Old Bedfordian Al Murray (77-86) is one of the most recognisable and successful comedians in the UK and, on Wednesday 8 May, we were delighted to welcome him back to school to deliver a specialist workshop exclusively for our drama scholars.
The workshop was discussion based, led by Al, and held in the auditorium of the Quarry Theatre. After introductions, Al explained how he got into comedy during ‘the golden age’ in the early 1990s, when comedy stores and venues were plentiful around London and the big cities, providing a platform for the young comedians starting out. It was, he told the boys, “a survival of the fittest – if you couldn’t crack these audiences then you knew stand-up was not for you.”
Al also talked about his time at school here at Bedford, explaining that he was lucky to have such great inspiration in his drama teacher, Mike Morrison, who really helped him. Al said that he knew he wanted to perform, but did not quite know how, but it was the immediate response of laughter that appealed to him.
Al explained, “Laughs are the best form of attention on stage, and so I was always headed in that direction. I have always been completely intrigued by the idea of comedy and what you can do with it, and how you can be somebody else, which is interesting.”
The workshop began by delving into the psychology around comedy, with Al posing the question; “Why do we laugh?” and asking each boy in turn, probing their answers to get to the bottom of their thoughts. Connection, outrage, escapism, and gallows humour were all discussed, but the one core thing that binds comedy together is trust. Al described the secret of comedy as being “surprised by someone you trust.”
Al and the boys then talked around the core principles of comedy, for example running jokes, the rule of three and word play and, if the boys were able to practise and master these, then they too will be able to deliver stand-up. Al advised the boys to utilise the array of tools that they have at their fingertips and to look up their comedy idols on YouTube and watch them over and over again.
Al also taught the boys that, at this stage of their performing career, they do not have to commit to who they will go on to become, but they can build the skills now to help them become what they want to be later in life.
One of the boys, Lower Sixth Former Charlie Eggleton, explained how he wants to become a trauma surgeon (a different kind of theatre! – Al’s joke, not ours) and Al used this as an example to illustrate how by learning the skills of comedy, from delivering a line to perfecting an argument, that these skills will help them in whatever they choose to do.
Al, who boarded at Bedford School from the age of nine years old describes his fondest memories of school as being, “There was a bunch of us, and in fact we’re still good mates and in regular touch with each other now, and we would hang out in the Green Room of the old theatre, play music together – these guys ended up being my orbit. The fact that we were involved around a common theme of doing theatre and acting – these times are easily my fondest memory.”
When asked what advice he would give to any young drama student, Al was clear in his response, “Pursue it! If you want to do it then you have to chase it but know this: it has to be the thing in front of everything else in your life. You only get out of it what you put into it – if you don’t, it won’t reward you. Sacrifice is too strong a word because you’re choosing to do it, it’s more of a trade-off and so you have to accept the trade-offs and go for it.”
