What the heck? Let them do as they please, both hecklers and comedians alike. Often the hecklers are funnier than the low-rate comedians I've had the bad fortune to come across
I've seen comedians have a go at audience members who were quite obviously not in the mood to be picked on. If the comedians can dish it out then they should be able to take it from the hecklers. I don't mean offensive stuff, but if someone can catch out an arrogant comic then good luck to them |
A clever heckler can add something to a comedy event, however a top-quality, smarter comedian (hecklee?) can often succeed in making a heckler look a right prat - thus adding to the enjoyment of an already entertaining performance
The Heckler is only as 'funny' as the Comedian makes him/her look stupid. ie. a good Comedian can deal with any heckler and return the heckle with interest whilst poor Comedians are simply knocked out of their routine
A heckler can turn a very ordinary show into a really good one as long as it's fun. Abuse from a pisshead can ruin the night for every one. Maybe there should be a club for Hecklers to try out. There's an idea! |
A persistent heckler can ruin not only the audience's enjoyment, but also prevent the comedian from getting through their set before their allocated time slot expires. Last week I saw Ian Stone superbly dealing with two girls who just wouldn't stop shouting out (not real heckling; they were far too drunk for that) and although he handled the situation marvellously and came out of it with the audience totally on his side, it meant that we were only able to enjoy half of the material he would probably otherwise have been able to fit in. I think a good, witty heckle, when handled admirably by the comedian, adds to the show and demonstrates the strength of the performance, but persistent or abusive hecklers should be forcibly removed for the sake of both the audience's and the comedian's enjoyment
Two young audience members, who hadn't been to the Club before were overheard by one of the Comics - "Heckling?- SURE!! That's what you DO at comedy clubs! They expect it!"
Sure enough, 5 minutes into the first comic's set, one of them shouted out something inane. OF COURSE the comic could deal with it! Of course, the audience was on the side of the comic, of course the dickhead shut up after that. But it had WASTED the time of the comic on-stage who had put a lot of effort into creating some very funny material. He was forced to deal with an idiot, probably with a "standard" Put-down (Shame when cousins marry etc etc etc), and that idiot stole several minutes of REAL comedy from the audience who had paid to see the comedian, NOT the Heckler!
If people WANT this kind of "Confrontation", they should go to see the WWF or Gladiators! |
