--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I find interesting is how close you…" description: "\"What I find interesting is how close you can run the laughter along the seam of seriousness, and occasionally cross it, so that half the house genuinel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/alan-ayckbourn-33541_crafts_what-i-find-interesting-is-how-close-you_2129587.jpg" --- # What I find interesting is how close you can run the… ![“What I find interesting is how close you can run the laughter along the seam of seriousness, and occasionally cross it, so that half the house genuinely doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. Custard pie humour is fairly universal, but at the other end, which I'm more interested in, there's the…” quote by Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/alan-ayckbourn-33541_crafts_what-i-find-interesting-is-how-close-you_2129587.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/alan-ayckbourn-33541_crafts_what-i-find-interesting-is-how-close-you_2129587.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/alan-ayckbourn-33541_crafts_what-i-find-interesting-is-how-close-you_2129587.jpg) > “What I find interesting is how close you can run the laughter along the seam of seriousness, and occasionally cross it, so that half the house genuinely doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. Custard pie humour is fairly universal, but at the other end, which I'm more interested in, there's the humour that hovers on the darkness, that walks in the shadow of something else, not always that obvious.” [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humor can straddle seriousness and darkness, creating ambiguity that confuses and engages audiences. **In simple terms:** Humor can be both serious and dark, leaving people unsure. Key Takeaway Embrace ambiguity in humor to provoke thought. Themes humor ambiguity contrast Mood playful provocative Type observational satirical When to use this quote - theatre performance - stand‑up comedy - writing workshops - media analysis Key Concepts psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does mixing seriousness with humor affect audience reaction? - When does dark humor become offensive? A Different Perspective Humor that is too subtle may be missed or misinterpreted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Crosses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crosses/) [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Custard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/custard/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Humour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humour/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Laugh Custard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh-custard-4382415/) [Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing/) [Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter/) [Laughter Seam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter-seam-4382414/) [Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious/) [Pie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pie/) [Pie Humour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pie-humour-4382413/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Seriousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seriousness/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Universal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universal/) [Walks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks/) ## Related quotes > [God's always got a custard pie up his sleeve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-forster/god-s-always-got-a-custard-pie-up-his-sleeve/) [Margaret Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-forster/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We know what our policy is regarding the territory of Israel, Kosovo, Bosnia, Macedonia and even Nagorno-Karabakh. What is our policy regarding the territory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-farber/we-know-what-our-policy-is-regarding-the-territory-of-israel-kosovo/) [Barry Farber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-farber/) > [God always has another custard pie up his sleeve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-redgrave/god-always-has-another-custard-pie-up-his-sleeve/) [Lynn Redgrave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-redgrave/) > [During the Vietnam War, which lasted longer than any war we've ever been in - and which we lost - every respectable artist in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/during-the-vietnam-war-which-lasted-longer-than-any-war-we-ve-ever/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [And now here he was in my kitchen. Smelling like apple pies and looking at me with a direct seriousness that made him even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilith-saintcrow/and-now-here-he-was-in-my-kitchen-smelling-like-apple-pies-and/) [Lilith Saintcrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilith-saintcrow/) > [I think it's acceptable to eat custard on Sundays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-collins/i-think-it-s-acceptable-to-eat-custard-on-sundays/) [Gemma Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-collins/) > [I've got such a sweet tooth. I do miss the U.K. where you get sticky toffee pudding or custard, all that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/i-ve-got-such-a-sweet-tooth-i-do-miss-the-u-k-where-you-get-sticky/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [You eat, in dreams, the custard of the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/you-eat-in-dreams-the-custard-of-the-day/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [“I have Cheerios," I said, as if I'd been saying "dark chocolate Caramel almond fudge custard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-cheerios-i-said-as-if-i-d-been-saying-dark-chocolate-caramel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A dressing is not a compote A dressing is not a custard It consists of pepper and salt, Vinegar, oil and