Stefan Golaszewski

When you think of great British comedy writers, whom do you think of?

•           Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.
•       Steve Coogan and Armando Iannucci.
•       Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong
•       Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith.
•       Julia Davis.

 For me, it’s Stefan Golaszewski.

I appreciate that in choosing a name so few have heard of I run the risk of being labeled, at best, contrary; at worst, pretentious. But liking Stefan Golaszewski is not my bid for hipsterdom. I do not think his programmes are cool, invoking as they do the kitchen sink era of British television. Rather I think his works are tender celebrations of that uncoolest emotion: love. 

Stefan Golaszewski, the quiet man of comedy.

Following in the footsteps of Peter Cook, Eric Idle and Richard Ayoade, Golaszewski was President of Cambridge Footlights. The prestigious organisation acts as a student showcase for theatrical and comic talent; it is the place, for instance, where Fry and Laurie first cut their performing teeth. Here, he met Tim Key, now known as ‘Sidekick Simon’ from Alan Partridge’s Mid Morning Matters, and Tom Basden, a writer who would go on to write for Fresh Meat and The Wrong Mans. The three of them along with Lloyd Woolf would go on to take Edinburgh by storm in their sketch group Cowards. After a succession of Radio 4 series, BBC4 commissioned the show for three episodes. Despite enjoying much critical acclaim, Cowards’ run was not extended; as a consequence the band folded, going their separate ways to pursue disparate projects.

It was a move that would be the making of them. Not since Beyond The Fringe has a sketch group gone on to enjoy so much individual success. (Please can we ignore Monty Python to let my upcoming analogy work.) In that 60’s revue show, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller enjoyed huge celebrity on both sides of the pond. Following this, Cook and Moore became one of Britain’s most loved double acts; Bennett the nation’s favourite playwright, and Miller the theatre director of The Old Vic. Although the Cowards team are not household names in the same way as Fringe, they have achieved feats of brilliance.

Cowards.

To stretch the analogy, Key and Basden whom now dabble in the double act Freeze are Cook and Moore; Woolf, a writer for Drifters and Witless, is the lesser-known Miller; which leaves Golaszewski as Bennett: a special talent that can make the humdrum hum. Despite working hard to find a relationship between these sketch groups, I do not believe that comparing Golaszewski to Bennett is strained. Yes, the younger man has a long way to go to emulate the oeuvre of his spiritual father; however, his work on stage and screen up to this point shows there is yet a chance he could do so.

Golaszewski began his foray into playwriting when he took his monologues to Edinburgh in 2008 and 2009. His first Stefan Golaszewski Speaks About A Girl He Once Loved is a beautiful lament for a relationship never realised. His second Stefan Golaszewski Is A Widower is a eulogy to a relationship too painfully realised. Both works are quiet acts of beauty, showcasing Golaszewski’s unshowy way with words. Invigorated by the success of these solo works, he undertook his biggest project yet and wrote a sitcom. The product of this, Him and Her, would run for 24 episodes collecting a BAFTA for Best Situational Comedy in 2014. 

It's a toss up between The Office and Him and Her for my favourite comedy; I beg of you not to make me call. Both sitcoms are pieces of perfection. Neither has a dud line, a superfluous scene, a wasted minute: they are lean, trim prized fighters without an inch of fat on them. What is truly special about them is not only are they painfully, excruciatingly funny; they’re also truly romantic. In Tim and Dawn, in Becky and Steve they have the greatest romantic pairings ever committed to screen. People can get all misty eyed at the thought of Bergman and Bogarde in the fog, but give me Steve and Becky watching Morse in their dressing gowns any day.

This week I been re-watching Him and Her: The Wedding with the girl, and we love it even more second time around. In this the fourth series, the characters are taken out of Steve and Becky’s bedsit and relocated to a hotel for Becky’s sister’s wedding. Given squalor is the third main character in Him and Her, it was a risk to move the action away from the Tracey Emin bedroom of the earlier seasons to the more salubrious environs of a wedding day. Here, Golaszewski shows an anthropologist’s genius for social observation as over five episodes he documents a wedding from preparation through to the booze-sodden Somme of a disco. In this season Steve and Becky’s ribald tongues and dirty floors take a backseat to the polluted souls of Laura and Paul – it turns out to be an inspired move. Laura and Paul are Becky and Steve’s opposites: their life is comparatively rich compared to the others; however their hearts are poor. Whereas Steve and Becky would happily lock the whole world out to enjoy the privacy of love, Paul and Laura want the whole world to come and see theirs as though love were a show rather than an emotion. Watching this couple implode over series’ of looking down on Steve and Becky is a wonderful sight to behold.

Him and Her.

This week Golaszewski’s new sitcom, Mum, began on BBC 2. Starring Leslie Manville, Mum begins with Cathy (Manville) preparing for her husband’s funeral. Invading her mourning is a menagerie of family and partners appearing to have all the decorum of a fart in a wind tunnel. Her brother’s partner Pauline is a ghastly snob whom thinks it fit to criticise a widow’s brew on this day of all days. (“Did you do this in the pot, Cathy?”) On top of that she has to contend with her son’s dopey girlfriend, Kelly, who says things like: “Can I borrow some knickers? I just thought I best be wearing some. ” Thankfully her full heart makes up for her empty undercarriage. All of this whilst having to deal with her belligerent in-laws makes Cathy’s clandestine smokes understandable. Like Steve and Becky, she is surrounded but longs for seclusion. 

The early signs are very good. I think Mum has the makings of being another beautiful work by Golaszewski. Admittedly, it doesn’t have the vulgarity or outlandishness that made its predecessor so compulsive, yet in exhibiting older actors and deeper themes there’s a real chance this could be his most meaningful work to date.

Lesley Manville as Cathy.

Ultimately, I know Golaszewski isn’t an easy name to say, but for all his achievements in comedy it really should be one on everyone’s lips.

Mum is on BBC 2, Friday 10pm