Bennett Arron takes on the Fringe
“ What’s the point?” “Aren’t you too old for this?” “Are you really Jewish and Welsh?!” These are questions I’ve been asked by comedian friends and real friends ever since I decided to perform once again at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
So why am I doing it? It’s not like I’m the next new thing waiting to be discovered – that ship sailed so long ago it could have been part of the Spanish Armada. And it’s certainly not for financial reasons – the only people who make money at the Edinburgh Festival are hotel chains, the venue runners, and those who let out their homes for the month. I mean, who wouldn’t want to pay £4,000 to sleep in someone’s sink?
There are two main reasons I’m doing it again. The first is I want to try and help people. Odd, I know, but my show this year – the most personal I’ve ever performed – is about dementia, depression, death and antisemitism.
You know, the usual comedy subjects.
My previous show, LOSER (2023) did pretty well. Played to packed houses, won Poster of the Year, made Top Ten Jokes of the Fringe and The Telegraph. FYI the joke: “I entered a ‘how not to surrender’ competition and I won hands down.”
Poster of the year 2023
Off the back of that, I planned to return in 2024. But then my father, who had dementia, passed away at the end of the year. Following this and other factors mentioned in the show, I experienced depression for the first time. It stopped me from doing anything but staring at the floor and crying. I had to cancel work, my show, a holiday and cancel visiting my children – my favourite thing in the world. I was in physical and mental pain.
I know what you’re thinking – this show sounds laugh-a-minute. Well, there will be laughs (he says, optimistically), but like the first Edinburgh show I ever wrote – about becoming penniless and homeless after identity theft – I’m hoping it’ll be interesting, informative, and help others in a similar place. I’ll also explore how antisemitism has become an acceptable form of racism on the comedy circuit and how I regretfully – and inadvertently – upset Sir Anthony Hopkins, who used to light the fire for my religious grandparents in Port Talbot.
Sir Anthony Hopkins, Bennett’s Port Talbot neighbour
The other reason I’m performing is because my son is performing too! He’s just finished an English and Acting course at Edinburgh Uni (a course I’d have loved to do, if it had existed and I’d been clever enough to get his grades). He’s one of five in a comedy called Holly Street. I’ve read the script and, considering it’s by a 22-year-old with no previous writing experience, it’s annoyingly good. So the chance to perform at the festival with him was too good to miss. Plus, I’ll need him to hand out leaflets in exchange for the thousands I spent on food, nappies, video games…
So, these are the reasons I’ve decided to do it. The show is I Regret This Already (if you’re Jewish you’ll put a comma after “This”). Will it be successful? I’ve no idea. I’m a comedian, not a fortune teller. Funnily enough, I wanted to be a fortune teller when I was younger – but I knew I wouldn’t be any good at it. I regret writing that…
Bennett Arron: I Regret This Already is at Liquid Rooms Studio 2 – 24 August. edfringe.com
Ivor Baddiel reveals how to shape comedians of the future
“A little while ago, my brother David and I were on the I Wish I Was An Only Child podcast, hosted by Frank Skinner’s wife, Cathy and her sister Rachel. The first question they asked us was: who’s the funniest? Potentially awkward, but I answered without much hesitation: I am socially, he is professionally. That’s not to say David isn’t funny socially—he has his moments—but for no doubt deep-rooted psychological reasons, I’m a people pleaser who has always liked making people laugh. Was I funny at school?
Little David and older bro Ivor
I think I was, but more in a class clown/buffoon sort of way than the sharp, quick-witted kind. Which it probably would’ve been if I’d had a copy of How To Be Even Funnier Than The Funniest Kid in School, by Steve Vinacour and, oh, me. It’s the follow-up to How To Be The Funniest Kid in School, which we also wrote.In the first book, there are jokes about school subjects like English…
What word is always spelled incorrectly?
Incorrectly.
While the new book expands to things like technology…
Where do you find information about ducks?
On a webbed-site.
Now you may laugh—or not—but these jokes are the building blocks of proper comedy. Before age six or seven to get a laugh just say “poo.” Fart noises also work—though admittedly, they lack structure. The gags in HTBEFTTFKIS involve wordplay. They need a setup, punchline, and something relevant to the child’s world—so a bit of observation too. You have to start somewhere, and in my humble opinion, this is it.
So, where next? TV shows like The Simpsons and SpongeBob are great. But to immerse your child in comedy, you could do a lot worse than the Edinburgh Festival. This year, there are over 1,200 comedy shows. Not all are suitable for kids, but some are. Seeing a show introduces your budding Joan Rivers or Jerry Seinfeld to the most important part of comedy: performance. You might have a great gag, but if the delivery’s off, it won’t land. Timing and confidence matter and come with experience. Seeing how others do it—or don’t—is part of the learning. Every great comedian has died on stage. I once watched a comedian I wrote with bomb so badly, I’d have dug my own grave. She didn’t. She got back on stage the next night – because resilience is part of it.
Once your budding comic graduates from our book and gains confidence, they’ll need new gags. Unless they’re planning to play to six to 10-year-olds forever – in which case, job done.
There are no rules – but the golden advice is: write what you find funny.
Don’t try to second guess the audience.
It doesn’t work. On one of the rare occasions I tried stand-up, I completely misread the audience and died on stage.
I think some members of the Pinner shul community are still traumatised. Maybe don’t lead on prostate cancer material at a family fundraiser—but still, write what you find funny.
Is it harder to be funny now, especially if you’re Jewish?
Maybe. Comedy always shifts. In the ’80s, old-school comics moaned about alternative comedy. Jokes from the Noughties? Some are now completely off-limits. Look at Little Britain. But that’s fine. Comedy should be challenging. If it wasn’t, everyone would do it.That said, some things never change. Poos and farts? Always funny to a three-year-old. Wordplay? Always funny to six-year-olds. Which means How To Be Even Funnier Than The Funniest Kid in School (and its predecessor) are essentially timeless.
Anyway, I’ll leave you with this absolute banger. If your six-year-old doesn’t laugh, I’m the Chief Rabbi:
What do snakes do when they’re in a bad mood?
Have a hissy fit.
How to Be Even Funnier than the Funniest Kid in School is available in all good book shops
