School of Comedy
Interview with Laura Lawson
Laura Lawson is the creator and series producer for School of Comedy
When did the idea of children playing adults first strike you?
When I was teaching drama in a west London school - the children were fearless and funny, talented and able to deliver comedy better than many of the comedians I'd ever met, and that was pretty exciting to watch. There performances were so sophisticated I thought it would be interesting to see them try more complex, adult comedy scripts and characters and sure enough they loved it and nailed it.
How did your original notion develop into a sketch show?
I figured if Alan Parker could do it for Bugsy Malone then I may as well give it a bash for these kids with School of Comedy. I started an after school club called School of Comedy where the kids could come and improvise and play around with their own character ideas and try out adult comedy scripts. They laughed for the entire hour every week - it was a good feeling. Eventually we started putting on review shows every Easter for parents. They went down a treat, and with our after school club growing in confidence, I broached the idea of taking the children to the Edinburgh festival.
And now they are on the telly?
Yes Edinburgh was the best thing we could have done. We were fortunate enough to have been spotted by somebody at the BBC who asked us to perform on BBC Comedy Shuffle, and were approached by Andy Harries from Left Bank Pictures - he loved the project and the freshness of the children. Channel 4 commissioned a Comedy Lab pilot from me and went on to commission a full series. It was a rollercoaster 18 months.
I don't remember seeing a show with a cast made up entirely of children since Bugsy Malone. What challenges do you face working with children?
For a start we have to work far shorter days with the children. When we call 'wrap' everybody goes home - there's no overtime so everything has to run like clockwork. We have on set tutors, so have to study and keep up to date with their schoolwork. Also, because of their age, they need a chaperon at all times - it's terribly cool to be on set - but not when you are followed around by an adult all day!
What's the future of School of Comedy?
School of Comedy was never really about the television. For me, it's about the children loving to come to the club and being able to perform on stage making people laugh, creating exciting new ideas, and watching their confidence grow week by week. Hopefully the TV show will be loved and will run and run but the platform for all the TV talent is where the heart of School of Comedy is - and that is the club that I run at the Tabard Theatre every week. It's where it all started, children of all ages can come and join in and learn and be inspired.
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