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The Comedy Café: Bruce Morton sits in

05/08/2011

Bruce Morton sits in

BBC Radio Scotland - The Comedy Café, Bruce Morton sits in

On the Comedy Cafe, Bruce Morton asks whether death is a laughing matter.

Is death a laughing matter? We expect comedians to tackle out of bounds subjects in their routines, but is death a taboo too far?

Late nights and long alcohol-fuelled sessions... Edinburgh's Fringe is a round-the-clock party for many festival goers and performers alike. So how do you strike the right balance with the bottle when you've got a show to perform? Having fallen off the wagon in spectacular style in front of a large audience, Australian comedian Fiona O'Loughlin has turned her battle with the bottle into Fringe show "Spirited (Tales from an Angel in a Bottle)". And performance artist Byrony Kimmings created her show "7 Day Drunk" during a dedicated week of intoxication. They discuss alcohol, sobriety and creativity on today's Comedy Café.

Is death a laughing matter? We expect comedians to tackle out-of-bounds subjects in their routines but is death a taboo topic too far? Award-winning comic Scott Capurro's current show "Who Are the Jocks?" deals with the death of his mother, and consultant-physician-turned comedian, Kevin Jones, recently joined forces with other top comics for resource film "Dying for a Laugh". They share their professional and personal stories of how laughter can help deal with the loss of a loved one.

On the face of it a background in medicine seems worlds apart from a career in comedy. Yet an unlikely proportion of our favourite comedians started out in the health profession - from Harry Hill to Graeme Garden to Paul Sinha. We ask Kevin Jones and Dr Phil Hammond why so many doctors turn to comedy.

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