Sketchy progress

Consider the lowly thespian; where once he dominated the festival, the comedian now rules supreme. Selfish really ­– all those empty stages and only a single person at the centre, clinging to a microphone. Yet in amongst the stand ups, skirting the endless quips about airline food and mothers-in-law, sketch comedy is making something of a welcome return.

Often seen as the poor relation to stand-up in the comedy family, sketch shows are frequently overlooked at the Fringe. Indeed, despite Fry, Laurie and Thompson’s Cambridge Footlights claiming the inaugural Perrier Award for sketch-land back in 1981, not a single one of these sought-after accolades has been won by such a troupe since. Most aspiring comedy writers would agree that it’s easier to put together a passable sketch show than a coherent hour of stand up but many hopeful sketchers, it seems, have in the past failed to appreciate the high standards required to pull off a successful Fringe run – often to the detriment of the art form's reputation in the eye of the comedy going public.

Still, the genre has been looking healthier in the last few years: successive Fringes have turned up a groundswell of talent, as acts like We Are Klang and the Penny Dreadfuls walked away from festival runs with major awards and strong industry interest.

Ever curious, Fest approached a number of up-and-comers for a whistle-stop tour of the scene. And in true sketch comedy style, we've gone for a rapid-fire approach. What are the demands of an hour-long show? How does an Edinburgh crowd treat them? And what the hell do they do for the rest of the year?

First up is Pappy’s Fun Club. Mixing silly with, well, sillier, and fast becoming a festival highlight, the London-based foursome have been together since 2004, winning an if.comedy award nomination two years ago and walking away with the Chortle award for best sketch at the 2008 Fringe.

What, I ask them, does an Edinburgh crowd demand?

“In Edinburgh,” they reply, “the audience arrives expecting a show. They want a narrative, and to be taken on a journey.” Fair enough, but where does "funny" fit in?

“The plot is maybe what makes the shows more satisfying... but it’s so much better to have a series of sketches that work, and are funny, than an overarching plot. People don’t leave comedy shows saying: ‘I didn’t laugh once – but wasn’t the script involving!’ For last year’s show, the comedy was written in May, but the story didn’t emerge until July.”

Smart men, these Pappies. But doesn’t the sketch have its limits? That fourth wall isn’t going anywhere, surely? “We try to talk to the audience as much as possible,” comes the firm response. “We’ve always envied the way stand ups can address what’s happening in the room right at that moment. The best thing is when the audience gets involved, and forgets they’re not one of the four people on the stage.”

Two Left Hands, also known as Charlotte Hudson and Leila Hackett, are relative newcomers in Edinburgh, debuting in 2007. Both have a history of stage and television appearances, but embraced sketch humour as a safer option. “We started out thinking of sketches as a sort of low-risk strategy. They run at maybe three minutes a time, and if one fails – well, you have another along in a minute.”

And the immediacy of sketch comedy can translate into rapid career progression, as Hackett explains: “Really good stand-ups can work the circuit for a long time but still wait years before television picks up on them. In sketch humour, the route to television is much quicker.”

It’s a theory borne out by Manchester-based troupe Lady Garden. Last year brought their first appearance at the Fringe, and a flood of subsequent approaches – including the offer of a twelve-month BBC development deal, which they readily accepted. “Really,” they tell me, “it's a roof over our head – they give us rehearsal spaces and producer support, but we wouldn't want to be putting something out there before we felt ready.”

Edinburgh would seem to be quite the launch pad, but how does the rest of the comedy circuit treat them throughout the rest of the year? “In Manchester, there isn't really the platform for sketch comedy, so when you put on a night it has to be under your own name. The pressure's really on; but you can't reflect totally on that, because you have to be putting out the chairs, setting up the stage, and so on. But then, that's what it's all about – we’re all in it together.” Not so easy after all then.

This seems to be a common experience. “You either do five minutes on a mixed bill, or your own night. That’s pretty much it," says Hudson of Two Left Hands. "You need a different sort of space to a stand up – a single mic doesn’t tend to cut it. But there are sketch-only nights out there and the scene is definitely changing – hopefully for the better.”

Lady Garden Pleasance Courtyard 9-31 Aug, 5.20pm, £9.50 Pappy's Fun Club's World Record Attempt: 200 Sketches in an Hour Pleasance Courtyard 9-31 Aug, 7.20pm, £13 Two Left Hands - Another Mouthful Pleasance Courtyard 8-31 Aug, 4.00pm, £10