23 April

A revolutionary and massively influential figure in the US stand up comedy scene, Lenny Bruce (1925-1966) challenged the establishment with his unique style of spontaneous, stream-of-consciousness humour that has been likened to a free-styling jazz musician. Refusing to censor himself, he was persecuted by the authorities who regularly shut down his shows and charged him with obscenity. Dying from a drug overdose while appealing his conviction, Bruce was the first person to be awarded a posthumous pardon by the State of New York 37 years later. His legacy still lives on among several generations of new comics.

Dir: Bob Fosse US 1974 108mins 35mm
A jagged portrait of a man driven to speak his mind onstage, this unflinching biopic of Lenny Bruce charts his career from his first gig as a nervous Catskills comedian to his extensive legal battles over obscenity charges. Armed with a shocking routine and a stripper as his muse Bruce turns comedy on its ear with his abrasive, thought provoking and often offensive humour. Director Fosse’s alter ego edits a suspiciously similar film in his autobiographical musical All That Jazz (1979). Stars Dustin Hoffman.

Followed by Lenny Bruce (1966), rare live footage of the comic discussing his many legal battles.