Paul Kerensa

Earlier this year Paul Kerensa picked up the Golden Rose of Montreux, as a writer for Not Going Out, demonstrating that right now he's at the very top of his game. The second series of Not Going Out is currently on our screens at prime time on BBC1, as is another programme for which he writes (After You've Gone). But as well as being a very successful writer for radio and TV, he's also one of the most respected stand-ups on the circuit. For the last three years, he's had a one man show at the Edinburgh Festival - each one becoming a cult classic and each one he then brought to Greenbelt. This year the Greenbelt faithful were treated to 'Genesis'. Greg Sammons caught up with Paul after the show in a vain attempt to make him laugh.

Greg: It's the day after your performance of Genesis at Greenbelt, it's a show that's been done at Edinburgh, it's not a show catered or made for Christians is it? Tell us all about it!

Paul: Genesis is a stand-up comedy show with the bluffers guide to the book of Genesis. I've taken stories, looking at it in hopefully a comedic way accessible to believers and non-believers alike. That's the plan.

I've been to Greenbelt 3 years now with my show from Edinburgh. The last 2 years I did sort of a pop/culture thing; so did 'Back To The Future' last year. I did the TV show 24 years before that and I came here with that show and of course you say to the people, 'who's seen 24?' In Edinburgh everyone has seen the posters so they're fans come to the show. In Greenbelt it's comedy fans who just come and about four people go, not really and everyone else has never seen it. So I thought, I need to do a show which is more catered towards these people if I wanna do some more of those gigs. So I thought let's write a show for an Edinburgh audience but based around something that Christians would get and so therefore those are the kind I've written with them in mind. It's meant to be a show that Christians will hopefully enjoy and not be offended by; but also is accessible to people who don't know much about it all.

Greg: And I'm right in thinking that people'll join you along the way?

Paul: Yes exactly. We've got some guest comics coming down. The idea is we get different versions, different interpretations of the big stories in the book of Genesis. 'Cause it's a book, it's got all the big stories really. A lot of people don't seem to know. People seem to think it's creation, Adam and Eve. A lot of non-Christians sort of don't realise it's also got Noah's Ark and The Tower Of Babel and Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph and so many of the big stories are in Genesis. So, the nice thing is we have these guest comics coming down giving their own version of these stories. And it's good because it gives a different voice to it, apart from the theme of the show really is that there are these different voices. Actually the book of Genesis is the basis of Christianity and Judaism and Islam, which I didn't particularly realise. I thought it would be good to get these different voices down. So get some different versions of it.

Greg: The three religions you mention are called the three Abrahamic religions, so perhaps when you think it through it's not quite so surprising?

Paul: The clue's there certainly.

Greg: So, have many Muslims been to see the show? You mentioned last night that a few Jews had been to see the show.

Paul: Yeah, we've had a few Jewish folk and we had quite a few Muslims. I always start the show by asking who's religious in the audience; and of course at Greenbelt you do that and it's a big cheer. But in Edinburgh we do that, and it's normally you know maybe ten to fifteen percent Christian, a few Jewish people occasionally, mostly atheists, and agnostics of course. But we did one show where more than half the audience were Muslims. No other religions in just they were all there as a group and for a second I thought 'Oh this will be interesting'. I was fairly confident that I'd written the show in such a way that they would accept it. But I suddenly thought that all the research that I had done, the basis of knowing that Abraham had Ishmael and Ishmael was the father of the Arabian people and therefore Muslims. I thought, I learnt all this from a Christian book which tells me this is what Muslims believe. And I suddenly thought I haven't actually checked with any Muslim that this is actually what they believe. For all I knew It could be a Christian version or what Christians would like to think they believe. So I did check with them. I just said 'look have I got my facts right on this; I do want you to let me know. And they said this was exactly right, this was part of their culture as well, actually in many ways they elevate some of these figures more so than in Judaism and Christianity. Because for them Adam is a prophet, Noah is a prophet, where as for us Noah is a good man but not a prophet as such necessarily. So yes, interesting to hear slight variations along the way that they've all got, but the fact is there is this common thread through it all. Goes to show there must be something in it I think.

Greg: You made your living from writing and performing comedy TV and radio and just on the live stand-up tour as well. I guess more recently you've been doing more "Christian gigs." Is that something you're going to chase or is that something that's naturally going to happen, or something you are going to be very careful about?

