The Creators Project: When times seem dark, people often turn to humor as a coping mechanism, and laughing in the face of misery is a cathartic exercise that’s most enjoyed by the British. So it was only a matter of time before someone wrote Brexit the Musical, a pub-singsong performance depicting everyone—most notably British politicians—as terrible.
5 comments:
I’m always amused by the things that people turn into musicals. However, unlike when I’m amused by the fact someone decided Monopoly should be a musical, I actually think that this musical is important. Comedy can be a great way to point out problems with certain ways of thinking or the standards of society as a whole. Shining a light on the absurdity is both funny and creates a more palatable way to make people think about important issues. People are more likely to watch a funny musical than to read an essay arguing about a topic, but that funny musical can still be making a compelling argument. If something can get people to laugh and in the process get them to think, and potentially get them to act, I think there is a tremendous power in that. That being said, since I haven’t seen the musical, I obviously don’t know how successfully Brexit the Musical makes a point about society or encourages social change, I just think it has the power to do so if executed correctly.
Reading through this article started to remind me of some unpleasant memories of the Brexit vote. One of my close friends was in England at the time, and she relayed to me how the atmosphere changed after the vote and how her younger relatives were shocked at the outcome. And of course, the stories of mistreating and disrespecting immigrants was disturbing. But, all of these negative results can be best reflected on through comedy. Similar shows, like Made in China, also make fun around political and social issues as a way to relate the issues to the audience in a more comfortable setting. While this show may not set out to be influential politically and change minds, by overviewing the issue and all sides of it, audience members can take a new perspective to the issue at hand or the next contentious vote. By making audience members laugh and listen, there can be a lot of power in this type of musical.
Wow, this show really came off the printing press fast. This article made me laugh once I read the headline because this seems like such a ridiculous topic to choose when conceptualizing a production. However, after the extreme effect that Brexit had on Britain, I feel like this is a step in the right direction. I read a study that compared English and American filmmakers and the differences in their movies based on the different backgrounds. It's interesting to note that, on average, Americans are more optimistic than the British (probably because of that whole American Dream nonsense I've been hearing about). This article made me remember this article and it seems like Britain really needs something to laugh about after such a hard hit. The creation of this show will get people thinking about the Brexit vote and the important issues that encompass it. I feel that this show, by using comedy, can have a strong effect on the public since a healthy mix of serious topics analyzed through the use of jokes can make people consider the absurdity of the problems at hand.
I tried to look past this article, but the title was so ridiculous that I just had to open it. I think that theatre has always been a great way for people to express themselves and their opinions about government and politics, and I;m glad to see that Brexit is no exception. There are two things I'd like to say about this piece of theatre. One, the fact that this term was coined so recently, made very popular though social media, and two, that this show is actually gaining popularity in the country on which it is making a commentary. I think it is incredibly important that people be able to speak their mind in politics, and theatre is a great way to do that. I also think it's interesting how quickly this was created, and how quickly it was put up. Usually there are a number of steps shows go through before production, but I think the fact that this show did happen so quickly will give it a much greater impact.
Its good to see that the old british satirical humour is still alive and well within Britain, and the self-deprecation has not abated. I have an english sister, and I talked to her a lot throughout the whole Brexit process, and her impression of the whole country during and after Brexit is that of a growing divide between people, and I think I see that in America a lot as well. We are slowly becoming more and more self-involved, not allowing ourselves to empathize with each other, to compromise and bridge the gap. I think that humor plays a large part in both the bringing togehter and the pushing apart. Saturday Night Live, for example is a show with an exceedingly liberal bias and while funny, it really only serves to polarize. If we can make comedy about our human traits, I think that kind of comedy would be universal and would serve to bring us together.
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