Observational comedy

Observational comedy is a form of humor based on the commonplace aspects of everyday life. It is one of the main types of humor in stand-up comedy.[1] In an observational comedy act, the comedian makes an observation about something which is common enough to be familiar to their audience, but not commonly discussed.[2] Such observations are typically presented with the phrase "Have you ever noticed...?"[3] or "Did you ever notice...?"[4] which has become a comedy cliché.[3]

  1. ^ Sankey, Jay (1998). Zen and the Art of Stand-Up Comedy. Routledge. p. 53. ISBN 9781136555633. One of the most popular styles of contemporary stand-up is that of "observational humor."
  2. ^ Double, Oliver (2014). "Observational comedy". Getting the Joke: The Inner Workings of Stand-Up Comedy (2nd ed.). London: Methuen Drama. p. 208. ISBN 978-1408174609.
  3. ^ a b Double, Oliver (2014). "Observational comedy". Getting the Joke: The Inner Workings of Stand-Up Comedy (2nd ed.). London: Methuen Drama. p. 208. ISBN 978-1408174609.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Herring Caulfield was invoked but never defined (see the help page).