April Fools!

April 1st and off we go – dreaming up tricks and making up tall tales, sticking cling film over the loo seat, spreading rumours of sheep in the streets, news stories of spaghetti harvests failing –

April Fool!

Some love it: "harmless fun," "laughter is good for you," "not taking ourselves too seriously is healthy."

Some hate it: most victims of the hoaxes.

What are we doing?

Why are we doing it?

It’s a bizarre little tradition, really.

And no-one can quite put their finger on the origin.

“The first of April some do say,

Is set apart for All Fools' Day;

But why the people call it so

Nor I, nor they themselves, do know…” (18th century rhyme)

Origins might lie with Chaucer

or the change from Julian to Gregorian calendar

or some 16th century French poet mentioning the “poisson d'avril” (their April Fool)

or some 16th century Flemish poet writing about a chap who sent his servants on foolish errands on 1st April

…none wholly convincing.

Personally I love the Scottish name for April Fool’s Day: "Huntigowk Day".

Isn’t that great?

Hunt the gowk (cuckoo, foolish person).

One of the earliest accounts of an English April Fool was in1698, when some folks were tricked into going to the Tower of London to "see the lions washed".

Hilarious.

But doesn’t all this make us even bigger fools?

Perpetuating a tradition when we have no idea why?

And what do we even mean, these days, by 'fool'?

Clearly we should consult the Warwickshire lad.

What does Will say about fooling around?

“Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.” (TN 1, 5)

This much-quoted line of Feste’s is a fine description of the fool’s place within the story.

Characters of higher status tie themselves in knots of love, danger and disappointment through their foolish behaviour, whilst the fool observes and comments wryly and wittily on their folly.

The Fool is often the wisest person in the story.

Shakespeare knew a lot about the Fool. And he created some marvellous ones.

Just a quick clarification before we mosey on:

I’m talking about specific Fools, not the comic characters.

Fool is not a slapstick clown.

Clown tends to be a country bumpkin, simple and often gullible. Dazzling as they are, we’ll save them for another time.

So, Fool: he lived by his wits and held up the follies and stupidity of his ‘betters.’

Fool is in a privileged position, there to entertain their employer but able to speak truth, mock, call their judgement into question.

King Lear makes a dire decision to step down from ruling his kingdom, carve it up and divide it between his three daughters, according to how well they claim to love him.

He clearly hadn't swotted up on his fairy tales, where any fool could tell him that where there are three daughters, the older two will always be Machiavellian bitches.

Who can tell the King that this is ridiculous, madness, foolish beyond belief?

Only one person – his fool.

Lear: Dost thou call me fool, boy?

Fool: All thy other titles thou hast given away; that thou wast born with. (KL 1.4)

Though the Fool is a servant and can therefore be yelled at, threatened and whipped, he has the freedom to point out the stupidity of Lear’s actions and the threat of the two Machiavellian bitches.

Which he does.

A lot.

There is a closeness between King and Fool not seen to such an extant in any other play.

The Fool stands by his King as they face exile and storm together, affectionately calling his master ‘Nuncle’, pointing out the hypocrisy and the violent, evil actions of those around them, speaking truth at every turn.

Is this the mission of our fools today – calling out duplicity, bad behaviour, raising the curtain on life’s harsh realities, but with wit, intelligence, perhaps affection too?

In a moment you'll find my suggested contemporary fools - do they fit the bill...?

Lear and the Fool’s joined fates are set on a course for doom and destruction, and the Fool sings a melancholy echo of Feste’s song in Twelfth Night, observing that he and/or the King have to face whatever fortune hurls at them:

“He that has and a little tiny wit,

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,

Must make content with his fortunes fit,

Though the rain it raineth every day. “ (KL, 3.2)

Laurence Olivier (Lear) & John Hurt (the Fool) 1983

Melancholy is very much a part of the Fool’s personality – not surprising when they witness so much ghastly human behaviour.

And melancholy song is an important part of the Fool’s toolkit for reflecting truth of the human condition.

Where do we find our singing fools today?

(This delightful clip from the end of ITV's 1970 television production of Twelfth Night is absolutely for my contemporaries: Tommy Steele doing his wistful Feste...love it!)

Feste in Twelfth Night often bursts into song, echoing or foreshadowing the antics and foolish behaviour of the rest of the characters.

He’s in the employ of the Countess Olivia and can speak out where others fawn and flatter. He calls out Olivia on her protracted mourning for her late brother by suggesting that she is the fool, not him.

The exchange is witty and concise, Feste catching Olivia in her own trap:

“The more fool, madonna, to mourn for your brother’s soul being in heaven.” (1, 5)

Fast-talking and quick-thinking – elements we relish in our 21st century fools?

And how often do we equate our comedians with a bitter or melancholy edge? (Tony Hancock, Jack Dee, Robin Williams…)

Feste banters cleverly throughout the play and is even part of the pranking of Malvolio – involving him directly in the action rather than just commenting on it. Yet the wistfulness and melancholy of his character prevails, particularly in his songs, as he laments youth giving way to age, winter, death…

At the end of the play relationships have untangled, wedding bells ring and everyone else exits to start the next chapter of their lives:

Feste remains, unchanged, still observing, still commenting on the human condition.

