Jake Baker talks to Pepper&Salt about his new Edinburgh Fringe hour, The Gentle Men’s Club, his opinion on adhering to strict behaviours and his approach to navigating the process of writing a comedy show on a sensitive and potentially controversial topic.
How would you summarise your show?
It’s a reaction to online influencers trying to dominate the meaning of masculinity. There’s lots of silly jokes about things like tortoises and yogurt, all illustrating the ways in which feminism is good for men.
I am also doing a show called ‘Comedians Play Video Games’. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Myself, Steffan Alun and Cerys Bradley host a revolving cast of fellow comedians as we play games like Mario Kart, Smash Bros. Overcooked, Pokemon and loads more. It’s very interactive, anarchic and lots of fun. everyday at 23:00 Hoots @ The Apex
What was the inspiration behind The Gentle Men’s Club?
The world has become a more frightening place politically over the past ten years; there has been a real backsliding on a lot of social issues. Major world leaders and online spaces have been infected by a deeply misogynist worldview rooted in a reactionary mindset and it affects all of us. This movement laments the decline of the ‘alpha’ male and tells men they need to be more ‘traditional’ in their masculinity but its advocates all seem absolutely terrified and furious and confused and sad. I wanted to make an antidote, a positive alternative for men that celebrates what we can be.
What is the main throughline that pulls the show together and that you hope will resonate particularly?
A lot of the justification for manosphere thinking is an argument from the authority of nature but they are incredibly selective about which bits of the natural world they talk about: wolves, lobsters etc. The animal kingdom is vast and so throughout the show I have tried to highlight some lesser-known species that A) we might learn from, and B) show that strict adherence to prescribed behaviour is folly. If you want to be like a penguin, be like a penguin.
What was your writing process like, did the idea for the subject matter come first or was it a particular bit etc.?
The first routine was about my girlfriend working in the tech industry and therefore earning substantially more money than me and how I found it boggling that any man would be upset or ashamed of that. It’s obviously better to be with someone richer than you. I’m an artist that works 20 mins a day, and yet, I can ski!
“Strict adherence to prescribed behaviour is folly. If you want to be like a penguin, be like a penguin. “
What do you think it is about your style or brand of comedy that lends itself to tackling this subject?
My style, on the surface, is quite low-key, relaxed and unassuming so I can get away with talking about quite heavy topics and have them still feel breezy. A silly and whimsical sensibility also helps with this so I can delve quite deep but the jokes keep rolling.
What has been your technique in writing about a difficult or sensitive topic but still having to make it funny?
Personal experience is the key. An audience is more willing to trust you to talk about a subject if they know your insight is first-hand. That human connection makes it all the more funny and relatable. That has also meant that there have been aspects of this topic that I have largely steered clear of but given the topic’s size that’s been no bad thing. If I talked about every part of masculinity the show would be looooong haul — 28 hours plus. The audience would need regular naps and I’d have to serve meals.
Is there anything that you would have liked to know when making your Edinburgh Fringe debut that you would like to share with newcomers?
Everyone gives this advice but no-one takes it. The Best Newcomer Award puts a lot of pressure on comics and makes them feel this is their one shot to get noticed and do something great but the truth is every artist I like started slow, experimented, got it wrong and then did their best work later. Your debut is like the first pancake: probably a bit of a mess but still, figuratively, edible. So remember to have fun or what’s the point of even doing it?
By Katerina Partolina Schwartz
Source: Flick Morris
Pepper & Salt 
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