Ruth Cockburn, Author at Blackpool Social Club

05 Jan

What does the future look like for ‘Blackpool’s Funniest Night Out’?

Ruth Cockburn0 CommentsColumns & Opinion, Theatre, Dance & PerformanceBlackpool, Comedian, Comedy, performance

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] As I walked into The Comedy Station Comedy Club in Blackpool, I was greeted with a slightly different sight to what I saw ten months ago. Last time I was there I was gigging; there was a crowd of happy, if slightly tipsy people filling the rows of seats in front of the stage; the venue bar was alive with merry punters and busy bar staff. Whilst skulking in a dark corner, a gang of comedians were chatting, scribbling new jokes on the back of their hands and getting ready to entertain. Ten months later, I was faced with…

Heritage or Heresy?

Ruth Cockburn0 CommentsColumns & OpinionComedy, opinion

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Ruth E. Cockburn looks at how comedy ages and asks - Should we be proud or embarrassed of our comedy history? The week that I wrote this, it was Bobby Ball’s funeral, a sad day. Myself and my fellow comedians clapped and shouted ‘Rock On Tommy’ as his coffin drove by, I felt a sense of pride that I work in such a supportive and loving profession. I was brought up watching reruns of the Wheeltappers and Shunters Club, The Comedians and sketches by Al Reed and Les Dawson. I loved these comics and others just like them as if they…

Should I get a proper job? By Ruth E Cockburn

Ruth Cockburn1 CommentColumns & Opinion, Theatre, Dance & Performancecreativity, performance, Theatre, zoom

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] As we head into winter and the prospect of all the Christmas gigs and theatre shows and Pantos not happening I start to wonder. Should I get a proper job? But what is a proper job? I have worked in the arts in all its wonderful forms for over 15 years now and I have never been so concerned as I am now. To control a nation first you must control their form of expression. If art is seen as unnecessary then it is easier to patronise and take for granted. In the courts of old, the only person…