No laughing matter: Comedy and free expression

There’s nothing funny about the world of free expression. Or so you might think.

 Index on Censorship is kicking off the New Year by immersing ourselves in the stand-up comedy scene. And we’re not talking about the side of Ricky Gervais that you may or may not have had with your Brussels sprouts over the festive period.

By Katie Dancey-Downs, assistant editor, Index on Censorship
 
Over the last couple of weeks, comedy has been at the centre of debate in India, after an opposition MP mocked the vice president with an impersonation — which did not go down well. During the same time period, the latest issue of Index has been zooming to subscribers (if you’re not one already, we’ve got a great idea for your New Year’s resolution), complete with our special report, Having the last laugh: the comedians who won’t be silenced. South Asia contributing editor Salil Tripathi asked the same questions about India’s ability to laugh that people are asking now, exploring a landscape where comedians are showing jokes to their lawyers before they tell them. “There are two Indias — the one that used to know how to laugh, and the one that now knows only how to growl,” he writes.
 
India is not alone. Kaya Genç writes about a comedian locked up in Turkey for cracking a joke. Unsurprisingly, Afghanistan’s Taliban is missing a funny bone. And the less said about the state of comedy in Russia, the better. Here in the UK, comedian Rosie Holt talks about the impact of legal threats on stand up, and how fellow comedian Louise Reay had to pre-submit her Edinburgh show to lawyers.
 
Holt somehow achieved the impossible — she made the Index team laugh about SLAPPs. And legal threats really aren’t very funny. So it was only fitting that we invite her to help us launch the winter issue. And what better way to launch a magazine about comedy than with — well, comedy. Holt, famed for her viral videos satirising the UK’s political landscape (“She’s almost like a parody of a Tory MP,” quips one eagle-eyed X/Twitter user), will be joining our line up at the Having the Last Laugh Comedy Show at The Book Club on 24 January.
 
Also on the billing is the award-winning Ahir Shah, known for his takedowns of modern Britain and razor-sharp wit, along with newcomer Sharon Wanjohi, who is not afraid to shock. “My name is Sharon, because of colonisation,” she starts one show. Our fourth act is British-Pakistani comedian and cricket commentator (presumably a redundant skill on this occasion) Aatif Nawaz, who’s known for creating and starring in the BBC Three sketch show Muzlamic. And fresh from organising a festival in Ukraine telling Putin to “fuck off”, friend of Index John Sweeney is stepping into the spotlight to host.
 
Comedy has a lot of power. It holds authority to account, and it makes people think about difficult topics in new ways. Rosie Holt writes in her magazine piece: “All the best comedy is either unfiltered or appears unfiltered. That’s why those in power fear it so much.” With that in mind, we cordially invite you to join an evening of unfiltered comedy that champions free expression. Unless you’re “those in power,” in which case, we invite you to be afraid.
 
By Katie Dancey-Downs, assistant editor, Index on Censorship