![]() ![]() Kerry Godliman: ‘Isn’t friendship a wonderful thing … in theory?’ Guardian ![]() And if Simon Cowell happened to credit the Edinburgh fringe and the British live comedy scene, where all these acts cut their teeth, well, that would be welcome too. If TV talent shows are being used, not only to bring unknowns into the limelight, but already-knowns into brighter lights than they’ve yet occupied, that is – at least occasionally – a good thing. Tape Face became an instant Edinburgh fringe superstar at the turn of this decade, and he’s got a skilful, strange and lovable act that’s capable of entertaining nearly everyone. But Wills’ newfound fame is well deserved. OK, so TV talent shows are as likely to elevate mediocrity as blazing talent: when I did catch up with Zerdin, I found his material a lot weaker than his voice-throwing skill. Britain’s Got Talent probably hasn’t set anyone up for life but, as Van der Put and Zerdin may be discovering, riches lie in store for those who parlay AGT success into big gigs in the entertainment capital of the world.Īnd that’s fair enough. And of course, there can be oodles of money in it. It’s a bit like Hollywood stars advertising whisky and Rolex watches in the far east: if it turns out tacky, no one at home need ever know. ![]() I suspect that’s partly why established UK comedy talents are now queueing up to show what they can do on AGT. Then there’s the likelihood that the show is setting you up for a fall – one that could be terminal for a budding comedy career. For a start, contestants on those TV talent shows are assumed to be, and promoted as, “wannabes” and plucky amateurs, not experienced pros. You can find some of the answers in this blog by the British comic Jody Kamali, who was (according to his account) persuaded by producers to enter BGT, and ritually humiliated for doing so. And yet, there are very few, if any, professional acts from the UK comedy/variety circuit (by which I mean the Soho theatre/Edinburgh fringe/UK touring nexus) to have appeared, far less prospered, on Britain’s Got Talent. Those shows feature plenty of novelty acts, and have – very occasionally – brought a comic talent to the nation’s attention ( Jack Carroll is the salient example). With the exception, of course, of the interchangeable talent shows that clog the schedules. It’s been quite the phenomenon in recent years: well-established UK comedy and variety acts submitting themselves to America’s national talent show and proving that, if America does have talent, it isn’t necessarily amateur, or native, or even resident in the US.īGT finalist Jack Carroll. The only UK act to actually win America’s Got Talent, in 2015, the Wimbledon man duly cancelled a scheduled UK tour to take up a three-year contract with Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. That’s what ventriloquist Paul Zerdin did. Wills, a New Zealander, is currently back in his adopted UK home, touring as Tape Face – but one assumes he’ll be back Stateside soon to capitalise on his recent AGT near-success. In neither case was I blind to the act’s commercial potential – but I certainly didn’t expect what happened next, which is that they both entered America’s Got Talent (though neither is American) and rode the crest of newfound primetime celebrity all the way to the final.Ī career in the US is now theirs for the taking: Van der Put currently lives in Las Vegas, where he has his own solo show. I thought the same of John van der Put – AKA magic act Piff the Magic Dragon – who seemed to me to distil the spirit of the Edinburgh fringe, which he gratefully credited with launching his career. When I interviewed Sam Wills – AKA The Boy With Tape on His Face – a few years ago, I presented him as an act in opposition to the TV mainstream and one reconciled to never appearing on panel shows. ![]()
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