Paul: Yes, all three actually. I think it's something I'm interested in doing. It's, I think I was going to say an untapped market. That sounds very crude and business like. What I mean is it's a growing area these last few years. I mean in the month of August just in Edinburgh alone I unearthed about three or four Christian comedians I didn't know about. It's just nice to know and there's a little growing group; and it's just good to know there's people out there doing it. So I think because of that and because of the work of people like the Isaac Project, who go into churches bringing comedy to churches like an outreach type thing, in the way it used to be when you get a jazz night, and bring a friend, a non-Christian friend. There's a lot of that going on, and I think it's going to grow and grow. A lot of churches haven't heard of this yet, and once they've heard of this, it's an opportunity, they might not all want to do it; but once they're all aware it's possible, that's when it's going to come to a halt. For now it's not going to level out just yet, it's going to grow and grow; and I think it's very interesting. It's also a good way of responding to a lot of these very staunch atheist Christians, sorry non-Christian comedians who do for comedy what Richard Dawkins does for writing really, and they're out there really trying to get the atheist audience, people like Stuart Lee who wrote Gerry Springer's The Opera and that sort of thing, very keen to make this point. I really like Stuart. I think he's a very good performer, but of course I totally disagree with what he says. And I think it's time there was a response. So I think eh... that's why I'm trying to do both things. I'm not just trying to do the church gigs, because I think that would be a mistake really. The important thing is to get out there on the secular circuit and do it as well. The trouble is it's always going to be entertainment first. You can't go to a Jongleurs gig and do twenty minutes Christian material. You've got to make them laugh as well. You're booked for it. So you've got to do your best jokes but at the same time, occasionally, at some of these gigs, you have a more thoughtful art centering approach to it and you can talk about some of these things.

Greg: So far we've only talked about how you're doing on the performing side; but as well as that you write. Last time I spoke to you, you said, 'well I try to get a fairly good fifty/fifty balance between the two.' Is that still the case?

Paul: Yes, still the case that I'm trying to do that, but in practice... Yeah I'm trying to do two gigs a week; in practice it's more like three or four...because I find it difficult to say no to these gigs. But I'm trying to put a limit on travelling because I am working nine to five on the writing, Monday to Friday and beyond often into the weekend. I'm not gigging all across the country like I used to be. The first year I did comedy, I drove to Newcastle for a five minute unpaid open spot, and back the same night. And it was ridiculous. Eight hours driving for five minutes of bad comedy for no money. So gone are the days of that thankfully. I'm just doing localish gigs and the gigs I want to do. Picking and choosing a little bit more. I'm trying to make a go of the writing side of things as well. To do a lot more gagging off other peoples scripts, more so than my own stuff at the minute. I've got that on the back burner. So I'm not quite changing the world yet with some groundbreaking sitcom of my own. And in the time being just sort of getting out there and..... being a jobbing writer really.

Greg: Perhaps one of the best-known programmes you've been working on has been with Lee Mack 'Not Going Out.' It's been a very successful programme?

Paul: Thankfully it did go out, which was handy. Tempting fate with the title. Series two we're working on at the minute and we are writing it as we speak, being recorded as we speak and then it'll be airing in October/November I think. But yeah the first series did well. It got growing audiences. Small audiences to start with, but they grew and we won some awards so that was good. Golden Rose of Montreux, The Royal Television Society Award. And all for writing as well; so that's a good sign. The nice thing about the show, it's a very joke based sit com. It's not very fashionable it seems, to do jokes. It's much more fashionable to do the Ricky Gervais thing of just being a bit awkward. I do find these things fun. I really like The Office and Extras. But I do think there's a place for the joke based sitcom and Lee Mack's shows does that very well. What sort of happened with that is by chance. Lots of Christians have grown to work on it purely coincidentally... but there's myself, Tim Vine who's one of the lead roles in it. There's Miranda Hart who's one of the lead roles in the second series. There's John Archer another writer who's on it as well. There's a good four or five of us and without even planning it, these producers have hired us in. So we're taking over.

Greg: Slowly but surely; it's a slow burning process!

Paul: Yes, it's the 'Christian comedy mafia'! Watch this space!'