thePULSEBy R. Peltier
Roadrunner Comedy is excited to announce that premiere comedian Doug Stanhope, a native of Worcester, will be releasing a new live CD/DVD package titled Oslo: Burning The Bridge To Nowhere on May 3rd. This is Roadrunner Comedy’s first release.
Recorded in an abandoned factory in the Grünerløkka suburb of Oslo, Norway, the performance is as spontaneous and unhinged as anything Stanhope has ever done. Originally a sewing machine factory converted to a German WWII bunker, the setting for Oslo is anything but conventional. Whereas most comedy specials are filmed on an elaborate stage, Stanhope and Nikon Norway filled a dilapidated industrial space with lights and folding chairs, ultimately allowing the material be the focus of this release.
Oslo’s madcap backdrop mimics the process that led to the recording: Bjorn Opsahl, one of Norway’s most notorious photographers, planned only to do a portrait session with Stanhope in Long Beach. The shoot went so well that when Stanhope came to Norway on tour, Opsahl suggested he organize a show without actually deciding on a date, time or location. The aim was to capture the reality and feel of a live Stanhope show, in turn bypassing the choreography that pervades most “live” stand-up production.
“I’ve always felt that my previous recordings all sounded overly-rehearsed. That may be why my manager Brian Hennigan sprung this taping on me 36 hours before we were to scheduled to film,” says Stanhope. “Or maybe the fact is that he is actually more insane than I am. Either way, he’s suffered through enough late-night phone calls from me expounding my drunk-genius ideas of faking my own death or installing ourselves as puppet governments in unstable third-world countries that I allowed him this insanity and agreed to tape Oslo.”
“I never expected that it would go this far,” Stanhope continues, “I didn’t know we be filming in an abandoned warehouse, formerly a swanky hang-out for high-ranking Nazis. I never considered it would be in front of an English-as-a-second-language audience. Mostly, I never considered that I had nothing rehearsed. In short, it was like any other gig that actually happens out on the road, something you rarely see in a comedy release. So, f**k it. Here it is.”
Oslo: Burning The Bridge To Nowhere, available in stores and online on May 3rd, will include a CD and bonus DVD recording of the infamous live show. Stanhope’s brutally honest style is shockingly uninhibited, ranging from biting social commentary to the crass and obscene. His cutting stand-up has landed him appearances on “The Howard Stern Show,” “Comedy Central Presents,” “Premium Blend,” “The Man Show,” “Fox News with Greta Van Sustern,” BBC’s “Newswipe” and “The Jerry Springer Show.” Stanhope has taped TV specials for Showtime and UK’s Channel 4. He was also featured in controversial film The Aristocrats alongside legends like George Carlin, Don Rickles and Chris Rock. And most importantly, he hangs at Ralph’s Diner whenever he’s back in town.