This clip is Ben Kingsley doing his "Wind & Rain" in Trevor Nunn’s 1996 film. Stick with it (or skip to 2.40) for a glimpse of this Fool’s joyous sense of himself as witness and commentator in Kingsley's lovely facial expression.

Touchstone in As You Like It, like Lear’s fool, ventures into unknown adventure and exile out of loyalty to his mistress, Celia.

Touchstone: Ay, now I am in Arden; the more fool I! when I was at home, I was in a better place: but travellers must be content. (AYLI 2,4)

It is the fate of the Fool to wander the world, observe and comment.

What breadth of life and experience do today's fools hold up for ridicule and indignant examination?

What topics do you reckon best lend themselves to mockery?

Touchstone is philosophical, educated, wise and alert to the failings of other mortals.

He may be the professional fool, but he is not the foolish character. It's the incessant lament of him and his kind that their ‘betters’ think they are right and full of wisdom, but are actually just as flawed and culpable as anyone else: Illustration by Hugh Thomson

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” (5.1)

This human failing, that if we think ourselves wise then we are probably the bigger fool, is very big in Shakespeare. In Timon of Athens a servant recognises that the Fool has clever banter, praising him with “Thou art not altogether a fool.” To which the fool retorts:

“Nor thou altogether a wise man.

As much foolery as I have, so much wit thou lack’st.” (TofA, 2,2)

Trinculo in The Tempest is a more clownish fool, closely bound to his comrade the clown, Stefano. He is the professional fool of the King of Naples but he has neither the wit and intellect of the other fools, nor the compassion for the human state.

He does, however, set himself a little apart as he observes the adoration which the creature-slave Caliban piles onto Stefano, particularly as he gets drunker, and Trinculo remains appalled at this smelly, pathetic individual:

“I do smell all horse-piss; at which my nose is in great indignation.” (4, 1)

Even this ramshackle mix of comedy and pathos has the fool on the periphery, commenting, communicating with the audience.

So, according to Shakespeare, what do we want from our fools, our comic social and political commentators?

- Speak truth to power.

- Hold unkindness to account, evil, stupidity, hypocrisy, unfairness.

- Pick apart the human condition and let us know that we are not alone in our fragile self-esteem, our struggles, our melancholy.

This April Fool’s Day, let's celebrate our contemporary fools, our descendants of the Shakespearean laughter-line.

Now, let’s be honest, we all have very different tastes in comedy and humour.

I've chosen fools from today who fulfil the Shakespearean requirements. Imagine each of them calling out Lear on his disastrous actions, or roaming the forest of Arden engaging in banter with everyone they happen upon...

I'm gifting you the links below for your enjoyment, fully appreciating that some/all may not be your cup of tea.

So comment back to me with your own link to a fool you think we should hear and celebrate.

I’d love you to share your fools with me, this April Fool’s Day!

Please note, language and subject matter of some of the following are not for tender or young ears. Check where you are when you play these links...

'Smithy' (James Corden) meets the England Football Team.

A Comic Relief sketch from 2009, but still makes me laugh.

Only a proper fool could get away with saying what he says to those considered great.

Love that David Beckham makes no attempt to hide his laughter.

If you want to save a bit of time, this really gets going from 1.40...

A true melancholy singing fool, Tim Minchin hits home with this. (He'd be a fabulous Feste...)

Note how he even chokes himself up around 1.35...

(I have a particular soft spot for Mr Minchin. During my last holiday with my mum, we were staying at the Grand Hotel, Brighton, and I was struggling to get her plus the wheelchair up the hotel entrance steps. Minchin, dashing into the hotel from his gig next door, glanced at the situation, made sure I had my mum safe, and swept up the stairs with the wheelchair, deposited it for me at the top and disappeared in a flash of eyeliner and messy hair without wanting a word of acknowledgement.

Nice bloke.)

Ben Elton speaks truth to power.

Legendary back in the day for his excoriating attacks on Mrs Thatcher, he has found himself ranting down the mic once again, so absurd is the current political landscape.

Yes, many find him exhaustingly acerbic, whilst many find him bang on the money. Whichever you are, his verbal dexterity and impassioned indignation win him a place as a contemporary Shakespearean fool.

Joe Lycett on Gay Pride, sexuality & gender.

A Shakespearean fool calling out insincerity, hypocrisy and unkindness.

Fool me once! Loyiso Gola on honesty about foxes and calling for top-of-the-range racism.

A beautiful manner and delivery that hit hard before you've noticed.

A grenade in a velvet glove.

Sarah Millican on self esteem, brutal unkindness and that awkward thing her dad said.

There is such a melancholy fool behind her words, but she never plays for sympathy - just says it like it is.

Warm heart and sharp edges.

Shaparak Khorsandi showing that fooling runs in the family.

Holding to account evil, hypocrisy and unfairness, she demonstrates what every fool knows, that comedy is a deeply serious business.

And my final foolish offering - Sindhu Vee.

This smart gal (universities of Oxford, Montreal and Chicago followed by a career in investment banking) is Touchstone, educated, observant and original.

OVER TO YOU!

Let me know your April fools, your descendants of the Shakespearean line.

We live in tough times.

Let's laugh when we can.

HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!