FOR more than 30 years, politics has been the mainstay of alternative comedy, simultaneously holding a mirror up to society and helping us process and laugh at the world in which we live.
But if this year’s Edinburgh Fringe is anything to go by, it could be that the likes of Brexit and Donald Trump’s election as US president are simply too mindblowing - or indeed depressing - for even the most talented stand-ups to tackle.
According to Nica Burns, founder of the influential Edinburgh Comedy Awards, few of this year’s shows are overtly political, with many focusing instead on personal stories and confessional routines. Comedy reviewers including the Herald’s own Gayle Anderson have also commented on the noticeable lack of political targets on stage.
One explanation is that the current political situation is simply too confusing and ambiguous for comedians to get to grips with, especially since potential topics such as Brexit and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn remain so divisive.
It’s also possible many of this year’s performers decided that following arguably enough elections and referendums to last a lifetime, audiences are simply sick to back teeth of hearing about political turmoil.
Not that everyone is likely to be content with a politics-free Fringe, of course; and for them there is always Frankie Boyle.
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