Book review of Double, Oliver (2020). Alternative Comedy. 1979 and The Reinvention of British Stand-Up. London and New York: Bloomsbury

The title of Oliver Double’s monograph clearly summarises the purpose of this book. After briefly explaining the personal reasons behind this endeavour, in his introduction Double offers a general overview of the British social and cultural context within which alternative cabaret, or comedy, developed. Double’s investigation is based on his long-standing scholarly research on stand-up comedy, the analysis of recorded material held at the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive (BSUCA) as well as interviews with British comedians involved in alternative comedy such as Andy de la Tour, Alexei Sayle, Tony Allen and Pauline Melville.