Disabilities: Comedy’s last unmentionable
September 29, 2010 in Special Needs News by Admin Dawn
Simon Minty is the co-founder and producer of Abnormally Funny People, a group of stand up comedians with disabilities. He believes that disability has been missed in the evolution of comedy because of this pity aspect.
“With things like race or gender people have deep rooted bigotry… and they know not to say that, but you don’t feel sorry for them necessarily, it’s a different sort of exclusion or discrimination. It’s silly because there’s so much fun to be had with the subject.”
There are no reasons to exclude anyone from the comedy scene though. It’s how to break down barriers. Comedy can be seen as a standard currency around the world. Slapstick will get a chuckle from almost anyone from anywhere regardless of creed, gender or able-bodiedness.
Disability can be seen to have had a small role for many years, but it’s never grown to a mainstream subject with other topics. Peter Cook wrote a sketch called “One Leg Too Few” which he first performed with Dudley Moore in 1960.
Read more here: Comedy’s last unmentionable | The Linc.
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