Media Foundation Placement Scheme participant, Aidan Belizaire tells us about his Great British Comedy experience...
Thanks to Vision+Media’s Media Foundation Placement Scheme I have had the pleasure of working at Channel K, the Manchester based production company that specialises in comedy, with credits including Lunch Monkeys, Hung Out and Sketch Pistols.
As if this wasn’t cool enough, I was also chosen to represent Vision+Media at The Great British Comedy Event, with the promise of meeting some of my comedy heroes.
The Great British Comedy Event is an event to raise money for the National School of Film and Television, as well as an excuse to honour some of our much-loved comedy performers. Dawn French and comic partner Jennifer Saunders were celebrated, alongside Ian Hislop and Paul Merton of Have I Got News For You fame, and Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin of classic cult comedy Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Having not being to many award dos before, I arrived at the event wearing white trainers, a short-sleeved checked shirt and some 80’s throwback stonewashed-iced-denim jeans. Luckily, I spotted Charlie Brooker as I arrived and he was wearing trainers too! So I started to feel more comfortable and decided to try my hand at some networking....
I naturally gravitated towards other people wearing trainers. Turns out they worked at Google, nice guys too. While telling them a story, I accidently elbowed a woman as she walked past, it was Meera Syal!
The Google crew and I spent the next half an hour celebrity spotting. We saw: Paul Merton, Lenny Henry, Jo Brand and David Mitchell to name but a few.
Then it was time for the main event...
The silent auction was interesting, various movie memorabilia was up for grabs such as a slate from ‘The Quantum of Solace’ or a love potion prop from ‘Harry Potter’.
Next was the quiz. Our table didn’t do too bad as we attempted to answer various questions based on different, legendary British comedies such as Monty Python, Have I Got News For You and French and Saunders. The other thing (that I thought was great) was that the stars/writers of the show’s read out the related questions themselves. Unfortunately we didn’t win. No surprise though when you’re up against the very people who LITERALLY invented the answers!
The auction was great fun, with high bids bouncing between the tables. The strangest item must have been a vasectomy, I’m not joking! The medical procedure was sold for £2,000.
After everything had been sold and many glasses of wine had been drained people began to filter out. I said my goodbyes and reluctantly walked back to my Travelodge up the road leaving my showbiz life behind me!