Stand Up Comedy
Stand-up comedy is often a live performance a single comedian embarks on, usually involving speaking directly to the audience. Usually a short performance featuring a succession of fast-paced humorous stories and jokes, a stand up comedian will often combine this with one-liners to comprise a humorous monologue, routine or act.
Many stand-up comedians will make use of props, music and tricks in an effort to enhance their act, as seen by comedians Russel Brand, Bill Bailey and Tim Minhin. Stand-up comedians often perform at comedy clubs, bars and open mic events, with more famous comedians performing at larger venues.
Often considered the most difficult form of comedy for a comedian to try, most comedians embark upon stand-up at some point in their career and the genre is becoming more accessible to the public with shows such as Live At The Apollo.
Satire
Satire as a genre combines vices, follies, abuses and shortcomings and holds them up to ridicule with the severe intent to shame individuals and society itself with the view to cause improvement. Satire is a tool used in comedy in order to amuse masses, however its greater purpose is constructive social criticism, where wit is used as a weapon.
Two of the most common features of satire is the use of irony and sarcasm, with additional features of parody, burlesque, exaggeration, juxtaposition, comparison, double entendre and analogy being used on a frequent basis. Modern satirical humour includes Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe, Saturday Night Live, Terry Pratchett and US comedian Doug Stanhope.
Political Satire
Political satire is a very significant branch of the satire genre, specialising in gaining entertainment value from politics. A powerful tool in changing political opinion, political satire as a form of comedy has been used with intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden, as well as being used as a way in which to advance political arguments where these arguments may be forbidden.
Political satire is generally considered to be without agenda, as well as not seeking to influence the political process, however political satire can have a huge impact on the publics political views. This form of comedy rarely offers a constructive view, moreover it establishes an error of matters and does not provide solutions. Political satirists include Michael Moore, Harry Shearer and Jay Leno.
Parody
Parody is generally considered to be comedy created with a view to mock, comment on and make fun of an original work. Many people consider parody to be the simplest form of comedy, with examples being seen in music, with songs by artists such as Weird Al Yankovic, in literature, seen by books such as “Bored of the Rings” and in cinema and television, with movies such as “Scary Movie”. Parody comedy is also known as a spoof and can often be slapstick or satirist in nature, depending upon the direction it is taken.
Screwball Comedy
A screwball comedy is a genre in which a female holds dominance in a relationship with the male central character, with the male's masculinity being challenged. Often confined mainly to cinema, screwball comedy is seen to be one of the most popular and longest enduring genres, gaining prominence in 1934 with the film “It Happened One Night”. It is claimed that screwball comedy ended in the 1940s, however many elements from the genre have lasted and are still seen in cinema today.
Blue Comedy
In contrast to black comedy blue comedy concerns itself more with off-colour, risque, indecent, profane and obscene matters. Blue comedy often includes profanity and sexual imagery that may shock and offend audiences, however it does not aim to do so in a malicious way, but rather in a humorous way.
The term blue comedy comes from the comedian Max Miller, who would keep all of his jokes in a blue coloured notebook. Many comedians will appear to be family-friendly in one instance but in the right circumstances will experiment with blue comedy. Bob Saget is an archetype in this matter, with other blue comedians such as Russell Brand and Roy “Chubby” Brown.
Romantic Comedy
Romantic comedy, or “Rom Com” is a genre of film that features a light-hearted, humorous plotline that focuses on romantic ideals like true love surviving all obstacles. A far cry from blue comedy, romantic comedies are sweet stories that feature elements of screwball comedy and other milder forms of humour. Many actors are pigeon-holed into the romantic comedy genre, including Adam Sandler, Hugh Grant and Jennifer Lopez.
Sketch Comedy
Sketch comedy is often used in a television or radio series as opposed to a film and consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, commonly referred to as “sketches”. Between one and ten minutes long, sketches are performed by a large group of comic actors and are often improvised and written down based on the outcome. Popular sketch shows include Little Britain, Harry Enfield and A Bit of Fry and Laurie.