The Limelight – laughter in the dark

Dark: in the Limelight

“They say drugs can ruin a life, and they can, you can lose everything. But what if comedy is your drug?” This is the story of The Limelight, the darkly comedic debut feature film by comedian/writer Glen Maney, which was partly filmed in and around Hackney.

Stand-up comedian Gary Shand is hooked on comedy even as his life crumbles around him. On stage we see him confident, smiling. However, from the highs of performing, we see the vulnerable man hit the lows of poverty, alcoholism and the threat of losing his children.

Gary is helpless and desperate. His career floundering in the hands of an unscrupulous manager (Eastenders’ Ricky Grover), he watches as fellow-comedian Sean Bollinger (Winner of Show Me The Funny 2012, Patrick Monahan) flourishes on the back of his material.

The Limelight shows us the unglamorous world of the stand-up comedy circuit, a world that is as far from Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow as it gets. Meanwhile, the film is punctuated by humour, notably in the shape of hilarious performances from Grover and Canadian stand-up comedian Craig Campbell.

The film has been a long time in production. It is based on an original script written by Glen after he witnessed a comedian who had experienced the death of a parent, the loss of a day job and the collapse of a relationship, all in the space of 72 hours, only to put aside his depression to get up on stage and make people laugh before resuming his depression after the show.

Glen sold the option to the script in 2001. But when in 2004 the production company couldn’t raise the funds they needed to make the film, Glen, with the support of friends, decided to take a leap of faith and make the film himself.

There was an open casting for the lead role but as nobody knew Gary Shand better than Glen, it was decided he should take the part. Finally, on the 5 February 2006 the first scenes were shot at the Comedy Cafe in Shoreditch.

As Glen Maney explains, Co-Director John Robson felt strongly about filming The Limelight in Hackney, the place where he lived; “He felt that the place had two sides. One that was sort of downtrodden and neglected but another side that had an unbreakable spirit and a zest for life.

“When I looked around with him and saw some of the street painting, like the scene where the word ‘Hope’ is on the wall, it just felt right and I think it helped us get the right ‘feel’ to the film. Gritty and real.”

Filming when funds and cast were available has meant it has taken five long years for this project to reach a conclusion, with the film finally getting its premiere at The London Independent Film Festival 2012.

The film is on sale now via download or stream from The Limelight movie website.