I have seen Paul Currie perform twice and I’m a big fan of his ridiculous work. His use of mime and clowning combined with the absurd actions that he performs on stage create a feeling of unease and unpredictability. He is particularly interesting as a comedian as there never seems to be a punchline. The situations build for a long time without an end result. His comedy demonstrates how varied the genre can be as he isn’t afraid to be unpopular. In an interview he mentions that people go to his shows assuming that all comedy is universally funny and sometimes leave disappointed with what they see or are confused as to why others are laughing. The subjectivity of performance is an important factor to acknowledge as what is funny or considered great by some can be deemed awful by others. One thing that cannot be argued is his technique and performance skills. He was a puppeteer for The Muppets for 8 years and has been a street performer for 13, where he tried to perfect his art.

 

 

We had a good group discussion on what art was. There were many who said that although people believed themselves to be artists that didn’t necessarily mean it was true. A good description that Tim Crouch used in My Arm was that art is what you can get away with. I think many people get away with lots of things I consider to be bad art, but if it provokes a reaction or a response in any way, even if it is for one person (including the performer) then who am I to say it’s not.