大象传媒

From comedian & Writer Paul Kerensa:

As a writer I鈥檝e contributed to the odd sitcom, even co-writing one episode of Lee Mack鈥檚 鈥楴ot Going Out鈥� featuring Alexander Armstrong. We gave you the challenging task of playing host of 鈥楶ointless鈥� Alexander Armstrong. Glad you won that role 鈥� the lookalike was useless.

I don鈥檛 so much enjoy writing, as enjoy having written. Comedy writing鈥檚 like childbirth 鈥� enjoy the outcome, don鈥檛 dwell on the process. I worked on 鈥楳iranda鈥�, and a post-series meal was booked for a fine restaurant called 鈥楧inner鈥�, run by one Heston Blumenthal. (I think there is only one.)

I couldn鈥檛 wait 鈥� nothing would stop me attending that meal, except, it turns out, a kidney infection that sent me to A&E. That evening, I had a sneaky phone-call in my hospital bed from the team in the restaurant: me eating boiled pork and boiled carrots with boiled cutlery, them enjoying Heston鈥檚 meat fruit and spiced pigeon.

It was like I was in a sitcom. I could almost hear the wa-wa-waaah, such were the polar extremes of the dinner I'd hoped for and the one I was 鈥渆njoying鈥�. Sometimes life feels like we鈥檙e a put-upon sitcom character, salt added to the wound 鈥� although there was no salt in hospital, though there were wounds.

Maybe how we deal with those moments sets us up for the big stuff. Me? I see life as one giant divine plan, by the ultimate scriptwriter. The prophet Jeremiah has Him saying: 鈥淚 know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper and not harm you, to give you a future and a hope.鈥�

If we can laugh at ourselves in our sitcom moments, maybe we鈥檒l gain perspective for the big stuff, as if our characters might be part of a wider series arc. I think comedy鈥檚 great training for tragedy: those little tragicomic scenarios prepare us for the tougher times.

However we rationalise the world 鈥� divine provenance or muddling through, may we power through our sitcom moments, knowing one day we鈥檒l look back and laugh. Sometimes life feels Pointless, but we鈥檙e never gonna survive unless we get a little Crazy.