Jokes are a currency. Exchanged, handed down and passed around like common property, they crop up time and again in a range of different contexts, metamorphosing at every turn. Telling jokes becomes a metaphor for the way that culture is transmitted between generations and across boundaries. Frequently, jokes work because they are sharp. They cut through presumptions, taste and conventions, even morality. Sometimes ‘incorrect’, we still find them funny. They retain the power to win us over, and they empower the teller.
  
As a film designed for personal use as well as an exhibition piece for gallery audiences, The Comedians balances the intimacy of privately told jokes with the public nature of the stand-up experience. Through the conventions of comedy, the children’s performances throw a spotlight onto family ties, the conflicts of adolescence and the passage of time.

Commissioned by the Ruskin School of Drawing & Fine Art and DA2 Digital Arts Development Agency, Bristol and supported by funding from the Arts Council of England, Brief Encounters Short Film Festival, Southern Arts and Westminster Arts Council.