“The protocol with these shows is that people stay for the whole 24 hours”. Mid-pandemic, and raising substantial funds for three charities, Mark Watson is performing one of his trademark marathon comedy shows. In the good old days, they were staged to a live audience, whom the party atmosphere might even incentivise to stay for the duration. Via webcam, it’s harder to conjure that all-in-it-together sense of occasion.
But by the end – for which I tuned in after, well, the occasional break – Watson had just about succeeded in doing so. His nervous energy keeps proceedings buoyant through occasional tech wobbles. They point, he says, is to celebrate what comedy used to be and will be again – a fraternity of jokers at liberty to indulge their silliest ideas. The screen frequently splits into Celebrity Squares-style boxes, a different quarantined guest in each – and they’re usually blokes. “This is everyone’s dream now,” jokes Watson. ”Seven white men on screen.”
As if his bleary expression weren’t evidence enough, Watson reminds us that “this is a very, very long thing” – but there are many highlights. Viewers are set challenges; guests create artefacts (a model Natural History Museum; portraits of footballers) for auction. The duo Flo & Joan perform a bespoke song about Nancy Dell’Olio, and Nish Kumar contributes a musical moment, strumming guitar to Watson’s lockdown ballad. Our host officiates at an actual wedding on Saturday afternoon, and Gary Delaney delivers 10 minutes of blue one-liners. The absence of laughter is disconcerting.
But if the spirit can be laddish (standup Tiernan Douieb, downing hot sauces, says: “My toilet is going to be a bit sad tomorrow.”), you can’t begrudge Watson a little help from his friends as he navigates this endurance test. As best mate Tim Key reappears through the steam of his poached-egg breakfast, or #Watsonathon regular Rufus Hound delivers another homily about the life-affirming nature of 24-hour comedy, the camaraderie – and all this effort and industry applied to something so daft – is hard to resist.
