The Comedy Festival is certainly coming close to living up to the “The” part of its name, attracting big names (Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld) for seriously big shows. There are almost too many big names—Eddie Izzard’s show could have easily been in the Colosseum instead of a ballroom.
But if you look along the edges at some of the shows for younger talent, you wonder what exactly “a” comedy festival is supposed to be now.
Comedy festivals have traditionally had dual functions: 1) Give audiences a chance to see talents both new and established; 2) give new talent deals after they wowed audiences.
That second function seems unnecessary now—new talent is making itself known with viral videos spread across the web, and savvy development executives can see these stand-ups and sketch-comedy troupes well before festivals.
So if there’s less need for dealmaking at a comedy festival, maybe the Comedy Festival is what these things are going to evolve into: consumer-oriented affairs to attract top talent for big-event shows. That’s great for the top talent and the audiences they draw. But what about lesser-known performers and the people they might appeal to?
Tim Minchin, a piano-playing Aussie with a cabaret act that incorporates hysterical takes on Mideast peace and inflatable women, performed at this festival. But if this purely commercial trend continues and intensifies, will there be any room on the bill for a guy like that? If not, that would be a pity—Minchin is a performer best experienced live, and with fewer opportunities like this, he’ll be relegated to YouTube, where you miss the exhilarating nature of his show.