British Library set to hold comedy conference

The British Library is set to make its debut in the comedy world this month as the institution holds a conference on the subject of laughter.

The What’s so funny? The Language of Laughter comedy conference is set to see a range of comedians including Tim Vine, Robin Ince, Richard Herring and Shazia Mirza as well as a number of comedy experts head to the British Library to discuss how comedy has developed into an art form.

The conference, which is set to be held on 17 – 18 of January, will see sessions such as How Do Jokes Work, where Tim Vine will delve into the world of how comedians can predict audience reaction to jokes, whether there are words and structures that are intrinsically funny - and how timing works.

Other sessions include an academic look at the ‘camp aesthetic’, where did it come from and why has it become such a popular aspect of mainstream British popular culture and a discussion on the limits of comedy called Beyond The Pale?: 

How far can comedy go?

The limits of comedy, which has always been a contentious subject, has been in the spotlight in recent years after the Sachsgate scandal where Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand made lewd phonecalls to Andrew Sachs live on radio, and the media speculation surrounding Frankie Boyle, whose offensive style of comedy has led to a stream of complaints to broadcasters.

Chaired by Chris Ritchie, the session will see the producer of The Now Show, Bill Dare, joined by media critics Kate Copstick and Steve Bennett, as well as comedian Richard Herring, who was once labelled as ‘offensive’ when one of his shows delved into the taboo world of Hitler’s moustache.

For more information on the conference visit www.bl.uk.