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Accepted Paper:
Japanese comedy going online: new spaces for performers and audiences
Till Weingärtner
(University College Cork)
My talk will examine the online presence and performances of the duo Jarujaru. I will demonstrate how online comedy can change the form of comedy, but also the relationship between performers and audience – and the image they come to hold of comedians active and ever-accessible online.
Paper long abstract:
When lockdown first hit Japan, most comedians were unable to access their regular performance spaces. While television production resumed, following strict Corona protocols, performing in theatres or other venues in front of live audiences remained impossible for months. A number of comedians took their performances to the virtual world, setting up or re-kindling YouTube channels or taking advantage of streaming services offered by their comedy agencies. While this raised questions of monetisation, it also in some sense levelled the playing field for independent comedians who already found themselves regularly locked out from major television productions or events organised by big agencies. It also meant that comedians had to reconsider their material and experiment with different forms of audience interaction, sometimes posting recordings of past live shows, sometimes adapting material for the online setting, and sometimes coming up with entirely new routines for online delivery.
In 2022, even with the reopening of theatres, many comedians continue to take advantage of the new possibilities of their online presence. My talk will use the online presence and performances of the duo Jarujaru as a prime example, focusing on their successful YouTube channel and their other materials available online. I will demonstrate how online comedy can change the form of comedy, but also the relationship between performers and audience – and the image they come to hold of comedians active and ever-accessible online.