Clowning Around

Josie Long describes herself as some sort of clown but there is clearly a lot more to her than that. ‘The Future is Another Place’ is Josie’s 5^th tour and by her own reckoning is something that may not be for the faint hearted.

On 18^th January at the Swansea Grand I went to my second Josie Long show. I felt we had bonded during her last show, ‘Be Honourable!’, over a shared love of Aneurin Bevan and porridge (not in the same bowl) and was keen to see what she had been up to since her last trip to Wales. Turns out she’d been rather busy!

Politics and comedy don’t always mix – a number of cringe worthy escapades from politicians venturing into the comedic world spring to mind – and in many ways most comedy in recent years has turned completely a-political. Josie began by admitting that since the general election and the beginning of the coalition government’s term in office a feeling of anger had gradually progressed into an uncontrollable desire to swear at the news, rant at friends and most importantly to brush up on her political knowledge. Passion is very powerful but without the knowledge to back it up it can be empty. Josie’s handy reading recommendations in her programme pay testament to this, she suggests: ‘The Spirit Level’ by Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson; ‘Fight Back’ edited by Dan Hancox; 38degrees.co.uk and theyworkforyou.org. It was amazing to see how she had been able to actively channel her frustrations into something positive.

Knowledge is good but they say actions speak louder than words. In the last year Josie has appeared on The Week, been involved in UK Uncut peaceful protests and helped found Arts Emergency Service, a charity working to keep subjects in the Arts and Humanities accessible to everyone who wants to study them regardless of the barriers and perceived barriers. This is an admirable feat and certainly brave for a comedian with no background in fundraising or education.

Josie muses that her days at university (studying English at Oxford) changed her perspectives and gave her analytical and research skills that she could not be without. However, debt was a disappointing addition to her degree and now students will be saddled with even bigger debts that will inevitably discourage young people from less privileged backgrounds from seeking the university ‘experience’.

As a history graduate from Cardiff University I am privileged to have studied a humanity degree that has lead me into employment. With the government’s focus on graduate employability and the commercial worth of a degree a lot of learning for learning’s sake, that university so gloriously provides, will be lost.

For me this was more than a good laugh on a Wednesday night (although Josie is hilarious), it was a chance to hear from someone who clearly cares and who is bold enough to take action on her beliefs. I certainly felt inspired. The message is clear: if you want things to change YOU (yes you!) have to do something about it. It is easy to feel disenfranchised or downtrodden. Even huge scale protests on welfare reform and tuition fees seem to have been ignored. When this happens Josie had one message. She recently wrote to Kenny Zulu Whitmore, a member of the American activist group ‘The Black Panther Party’ who has been falsely imprisoned for 35years for standing up for what he believes in. He still believes in social justice. So should we.

Daneka Norman is Communications Manager at the Bevan Foundation

image taken from josielong.com