SHOULD COMEDIANS GAG?

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1492, 28 November 1918, Page 27

SHOULD COMEDIANS GAG?

Whether comedians should or should not gag, they generally do, at any rate on the variety stage, and it is a recognised fact that no production is complete until the comedian has time to bring in a choice selection of his own gags. To such an extent is gagging sometimes carried that it is related of a certain author that he went to see a piece he had written after , it had got into full swing and failed to recognise a word of the original script. Gagging is much encouraged by the habit of producers of giving all their attention to the musical and spectacular portion of the show and leaving the dialogue to take care of itself (says “The Performer”.) This neglect of the spoken part induces a haphazard method on the part of the author, who too often relies on the comedian, or comedians; to provide the humour of the piece. Nearly every big revue produced of late years has shown a lamentable lack of the humorous element, and the daily papers, in commenting on this fact, are remarkably unanimous in pointing out that when “Mr. So-and-so, the comedian, has got into his stride and had time to ‘work up’ his part, the comedy will be more noticeable.” “Gagging” does not prevail to anything like the same extent on the dramatic stage. Here a comedian would not dream of taking liberties with his author; but then the author takes care to provide him with all the humorous business which is needed in his part. An actor who is playing in a piece written by one of the leading dramatists of the day

would as soon think of tampering with the script as he would of introducing his own wheezes in a play of Shakespeare’s. Dramatic authors are very jealous individuals, and usually attend rehearsal and watch what is going on with a critical eye. Woe to the unhappy mummer who leaves out one of the author’s choiceest morsels or interpolates a witticism of his own. The late W. S. Gilbert was a martinet in this respect, and he was no respecter of persons. either. He would have every line of his piece spoken, and spoken in his own way, and if you would not fall in with his views he would very soon find someone else who would. The writer of a revue or musical comedy provides the plot, when there is any, and, having led up to a comic situation, leaves the comedian to his own’ resources —at any rate, that’s how it seems to be. Of course, in an irresponsible, go-as-you-please kind of thing, like a revue, a comedian can, without detriment to the action, take all sorts of liberties, and usually vastly adds to the humour of the situation by doing so. Still it-: throws on him a responsibility he ought not to bear. In the case of. small shows, the authors are not paid at a very extravagant rate, and it is not unreasonable that they should be helped out by comedians in the providing of the comedy scenes. In big productions the case is different, but in some instances the principal elements of humour are the comedian’s own introduction. Probably the best results are achieved where comedian and author combine to work up the comedy situations.