A FUNNY BUSINESS

An in depth look at the day to day life of The Comedy Club

10.30pm - Thursday, 3rd August 2006 on BBC3

Every year with the approach of August, virtually everyone’s thoughts turn to The Edinburgh Festival. It is the time of year when Comedy steps into the limelight and takes over the stage. When comedians from around the world put on shows in the hope of fame and fortune and that ever elusive Television deal. But what goes on behind the scenes? Who are the people responsible for giving the Comedians that first boost up the ladder of success?

It is no coincidence that A Funny Business has been programmed for transmission for Thursday, 3rd August, the start of The Edinburgh Festival Fringe…

Commissioned by Ben Gale at BBC3, and Produced by Award-winning Dai4 Films, A Funny Business is a ‘fly on the wall’ documentary that looks at the sometimes chaotic, sometimes confrontational – but never dull - day to day management of one of the UK’s leading entertainment businesses. This one-hour documentary is a unique opportunity to see for the first time what it really takes to stay afloat in one of the world’s most cutthroat and fickle industries.

Without a good management team behind them, Comedians will often vanish from the Comedy Circuit within months of their first appearance - passed over by a public who are always searching for the next new laugh. As the programme unfolds it becomes obvious that there is much more to comedy than just a good punch line. With bookings across the UK and abroad, The Comedy Club manage their clients’ diaries and make sure, with very few exceptions, that they are in the right place at the right time, whether that involves entertaining the passengers of a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, launching a new comedy club in Prague or just making the punters laugh at one of the many comedy venues around the country. For The Comedy Club owner, Ian Franklin – a former entertainer himself – running the Company has become a way of life far more than just a nine to five job. With a great team behind him, Ian works constantly for the betterment of his clients, realising that their livelihoods are his responsibility. But when things go wrong they can go disastrously wrong and that’s when his skills as a diplomat and problem solver become indispensable.

This year The Comedy Club celebrates a decade as one of the leading lights of the Comedy Industry. No mean feat in an industry where companies and performers appear and disappear with the speed of a magician’s rabbit. Dai4 Films shadowed Ian, his staff and his clients for four months in order to achieve as realistic a view as possible of the energy and drive that Ian and everyone involved in Company invest in bringing tears of laughter to the eyes of audiences everywhere.

A FUNNY BUSINESS IS TRANSMITTED AS PART OF BBC3’S DOCUMENTARY SERIES WELCOME TO OUR WORLD.

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