Above The Belt - How To Write and Perform Clean Comedy

All students receive guaranteed stage time with We Are Funny Project in order to apply some of what has been learned.

£65 "Early Bird" offer available until September 10th

£75 "Late Booker" available until September 23rd

This workshop explores how to unite an audience in laughter, not divide them into those who approve, and those who don’t.

* How to find subjects that connect you to your audience, without resorting to the lowest common denominator.

* Encountering the spiritual without giving opinions.

* Harnessing the power of the Unconscious to engage your audience on a deep level

* Divisive and uniting material. Personal versus general material. Conceptual versus “here and now” material. When to apply them.

* Body language, and how to use it effectively. Exploring status, and how important it is in comedy.

* Improvising with mythical material, to discover comedy

It’s tempting to go for the easy option and use body functions to get laughs, especially for beginners. This can limit our appeal, as some audiences and bookers want comedians who are family friendly.

People can avoid comedians who swear and do body function material, but the opposite is almost never true. When did you hear someone say “I didn't like that comedian, because they didn’t swear or talk about crude things.” If a comedian is funny, audiences don’t notice the absence of rude material.

Being able to do a clean show doesn’t stop us from doing body function material at other times. It does make us bookable for more shows, including cruise ships, holiday resorts, and corporate appearances.

Dave Thompson has performed stand-up comedy in thirty-four countries. Known for his zany style, he's written material for many famous names including Harry Hill, Omid Djalili, Ronnie Corbett, Bruce Forsyth, Stewart Lee, and Phil Nichol. Dave appeared in four feature films and numerous TV shows including ‘Harry Hill’s TV Burp’. He was in eight episodes of Al Murray’s sitcom ‘Time Gentlemen Please’. He’s best-known as the actor inside the Tinky Winky costume in the world-famous TV show 'Teletubbies'.

Dave has worked as a visiting lecturer at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, and on the comedy degree course at Solent University. He has taught comedy courses in London, Cardiff, Brighton, Atlantic College (Wales), Budapest, Nässjö and Örebro in Sweden.