My friend James just alerted me to this story. Justice Minister Jack Straw has cancelled an eight day comedy workshop in Whitemoor Prison, a top security jail in Cambridgeshire. Mr Straw said:
"Prisons should be places of punishment and reform, and providing educational, training and constructive pursuits is an essential part of this. But the types of courses available, and the manner in which they are delivered must be appropriate in every prison. ... There is a crucial test: can the recreational, social and educational classes paid for out of taxpayers' money (or otherwise) be justified to the community?"
I think Mr Straw has got this one wrong.
He is right that prisons should be places of punishment. But that doesn't mean that inmates should be treated like cattle. Mr Straw seems to acknowledge that broad principle, so what's his beef here?
Art - in the broadest sense of the word - matters in its own right, but it can also be critical in developing essential life skills. If it's right to let inmates take pottery, music or drawing lessons, why shouldn't they have a chance to do comedy?
I have been doing stand-up comedy for nearly three years. Taking the plunge is the best decision I ever made. It has boosted my confidence, improved my public speaking, given me a creative outlet, let me meet many friends, and even helped me find (non-comedic) work. I'm more sought after as a speechwriter now that people know I'm a stand-up.
I do hope that Jack Straw didn't act pre-emptively to stave off a negative story in a tabloid newspaper about this course (or in response to an article that I've missed). It's easy to get hysterical about how prisoners are treated - some people think weight training should be banned in jail because it makes criminals bigger and stronger, yet exercise can also give someone a sense of purpose and channel aggression in a healthy manner.
I don't know if this comedy workshop would have been any good. Rather preciously, I don't think you can teach someone to be funny and that the best way to discover how to make people laugh is through trial and error. But banning it outright on the grounds that it is an inherently bad thing to let jailbirds find their funny bones is myopic.
We should want those prisoners who are going to be let out to have greater confidence and be better skilled, because we want them to find work. Maybe the course would help. Even those who are never going to leave prison should have something worthwhile in their lives. A civilised society treats everyone - even the least civilised - in a civilised way.
Is it because comedy is supposedly trivial? Or because people might not like the idea of prisoners laughing it up when they should be reflecting on their misdeeds? I am reminded of G.K. Chesterton's retort to Joseph McCabe:
"Mr. McCabe thinks that I am not serious but only funny, because Mr. McCabe thinks that funny is the opposite of serious. Funny is the opposite of not funny, and of nothing else."
And I could list at exhaustive length comedians who have helped further our understanding of serious issues.
Come on Jack. You're a witty fellow yourself. Think again.
