The rise of science comedy: Comparing shows at science and arts festivals

Little, Hannah; Weitkamp, Emma

Abstract

Live science comedy shows have exploded in the past decade in the UK. These shows can range from stand-up comedy to musical theatre to panel shows and variety shows. However, there is very little empirical work exploring the rise in live science comedy. In this contribution, we present a comparison between the comedy shows present at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Edinburgh International Science Festival. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world with currently around 50,000 performances per year. A large portion of these performances are comedy, making it one of the most prominent comedy festivals in the world. The Edinburgh International Science Festival is a 2-week long science festival with around 1,600 performances per year. While these festivals differ in their magnitude, they present an opportunity to compare events in the same city that have different objectives and expectations, but which both host science comedy shows. We used the brochures from both festivals to compare the science comedy shows present. This presentation will outline how prevalent science comedy is at these venues, as well as investigating who is presenting these shows (scientists or comedians). We also present a qualitative analysis of language used to advertise these shows. This study provides a first step in understanding the cultural phenomena of science comedy in terms of its objectives and reception in different venues.

Citation

Little, H., & Weitkamp, E. (2019, December). The rise of science comedy: Comparing shows at science and arts festivals. Presented at 12th Forum Wissenschaftskommunikation 2019, Essen, Germany

• Presentation Conference Type: Lecture
• Conference Name: 12th Forum Wissenschaftskommunikation 2019
• Conference Location: Essen, Germany.
• Deposit Date: Aug 26, 2021
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7711458