Oliver Double

Oliver Double
Oliver Double in 2022
Born (1965-05-22) 22 May 1965 (age 59)
Academic work
DisciplineArts
Sub-disciplineComedy and Popular Performance
InstitutionsUniversity of Kent
Notable worksStand-Up! On Being a Comedian (1997), Alternative Comedy: 1979 and the Reinvention of British Stand-Up. (2020)

Oliver Double (born 22 April 1965)[citation needed] 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

  • Stand-Up! On Being a Comedian (1997, Methuen Drama) ISBN 9780413703200
  • Getting the Joke: The Inner Workings of Stand-Up Comedy (2004, Bloomsbury) ISBN 978-0413774767
  • Britain Had Talent: A History of Variety Theatre (2012, Palgrave Macmillan) ISBN 978-0230284609
  • Alternative Comedy: 1979 and the Reinvention of British Stand-Up (2020, Bloomsbury) ISBN 9781350052819

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.[21] 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.[21]

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]

References

  1. ^ Guardian Staff (August 10, 1999). "King of comedy". the Guardian.
  2. ^ "Oliver Double". School of Arts - University of Kent.
  3. ^ "Oliver Double". TEDx London Business School. November 4, 2021.
  4. ^ "CityLIS Workplace Forum". www.city.ac.uk. March 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "Oliver Double - Break a Leg" – via www.youtube.com.
  6. ^ "Funny Rabbit Comedy Club (@funnyrabbitcomedy) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com.
  7. ^ Nallon, Steve (August 6, 1999). "Oliver Double Stand-Up! On Being a ComedianLondon: Methuen, 1997. Pbk., £9.99. ISBN 0-413-70320-7". New Theatre Quarterly. 15 (3): 286. doi:10.1017/S0266464X00013142. S2CID 190740827 – via Cambridge University Press.
  8. ^ "Britain Had Talent: A History Of Variety Theatre by Oliver Double : Book reviews 2012 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk.
  9. ^ Bennett, Steve. "'The Comedy Store was not an alternative comedy venue' : News 2019 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk.
  10. ^ "Alternative Comedy, by Oliver Double : Book reviews 2020 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk.
  11. ^ "Beyond The Comic Strip: what does 'alternative comedy' mean in 2022?". the Guardian. June 29, 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Laura Lexx: 'I did 10 gigs for a master's in standup comedy – then never stopped'". the Guardian. September 19, 2022.
  13. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Mark Thomas savages Boris Johnson as he collects degree : News 2022 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk.
  14. ^ Guide, British Comedy (August 16, 2021). "Leicester Comedy Festival to publish All Puns Blazing joke book". British Comedy Guide.
  15. ^ "A History Of Comedy In Several Objects on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts.
  16. ^ "A History Of Comedy In Several Objects". Matt Hoss Comedy.
  17. ^ "Oliver Double". IMDb.
  18. ^ a b "The Alexei Sayle Podcast: Tingle Tangles (Bertolt Brecht special with Dr. Oliver Double) on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts.
  19. ^ "Calling Boris Johnson a clown is unfair to clowns". July 19, 2019.
  20. ^ "The most famous comedian you've never heard of". September 4, 2010 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  21. ^ a b c "About the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive". Special Collections and Archives - University of Kent. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  22. ^ University of Kent Special Collections & Archives. "Oliver Double Collection". University of Kent Special Collections & Archives Catalogue. Retrieved 2024-05-15.