure it’s working the way we want.
In the long term I suppose the ideal situation would be if we could drop the “ethnic” tag altogether. For now, I think the winner will be someone who reflects their background in their show, and can communicate that to their audience.
We’re looking for comics who are talking about their own experience, their pain, heartbreak or struggle. That’s what Richard was doing when he started, talking about pain and his demons, and people, whatever their race, saw beyond the ethnic element and thought, “Shit, I get it.” It had that universal appeal. Richard could do that. That’s something Denis Leary said when I was gathering material for the I Ain’t Dead Yet Motherf***** DVD, that Richard was to comedy what Babe Ruth was to baseball, with that short glorious career, meteoric really, in which he reached everybody.
There really isn’t all that much of a chasm. Everyone’s got their own humanity and can relate on that basic level. I grew up in a privileged white family in New England, and somehow I found this commonality with a man who grew up in a whorehouse in Peoria, Illinois, so I guess I know what I’m talking about.
That’s what it is about, making people see they are the same, making their own experiences reach everybody. That’s what we’re looking for with this first award. All that aside though, the main thing is that they have to be a great comic, they’ve got to come up with the goods. Or, as Richard puts it, “you better be funny, motherf*****.”
The winner of the Richard Pryor Award for ethnic comedy will be announced on Wednesday. The nominees are Ahmed Ahmed, Stephen K Amos, Danny Bhoy and Matt Blaize
