School of Comedy
Interview with Andy Harries
Andy Harries, the Executive Producer of School of Comedy, talks about the origins of the show, why it was so much fun to make, and what it was like to work alongside his son, who stars in the series.
School of Comedy is a sketch show, performed by children. Where did it originate? Well, at the age of 12 my son got involved in this after-school comedy club. I didn't quite know what he was getting involved with, but he was very excited and kept on doing it. Then they started performing at school, then doing performances in clubs around London, and then went to the Edinburgh Festival. And when they went to the Edinburgh Festival, I went with him, because obviously he was too young to go on his own, and I started to go and see the show every day. I noticed how fast the kids were learning, and how confident they were becoming. The audience reaction was fantastic - they obviously loved watching kids doing material that was adult, and handling it so competently.The kids who appear in the series are hugely talented. Did you have to disappoint some of those in the club by not allowing them to take part?
No, all the kids who were in the original troupe are in the show, and we added a couple of young actors who came to us on recommendation.
The kids had to fit in schoolwork while they were on set, didn't they?
Yeah, they did. We had to have a mobile classroom with us while we were shooting. Obviously they didn't particularly like having to do the school work, but they loved being out of school and being able to perform. They are all natural performers, and the more they did it the more they loved it. It was rather blissful working with a bunch of actors without any egos. Really, the biggest problem we had was too much laughter.
Do you think a lot of the kids will want to do this as a career?
I don't think any of them have signed up for that, nor have they ruled it out. I think Will Poulter is pretty much guaranteed a career - he's already out there in the business anyway. He was in Son of Rambow, and he's now out in New Zealand filming the third installment of the Narnia films. He is undoubtedly destined for a proper career.
Was it an odd experience being on set with your son? Did you have to be careful not to single him out either for praise or criticism?
It's a good question. He was in it before I was involved, and as everyone who was in the troupe made the TV series, there was no nepotism involved. I left all of the decisions about who was in which sketch to the producer, Jenna. I didn't want to interfere too much. But it was great, working with him, it worked fine.
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