Slapstick Festival: Sunday at Bristol's Old Vic - Brazil, Terry Gilliam, Adam Hills & Robert Lindsay

Tomorrow was another day,

The morning found me miles away

With still a million things to say.

Now, when twilight dims the sky above,

Recalling thrills of our love,

There's one thing I'm certain of,

Return I will to old Brazil.

ONSCREEN: BRAZIL WITH TERRY GILLIAM

I saw the film Brazil for the first time in a lecture hall at Uni on a square TV screen suspended from the ceiling. The film sparked debate between my mate and me as we disagreed over what actually happened at the end (sidebar: Terry confirmed I was correct). The dystopian fantasy, full of grotesque characters, was so imaginative, bitingly funny, romantic and bleak that I absolutely adored the movie. It is still one of my all-time favourite films. So when the Slapstick Festival announced a screening introduced by its director, Terry Gilliam, that was the convincer to attend. 

In the theatre, the first thing I notice is the stage monitor. Some poor bugger (me) is not going to see either the guest or the interviewer because of it. 

The permed giant from last night is back, but he's sitting in the same row as me this time. (I feel ashamed for being angry at him for blocking my view at the Sylvester event. The issue was mine, not his. I notice we're attending all the same events. He appears to be on his own, sitting alone between events, but I didn't have the confidence to initiate a conversation). 

Two bald, tall men edge along the row in front. Guess where they sit.

My luck wasn't in. Terry sat on the right. I could see him when I leaned or if he stood, but I had no chance of snapping any decent pics. The chat with Robin Ince was great, though. Terry admitted that in Brazil, he got everything right: the casting, the shots and the writing, which he credited to Tom Stoppard, who reworked his script and put in all the good lines. He revealed they used his daughter Holly as the child who tells Sam if he gets changed, she won't look at his willy. But he and his wife shot the scene after hours without the crew because Holly was tired and fed up and wouldn't say her lines.

I loved watching the film again. My knees ached, though, so I made sure I took Paracetamol before the next event. 

Ticket Price £22

ADAM HILL's DESERT ISLAND COMEDY FLICKS

This event was arranged to replace the postponed GBH retrospective when one of the guests couldn't make it (they didn't say who). I swapped my tickets for this figuring what else was I going to do.

Robin Ince hosted again, with Adam confessing these were not his all-time favourite comedy films but more the ones he wouldn't mind rewatching if on a desert island. Or at least the ones the Festival could get permission to show clips. 

His choices were: The General (1926), Duck Soup (1933), Singing In the Rain (1952), Big (1988), Blazing Saddles (1974), Good Morning Vietnam (1987), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Pitch Perfect (2012). (I may have missed a couple).

Discussing the films, he shared anecdotes about meeting Gene Kelly's wife; being invited to a movie night at the Playboy mansion, then returning a couple of days later with his young daughter to visit its zoo; how he was a huge Marx Brothers fan, spending thousands of dollars at an auction to buy an item signed by Groucho. And lots of other stories over the hour.

Adam is such an upbeat comedian; it's difficult not to warm to his company. A fine set of choices.

Ticket price £32

THE DARK COMIC GENIUS OF TERRY GILLIAM

I have a deep fondness for Terry Gilliam's early career: Python, Time Bandits, Brazil, The Fisher King, and 12 Monkeys all contain a visual flair and comic quirkiness that appeals to my imagination. Terry doesn't look at the world in the same way as anyone else. 

I'm sitting in the second row this time, with a perfect view of both Terry and the interviewer, Matthew Sweet. Terry disagrees that there is such a thing as Gilliamesque as his films are the product of hundreds of people's input. He sees his talents as being creative when the chips are down, casting the right actors, and letting them interpret his work to make it the best it can be.

I love Terry's impish giggle. He may well be in his eighties, but he retains his child-like 

glee about his work and comedy. He's grateful for the opportunity Python afforded him. It was fun seeing the clips of his work, though I noticed they showed nothing from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Video tributes were paid by stars like Mercedes Ruehl, Robert De Niro, Michael Palin, Jonathan Pryce, Sting and John Cleese, who, clean-shaven, looked pale, nobbly-faced and ill.

Terry received his Aardman Slapstick Award for 'Excellence in Visual Comedy' and was presented with a super-cool Morph statue in the style of Don Quixote.

I left the event with a big smile on my face.

Ticket price: £35

CELEBRATING THE ONSCREEN COMEDY OF ROBERT LINDSAY 

I bought a ticket for this event more as an afterthought, figuring I'd been to everything else at the Old Vic that day so I could stay till the end. I remember watching him in Get Some In, Citizen Smith and My Family, but I couldn't say I was a huge fan (I did enjoy his turn in GBH). 

He admits to being quite shy, which came across on the stage tonight. He sometimes squirmed while watching his performances, though he knew how to tell a good anecdote. The clips often contained actors who have since passed away, and he lamented the significant loss. I'd forgotten he'd been a massive Broadway star in the '80s with Me and My Girl. He cited Ian Bleasdale as saving his confidence after Bert Rigby, You're a Fool flopped, quoting Barry Norman's savage line, "It's not often you see an actor knocked down by his own star vehicle". 

He also received the Aardman/Slapstick Comedy Award, which was a Morph posing as Wolfie from Citizen Smith. 

 Ticket price £35.

The Festival is now over. I enjoyed my second day tremendously. The Bristol Old Vic was a great venue. The staff were laid back, the events ran on time, and there were plenty of spaces to relax. In fact, the event timings were perfect for nipping away for dinner to the nearest Chinese restaurant (other choices were available). 

I learned not to buy tickets for the centre of a row (nor middle right, in case of pesky, view-obscuring monitors). 

The Slapstick Festival is a great place for a comedy fan to celebrate comedy. 

Return I will to old Bristol.

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