Oliver Double Explained

Oliver Double
Birth Date:1965 5, df=yes
Discipline:Arts
Sub Discipline:Comedy and Popular Performance
Workplaces:University of Kent
Notable Works:Stand-Up! On Being a Comedian (1997), Alternative Comedy: 1979 and the Reinvention of British Stand-Up. (2020)

Oliver Double (born 22 April 1965) is a British stand-up comedian, author and academic. Since 1999, he has taught comic and popular performance at the University of Kent.[1] His current roles at the university are Reader in Drama and Theatre, and Head of Comedy and Popular Performance.[2] [3]

Career

Double worked as a circuit comedian and founded the Last Laugh comedy club in Sheffield.[4] He continues to perform in his one-person shows Saint Pancreas[5] and Break a Leg and in a monthly comedy club called Funny Rabbit.[6]

He has written books on the subject including 1997's Stand Up![7] and 2012's Britain Had Talent[8] as well as book chapters and articles about stand-up comedy, alternative comedy,[9] [10] [11] variety theatre and vaudeville[12]

Double contributed to the creation of the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive (BSUCA) at Kent University's Templeman Library[13] [14] and he produced a monthly podcast about BSUCA called A History of Comedy in Several Objects.[15] [16]

He has appeared on TV programmes and documentaries discussing stand-up comedy, including BBC's Imagine and Horizon.[17] He has also appeared on numerous comedy podcasts including The Alexei Sayle Podcast where he discussed Bertolt Brecht[18] and Book Shambles where he discussed the history alternative comedy with Josie Long and Robin Ince.[18]

Double teaches practical performance[19] including stand-up comedy[20] based on research and many of his students have become professional comedians.[12]

Books

Collections

In 2014 Double helped to establish the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive (BSUCA) at the University of Kent.[21] The archive's founding collection was the archive of comedian Linda Smith. BSUCA has been actively acquiring material ever since, and now holds a wide variety of collections including material from Mark Thomas, Andy de la Tour, Josie Long, Funny Women, Harry Hill, and Jeremy Hardy.

Double also deposited his own material into the archive; the Oliver Double Collection includes extensive audio-visual material (featuring interviews with many comedians), live recordings and show notes.[22]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: King of comedy. Guardian Staff. August 10, 1999. the Guardian.
  2. Web site: Oliver Double. School of Arts - University of Kent.
  3. Web site: Oliver Double. November 4, 2021. TEDx London Business School.
  4. Web site: CityLIS Workplace Forum. March 17, 2021. www.city.ac.uk.
  5. Web site: Oliver Double - Break a Leg. www.youtube.com.
  6. Web site: Funny Rabbit Comedy Club (@funnyrabbitcomedy) • Instagram photos and videos. www.instagram.com.
  7. Oliver Double Stand-Up! On Being a ComedianLondon: Methuen, 1997. Pbk., £9.99. ISBN 0-413-70320-7.. Steve. Nallon. August 6, 1999. New Theatre Quarterly. 15. 3. 286. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/S0266464X00013142. 190740827 .
  8. Web site: Britain Had Talent: A History Of Variety Theatre by Oliver Double : Book reviews 2012 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide. www.chortle.co.uk.
  9. Web site: 'The Comedy Store was not an alternative comedy venue' : News 2019 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide. Steve. Bennett. www.chortle.co.uk.
  10. Web site: Alternative Comedy, by Oliver Double : Book reviews 2020 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide. www.chortle.co.uk.
  11. Web site: Beyond The Comic Strip: what does 'alternative comedy' mean in 2022?. June 29, 2022. the Guardian.
  12. Web site: Laura Lexx: 'I did 10 gigs for a master's in standup comedy – then never stopped'. September 19, 2022. the Guardian.
  13. Web site: Mark Thomas savages Boris Johnson as he collects degree : News 2022 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide. Steve. Bennett. www.chortle.co.uk.
  14. Web site: Leicester Comedy Festival to publish All Puns Blazing joke book. British Comedy. Guide. August 16, 2021. British Comedy Guide.
  15. Web site: A History Of Comedy In Several Objects on Apple Podcasts. Apple Podcasts.
  16. Web site: A History Of Comedy In Several Objects. Matt Hoss Comedy.
  17. Web site: Oliver Double. IMDb.
  18. Web site: The Alexei Sayle Podcast: Tingle Tangles (Bertolt Brecht special with Dr. Oliver Double) on Apple Podcasts. Apple Podcasts.
  19. Web site: Calling Boris Johnson a clown is unfair to clowns. July 19, 2019.
  20. Web site: The most famous comedian you've never heard of. September 4, 2010. www.bbc.co.uk.
  21. Web site: About the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive . 2024-05-15 . Special Collections and Archives - University of Kent . en-GB.
  22. Web site: University of Kent Special Collections & Archives . Oliver Double Collection . 2024-05-15 . University of Kent Special Collections & Archives Catalogue.

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