Ask a question: log in or sign up <\/strong>here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Wateroffaducksback<\/a> asks: <\/strong>If populism is so popular, why is there so little comedy about populists? By definition it is not niche but they all seem to be comedians and tick all the boxes – exposing hypocrisy, pretension, injustice, absurdity, irony\u2026<\/p>\n Brian: <\/strong><\/p>\n If by this question you mean, \u2018where\u2019s all the right-wing \/ populist comedy?\u2019, well, there\u2019s plenty of it around \u2013 although the Edinburgh fringe isn\u2019t the best place to find it. Jimmy Carr, Ricky Gervais, Dave Chappelle \u2013 some of the biggest comedy acts in the world pander to populist sentiment. And that\u2019s before you even mention the Jim Davidsons and Roy Chubby Browns beloved of the Reform brigade.<\/p>\n Even on the fringe, there\u2019s an upcoming generation \u2013 the likes of Vittorio Angelone, or his slight senior Geoff Norcott \u2013 whose \u2018saying the unsayable\u2019 material knowingly flirts with populist ideas. And there are regular visits by old-school comics (Bobby Davro was one recent example) whose shtick would be right up Nigel Farage\u2019s street.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t believe that\u2019s the case. I grew up in Fife, my family are still there, and I\u2019ve got family and friends in Edinburgh too. They all go to fringe events every year, as I did when with my pals when I was a teenager.<\/p>\n In my experience, it\u2019s an unhelpful myth, usually propagated by people with little love for the arts, that Edinburgh residents don\u2019t like the fringe. Some don\u2019t, I\u2019m sure. But many do, and are proud and delighted that their city hosts the biggest and best performing arts festival in the world.<\/p>\n
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