FEATURES

Robin Askew gets tied to a railway track just as this year’s Slapstick silent comedy festival comes thundering round the corner.

It's a measure of the success of any festival that people keep coming back for more. In the middle of a recession, ticket sales for the big Colston Hall gala event at Bristol's eighth annual Slapstick silent comedy festival are already up on last year. And it's not just the punters who keep returning. Many of the 2012 fest's 19 guests have been here before, either at Slapstick itself or at fundraising events: Terry Jones, Neil Innes, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Ian Lavender, Graeme Garden, Barry Cryer, Tim Brooke-Taylor… New to Slapstick this year is Griff Rhys Jones, who'll be hosting the centrepiece Silent Comedy Spectacular.

Festival director Chris Daniels is in no doubt as to why the celebs can't keep away. “It’s simply a festival they want to come to. Then they'll say, ‘Give us a job while I'm there. I'll introduce something.’ So Barry Cryer was talking to me about Harold Lloyd because he's a huge fan. He suggested some films, so we put a double bill on at the Arnolfini for him to introduce.”

Similarly, Terry Jones will be present for a special screening of the Monty Python classic ‘Life of Brian’ followed by a discussion with Sanjeev Baskar. But he’s not just coming for his event. He'll be turning up a day early and staying over to catch all the Buster Keaton programmes. This year, Slapstick's presence at the Colston Hall has expanded to take in three nights. In addition to the Silent Comedy Spectacular and ‘Life of Brian’ event, Ian Lavender is returning for a show celebrating the evergreen ‘Dad’s Army’ and his role as Private Pike. Remarkably, although he's contributed to TV programmes, he's never done a stage show on the subject until now.

Although these big, eye-catching shows operate at the margins of Slapstick’s visual comedy remit, they’re much-needed revenue-boosters. The festival was turned down for Key Arts Provider funding by Bristol City Council this year, and survives thanks to sponsorship from Aardman and Creative England, plus the unstinting support of the Colston Hall. But the big shows also have another function: to draw the curious into the world of silent comedy. “People may come to see Ian Lavender talk about Private Pike and then stay for the weekend,” says Chris. “The thing that’s most amazing is the gala. It absolutely delights me that eight years on there are still over a thousand people coming to watch silent movies at the Colston Hall.”

Naturally, there’s a hit list of big names he’s eager to lure for future festivals. “We’ve approached some people in the past – obviously I can’t mention any names – and have heard they’d either want a huge fee or wouldn’t be interested.”

But it’s no secret that as one of only two surviving Pythons not to have come to Slapstick, Bath resident John Cleese is pretty high on the list. Word is he’s receptive to the idea. Then there’s Johnny Depp, who’s reportedly a huge Chaplin fan. If you’re reading this, Johnny, get in touch with Slapstick pronto. They’d love to have you.

It’s pure coincidence, of course, that the brilliant, Oscar-bound ‘The Artist’ is due for cinema release just before the festival begins. But this is certain to spark renewed public interest in silent movies and great physical comedians such as Pierre Etaix. He’ll be present to receive this year’s Visual Comedy Award, presented by Terry Jones. Who the hell’s Pierre Etaix, then? Don’t worry – even Chris Daniels hadn’t heard of him until he stumbled across one of the French comedian’s short films and decided to investigate further. “Then Terry Jones emailed me and said, ‘Ah yes, Etaix – I remember seeing his films in the 60s. We all thought he would be the next Jacques Tati, but there were some rights issues.’ I spoke to Peter Lord at Aardman, who turned out to be a huge fan too. We discovered that Etaix is still alive and decided to invite him. He sent a delightful email of acceptance. He’s one of those great people whose work really does speak to you. He’s not exactly Buster Keaton but he’s pretty damn close. You get a lot of physical comedy today, but the eloquence of someone like Chaplin or Keaton you rarely see anywhere else. Etaix genuinely has that.”

SLAPSTICK 2012 RAN FROM 26-29 JAN AT THE ARNOLFINI, COLSTON HALL AND WATERSHED. SEE WWW.SLAPSTICK.ORG.UK FOR THE FULL PROGRAMME.

SLAPSTICK HIGHLIGHTS

Buster Keaton: Brownlow and Garden

Thur 26, Watershed Old Stone Face, aka Buster Keaton, is the subject of several programmes at this year’s Slapstick. Here, Oscar-winning film historian Kevin Brownlow sets the scene in conversation with fellow enthusiast Graeme Garden.

"Stupid Boy!" – Celebrating ‘Dad's Army’ with Ian Lavender

Thur 26, Colston Hall Private Pike himself in conversation with Matthew Sweet. Plus clips, a full episode of 'Dad's Army' and an audience Q&A. Note that if you're planning to go to all three Colston Hall events, you can get a combined ticket for a bargain £40.

The Clown Princes

Fri 27, Arnolfini It ain't all about Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd, y’know. David Wyatt celebrates some of the finest forgotten comedians of the silent era, including Charley Chase, Lloyd Hamilton, Max Davidson and Larry Semon.

Griff Rhys Jones: Silent Comedy Spectacular

Fri 27, Colston Hall Slapstick newcomer Griff Rhys Jones hosts this year’s gala, which includes the world premiere of a new score for the Buster Keaton classic ‘The General’, performed by the European Silent Screen Virtuosi and Bristol Ensmble. There are also Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy shorts – plus music from the Matinee Idles, featuring Paul McGann.

Harold Lloyd Double Bill

Sat 28, Arnolfini Barry Cryer presents two of his favourite Harold Lloyd films: 'An Eastern Westerner' and 'Grandma's Boy'.

Bill Oddie's Top Comedy Moments

Sat 28, Watershed The former Goodie and Britain's rudest twitcher joins Chris Serle for a wide-ranging conversation about working with the likes of John Cleese and Jonathan Miller, plus a selection of his favourite comedy moments from the last century.

He's Not the Messiah, He's… Terry Jones

Sat 28, Colston Hall Forever slugging it out with 'Spinal Tap' for the accolade of Best Comedy Ever, Monty Python's 'Life of Brian' has never been more topical, thanks to the rise of religious fundamentalism. This is an opportunity to watch the film in the company of its director, who will join Sanjeev Bhaskar for a discussion after the screening.

My Chaplin with Sanjeev Bhaskar

Sun 29, Arnolfini The star of 'Goodness Gracious Me' and 'The Kumars at No. 42' presents his favourite Chaplin shorts and shares his enthusiasm with Chaplin historian David Robinson.

Buster Keaton: Young Keaton

Sun 29, Arnolfini Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer, Ian Lavender and Bill Oddie queue up to celebrate Keaton's 22 early comedy shorts, made between 1919 and 1922.

Pierre Etaix: The Laughter Returns

Sun 29, Watershed Etaix is Slapstick's big discovery for 2012, and this is a chance to find out what the fuss is about. Presented in collaboration with the Festival of Ideas, the event has Sir Christopher Frayling in conversation with clown, magician, illustrator, cabaret artist and Jacques Tati collaborator Etaix, and includes a complete screening of his first short film, 'Rupture'. In a separate programme later in the day, the festival concludes with a screening of Etaix's most accomplished feature, 'La Grande Amour'.

Copyright Robin Askew 2011