Call for comedians

Barbados could do with more comedians, says former comic turned Government’s chief of protocol Philip St Hill.
Commenting on the state of comedy on the island in a recent interview, St Hill told the WEEKEND NATION “I think there is a need for some more comedians.”
He suggests pooling their talents in a comedy parade which he is conceptualizing as a street parade that would allow comedians to “come and present and show off comical interpretations of things both national and international that have formed part of the news or part of the issues of the day.”
In his view such an event could become very popular in Barbados.
He said “I see many opportunities and many reasons why it could be successful. There is enough material in Barbados that could be used for comic relief.”
A fan of American comedian Jay Leno, St Hill said he admired how Leno was able to put a comical spin on any and everything taking place in the United States.
But he acknowledged the difficulty of doing the same thing in Barbados, “a place where people get very easily offended if you were to make certain jokes on them.” Therefore he said opportunities for comedians here were limited.
St Hill was once a popular name on stages across Barbados, most familiar in the St Philip-based Conquerors calypso tent.
He put his popularity at the time down to the fact that he avoided vulgarity in his presentations.
“People think that you have to be vulgar to be entertaining. I do not believe that, so I never have and never will get into that.” he said. (GC)