Swearing, dirty stories and offensive behaviour are all part of comedy but a growing number of comedians are keeping it clean, writes Scott Kara
KEY POINTS:
It's no use having a potty mouth and carrying on about your family jewels up there on stage because we've heard it all before.
It takes more than the F-word and a full frontal to shock comedy audiences these days.
That's why comics like Dave Wiggins are leading a mini clean comedy revolution. Instead of an R18 warning or "content may offend" description for his show 100 per cent Human, 0 per cent Whale there's a "contains no offensive material" message attached.
"The language thing doesn't really bother me because that's just the way people talk. What I'm offended by is bad intentions that might be demeaning towards woman, or race, and where the ideas really offend me."
The American - who lives in Auckland and now calls New Zealand home - admits his relaxed, observational, story-telling style might not be edgy enough for some people but says there's a market for it.
"It's a brand or style of comedy and the reason I'm behind it and want to brand is because there are people who want to come and see comedy but don't like to be offended or things that are overtly sexual."
Much of his material is based around cultural differences between New Zealand and America and everyday situations as mundane as heating your home.
Wiggins is a Christian but his style has more to do with reflecting his personality than any obligation to his faith.
"So for myself I'm not overtly offensive and I don't swear a lot in real life," he chuckles. "But with offensive stuff the surprise is in the shock, but sometimes people just laugh with the shock stuff out of being uncomfortable. Clean comedy is about having a laugh that comes not from being uncomfortable, but from relating to the situation.
Along with Wiggins there are a number of clean comedians, including Auckland-based Japanese stand-up Hiroshi, Wellington's Jerome Chandrahasen and musical comedian Dash Ambrose (with whom Wiggins teams up for shows based around banter and music). They all perform as part of the family friendly Clean Comedy Show at this year's festival.
As well as his solo shows, Wiggins also does shows in churches and once a month Auckland comedy venue the Classic has a clean night where comedians can come along and "clean up their set".
"But," asks Wiggins, "what is clean comedy anyway? It's toss, you know? It's just stuff that's not overly offensive. I do make fun of Kiwis and rugby and you could take offence at that, so there's that line somewhere that's different for different people."
New Zealander and 2008 Billy T. award nominee Simon McKinney prefers it clean but dislikes the term "clean comedy" because it implies other comedy is smutty or dirty.
He views his art form more as a challenge to make people laugh without being filthy, which means he isn't opposed to some swearing and believes it can be used as "seasoning".
"Bottom line is, I like it clean, but it doesn't have to be clean. Just because it's clean doesn't means it's funny and just because its dirty doesn't mean its funny. Comedy is naturally cleaning itself up but only where it needs to. There's no real need to get proactive on it."
Australian duo the Umbilical Brothers, made up of David Collins and Shane Dundas, would agree and when they started out 20 years ago it wasn't a conscious decision to keep things clean.
The Australians' act combines dialogue and vocal sound effects _ everything from explosions and sizzling barbecues to toilet stops and teeth brushing _ as well as mime, puppetry, slapstick, and audience participation.
In recent years they have also crossed over into kids' TV with The Upside Down Show, which screens here on Nickelodeon.
However, Dundas says you could argue the Umbis are not clean because their shows involve violent slapstick and sometimes they do swear. Although, in their award-winning show Thwak, the cussing came from an adorably cute glove puppet so they got away with it.
"But we're not shock comics," says Dundas. "That's not our thing and if you're clever enough you don't need to say `f***' every few minutes. In fact, the more times you say it, the less effective it becomes. We may say it once or twice in the show, purely for its own effect and inappropriateness.
"In some cases it's a security blanket. If you're a little less confident you throw in a swear word and it gets a reaction. So it helps you and it's a little shot in the arm. But again, it won't work all the way through a show. I'm not going to criticise someone who takes that approach, and I'm certainly not going to criticise someone like Billy Connolly who swears like a trooper because he is very funny with it and that's part of who he is. He's not trying to do it for effect."
Which brings us to someone like cardy-wearing Brit Josie Long who swears "a bit" in her routine simply because she enjoys it. "I say f*** quite a lot. I do swear a little bit, it's not entirely clean. I really want my show to be friendly but I love to swear more than anything."
And that seems as good a reason as any.
LOWDOWN
What: The Clean Comedy Show
Where & when: Cityside, 8 Mt Eden Rd, April 29-May 3, 7.30pm
Who: Dave Wiggins
What: 100 per cent Human, 0 per cent Whale
Where & when: Comedy Underground, 305 Queen St, May 6-10, 7pm
Who: The Umbilical Brothers
What: The Rehearsal
Where & when: SkyCity Theatre, May 6-10 8.45pm
Additional reporting, Joanna Hunkin
