Thread by @Oldfirmfacts1

A few years ago, I saw Stewart Lee at @StandComedyClub in Edinburgh. He was doing a bit about how Animal Farm is an allegory for the Russian Revolution, but you shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking every animal you ever see is making some political point...

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He said something along the lines of “When you see Ben Fogle holding a swan on Animal Park, don’t assume the swan represents communism. Sometimes a swan is just a swan”...

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Then he pointed at me and said “Name another animal you’d find in a zoo”. I’ve been asked plenty of questions by plenty of comedians and given coherent answers. And, this time, all I had to do was name any animal other than a swan. Without hesitating I blurted out...

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“SWAN”.

By the time I reached the letter ‘n’ I knew I was fucked. Sure enough, he spent at least five solid minutes annihilating me.

“I asked you because you’ve been laughing at the right bits. I thought you were smart”...

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“You’re symptomatic of a generation that’s confused thought with memory”.

“It’s my fault for showing up in Edinburgh on Swan Saturday. I was warned against it. Even Paul Merton and his Impro Chums avoid it”.

And on and on and on...

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200-odd people were laughing at me while one of my heroes called me an idiot.

It was absolutely brilliant.

#SaveLiveComedy

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A third of comedy venues believe they’ll be forced to close within the next six months, with 77.8% facing closure within the next year.

Sign the open letter below and, if you want to share a live comedy memory, use the hashtag #SaveLiveComedy

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