Type and hit ENTER

Commonly used tags...

Brighton Festival Brighton Fringe Brighton Pride British Sea Power Cinecity Lewes Psychedelic Festival Locally Sourced Lost & Found Love Supreme Festival Mutations Festival Nick Cave Poets Vs MCs Politics Rag'n'Bone Man Record Store Day Save Our Venues Six Of The Best Source Virgins Streets Of Brighton Street Source Tattoos The Great Escape Tru Thoughts Unsung Heroes
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
Features

Interview: The Treason Show

Sep 23, 2011
-
Posted by Nick Coquet

11 years on from The Treason Show starting, how has the climate of satirical comedy changed?
It changes with the winds of the political scene – Blair and Bush going was perhaps a golden age. Now with the coalition it’s like shooting fish in a barrel – it’s almost too easy sometimes. But also there’s other news that changes things. The whole decade since 9/11 was a pretty amazing period of history. The whole Bin Laden thing, the wars – these have been horrendous things that also perhaps need to be lightened up for people to deal with.

How did you deal with 9/11?
We were in rehearsal and I was getting texts saying World War III had started. So for obvious reasons we junked the whole show. We left rehearsals, went into the William IV and watched with everyone else, all thinking the world has just changed immensely. You can’t just go in and take it on head-on and take the piss, it’s just too harsh. But then everybody needed to be cheered up in another way, with silly stuff and lots of songs. You could feel the audience thinking, “What are they going to do?” We did acknowledge it; rather than just do a joke about it I tweaked a song, ‘The Times They Are A-Changing’.

When you’re watching things like that on the news, how soon can it become material?
It’s not an exact science. There’s a phrase, tragedy plus time… (equals comedy). You go by instinct and feel, and just try that line. The thing that still makes me laugh my head off when we look back at a show is the Diana joke reaction. We still get a “whooo!” but it’s become a pantomime reaction now. We’ve moved on from ‘it’s too soon’, but people still think they’d better boo a Diana joke; it’s funny because we’re pretending to be offended. Jokes take on these different phases and I love that journey.

Is anything beyond the pale for satire?
It’s about finding the right angle. With Diana – after she was tragically killed there was this point where it had been a few months and the conspiracy theories were flying around. We didn’t want to have a go at the royals or her kids so it was the press, wallowing in it and glorifying these conspiracies. Just sickening, some of it. So that’s what we had a go at. “Was it MI5 who killed her? Mossad? No, it was the florists!” So you’re still using it as a topical source of material but it’s a safe way of going about it.

Have you ever tried to translate The Treason Show to TV?Yes, but apparently we’re too controversial. A young producer – he was about 12 – came to see us in about… 05 or 07? There was an election on anyway. So we lightened it up a bit to make it more commercial but then it turned out he couldn’t make the April show and was apparently coming for May’s. So we thought, we’re not doing that again for him. It’s a topical sketch show, in election time. We’re going to do a lot of election-based material. He said to us afterwards, “It’s a bit… political.” I wanted to hit him. TV is so sensitive these days it’s just not worth thinking about.

You don’t only play in Brighton, you’ve taken the show on tour nationally.And internationally – we had an amazing run in Berlin. But we have reduced the touring in general; a lot of the venues have made it financially difficult to do it now. And we cut back so we could keep it more of a Brighton show, moving to the Dome. We’re touring next week though; we’ve built up a few venues that we go back to over the years. Places like the unglamorous-sounding Old Town Hall in Hemel Hempstead. We’ll go to places like that and tailor the show to them, and they love that.

What’s getting the best audience reaction at the moment?[Laughs] The Lib Dems. If the think-tank people wanted to see what people really think of the Lib Dems they should come and sit in on The Treason Show. The Coalition is just… it’s kind of become too easy but I can’t help it. People are almost sleepwalking through it and not realising what’s happening. Anything we do with Cameron and Nick Clegg as his lapdog – just big laughs every time. It’s an open goal for us. Basically being Cameron’s fag – people go, ‘Yes!’ That’s exactly what it looks like. I mean there’s obviously more to it than that really, but yes, that’s what everyone perceives it to be.

WORDS BY NICK COQUET
PHOTO BY JAMES KENDALL

Sep 23, 2011
Email
Nick Coquet
Nick Coquet is the former Deputy Editor of SOURCE. He also DJs on the radio, designs websites and stands about in the nude for life drawing classes. He's shaken hands with Meat Loaf and bumped into Keith Richards, just so he could say he's touched him.
← PREVIOUS POST
Six Of The Best 20th Century Sitcoms
NEXT POST →
Secret Eater: Krater Comedy Meal
Mailing List

Recent Posts
  • Brighton Psych Fest 2025 Review
    Sep 26, 2025

    The second Brighton Psych Fest was a beauty as we got down with Getdown Services as the evening sunlight glowed through the Concorde Stained Glass.

  • David Devant & His Spirit Wife, Friday 12th December
    Sep 23, 2025

    One of Brighton's greatest live bands returns for a pre-Xmas homecoming party.

  • Nick Cave To Play Exclusive Brighton Show Next Summer
    Sep 15, 2025

    Nick Cave returns to Brighton next Summer for an exclusive show with The Bad Seeds in Preston Park.

  • Death Comes to Pemberley Review
    Sep 3, 2025

    Set six years after the marriage of Elizabeth to Mr Darcy, a murder on their estate takes this story into thriller territory.

  • The Lightning Thief Review
    Sep 1, 2025

    A high octane modern musical coming of age adventure about demi-god teens, complete with committed performances, stunning voices, and brilliantly inventive staging.

  • Betty Boo, Sunday 23rd November
    Sep 1, 2025

    The legendary Betty Boo is going on her first ever solo UK tour and you can catch her at The Green Door Store in November.

  • Mutations Festival 2025 Line Up Announcement
    Aug 28, 2025

    FORM are treating us to a Bonfire Weekend full of warm goodness, bangers and fireworks!

  • Pride And Prejudice Review
    Aug 27, 2025

    A beautifully realised adaptation of one of Jane Austen’s best loved books: giving us a grounded, real and hilarious retelling in perfect balance.

Website developed in Brighton by Infobo
Copyright © Brighton Source 2009-2023
Interview: The Treason Show - Brighton Source