Comedy writer Aidan Fitzmaurice has written comedy for grownups for years. But having children of his own offered him a chance to speak to a new audience. Below, he talks about how it's taken him in a truly intergalactic direction with his hilarious new RTÉjr podcast, Galaxy Fest.
Kids get it. You tell an adult that their joke is offensive, and you’re usually walking straight into the most annoying argument of your life. But kids, empathy sponges that they are, kids get it. I run comedy workshops in primary schools around Dublin. These workshops focus on comedy history, different genres of comedy (slapstick, parody, satire), the difference between punching up and punching down, a bit of improv, some script writing, all before we film some sketches written by the students. These sketches can focus on anything from "what was school like 100 years ago?", to "just what do those teachers get up to in that staff room?". As long as the students have fun making them, the comedy will follow.
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Listen above to the first episode of Galaxy Fest
What I find invigorating about working with young people in comedy is: they don’t fake laugh. They don’t laugh out of politeness. They have no interest in protecting your precious ego. If they don’t think something is funny, they will look you directly in the eye and tell you as much. Picking out clips they will enjoy has been a fascinating task. Mr. Bean always works. Fawlty Towers not so much. The Simpsons was a hit, but I faced the stoniest of silences when I dared show them some topical satire. The most popular of all was a compilation of Buster Keaton’s best stunts. Prefaced with a stern "Don’t try this at home, kids".
When it comes to concept of punching up and punching down, kids are usually very responsive. They understand the simplicity of "don’t be a jerk with your jokes". They appreciate that a roast where the roastee has not agreed to be roasted is just bullying. They have no interest in fighting for their right to offend. That, apparently, comes much later in life. The best thing about these comedy workshops has been meeting some incredibly funny and talented young people along the way. In fact, my new children’s podcast, Galaxy Fest, stars several of the children I came across through these workshops. Directing 5 young people through 10 scripts over 2 days was one of the more rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. I can’t evendescribe it as challenging. They made it easy for us.
Galaxy Fest was written for RTÉjr Radio with education in mind, but more than anything else, I wanted it to be funny. Not funny in a "kids say the darndest things" kind of way, but funny in a "here are some extremely talented children having the time of their lives pretending to be a crew of outerspace explorers" way. They delivered on this, and then some.
You can sneak a surprising amount of science into scripts when people are laughing along...
The core cast each brought their own comedic style to the table. Poppy Turner delivers a calm authority as Captain Astrid. Louis Benson has infectious enthusiasm as Lennon. Adeeva Agbede brings the dry wit as Eve. Archie Hales is the man with the plan as Harper. And Tristan Barks knocks it out of the park as his namesake Tristan. Their performances lifted the intergalactic material to new heights. Words I had written months ago found fresh meaning coming from the mouths of these future stars. So-so jokes were elevated to hilarious. Interesting facts given a sprinkling of awe that’s missing when told by the grown ups. The comedy workshops also allowed me to keep in step with how kids actually talk. Last minute edits were made. Children don’t say "class", but they love saying "slay!". I discovered they didn’t know about Bono, so quickly added a joke to that effect. That old rule of comedy: when in doubt, make fun of Bono.
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While you're at it, have a listen to Episode 2 as well...
You can sneak a surprising amount of science into scripts when people are laughing along. One episode revolves around harnessing the potential power of a star going supernova. Another looks at the science of resolution in music. And this isn’t limited to Galaxy Fest. RTÉjr’s podcast output is stuffed to the brim with entertaining and educational shows, such as Ecolution and Nero’s Class. These are all shows that get the kids involved, and will always be the better for it.
The old saying goes "never work with children or animals". I can’t speak to the animals part; I’m yet to run any comedy workshops for dogs (though I suspect cats would be naturals). But I can attest: the "never work with children" part is rubbish. Work with children plenty and often. I’ve been lucky enough to do so through my writing and my workshops, and I cannot wait to do so again.
Galaxy Fest is available wherever you get your podcasts - catch up with the latest episode here