mustard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/a-dressing-is-not-a-compote-a-dressing-is-not-a-custard-it-consists/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [It’s a trifle. It’s got all of these layers. First there’s a layer of ladyfingers, then a layer of jam, then custard, which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel/it-s-a-trifle-it-s-got-all-of-these-layers-first-there-s-a-layer-of/) [Rachel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel/) > [“Master Custard, you must rise and be hanged”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/master-custard-you-must-rise-and-be-hanged/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Martin, at my age, eroticism is reduced to enjoying caramel custard and looking at widows' necks.' - Senor Sempere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/martin-at-my-age-eroticism-is-reduced-to-enjoying-caramel-custard-and/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [When you're three, you're into custard, and jumping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/when-you-re-three-you-re-into-custard-and-jumping/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) ## More by Alan Ayckbourn > [He really is terribly heavy going. Like running up hill in roller skates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/he-really-is-terribly-heavy-going-like-running-up-hill-in-roller/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) > [A comedy is just a tragedy interrupted, I once said. Do you finish with the kiss or when she opens her eyes to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/a-comedy-is-just-a-tragedy-interrupted-i-once-said-do-you-finish-with/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) > [There is a school of thought that believes that sleep is for the night. You appear to be out to disprove them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/there-is-a-school-of-thought-that-believes-that-sleep-is-for-the/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) > [Salad, I can't bear salad. It grows while you're eating it, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/salad-i-can-t-bear-salad-it-grows-while-you-re-eating-it-you-know/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) > [Cats names are more for human benefit. They give one a certain degree more confidence that the animal belongs to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/cats-names-are-more-for-human-benefit-they-give-one-a-certain-degree/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) > [Plays by Alan Ayckbourn have been attracting larger audiences in the regional theatres than those of Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/plays-by-alan-ayckbourn-have-been-attracting-larger-audiences-in-the/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) > [A gentleman ... sleeps at his work. That's what work's for. Why do you think they have the SILENCE notices in the library? So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/a-gentleman-sleeps-at-his-work-that-s-what-work-s-for-why-do-you/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) > [I think of a plot, I think of an idea, and then I wonder, How can I get that onto the stage? . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/i-think-of-a-plot-i-think-of-an-idea-and-then-i-wonder-how-can-i-get/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) > [There are very few people on top of life, and the rest of us don't like them very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/there-are-very-few-people-on-top-of-life-and-the-rest-of-us-don-t/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) > [The darker the subject, the more light you must try to shed on the matter. And vice versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/the-darker-the-subject-the-more-light-you-must-try-to-shed-on-the/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) > [If you are flattering a woman, it pays to be a little more subtle. You don't have to bother with men, they believe any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/if-you-are-flattering-a-woman-it-pays-to-be-a-little-more-subtle-you/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) > [As a writer one is allowed to have conversations with oneself. What is considered sane in writers is made for the rest of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/as-a-writer-one-is-allowed-to-have-conversations-with-oneself-what-is/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) > [Few women care to be laughed at and men not at all, except for large sums of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/few-women-care-to-be-laughed-at-and-men-not-at-all-except-for-large/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) [Explore all 14 Alan Ayckbourn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) ## More Crafts quotes > [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. And when she got into music, she had that same diligence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/she-spent-hours-drawing-on-her-own-trying-to-perfect-her-craft-and/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [All My Children taught me a great work ethic; you work so hard on a soap opera! It is a good way to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-larue/all-my-children-taught-me-a-great-work-ethic-you-work-so-hard-on-a/) [Eva LaRue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-larue/) > [Good films are not made by accident, nor is good photography. You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/) [Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/) > [ Harvey \[Weinstein\] didn't want to release \[MY SON THE FANATIC\]; he held it for two years because he wanted a happy ending, although I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/harvey-weinstein-didn-t-want-to-release-my-son-the-fanatic-he-held-it/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [There is no royal path to good writing; and such paths as exist do not lead through neat critical gardens, various as they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessamyn-west/there-is-no-royal-path-to-good-writing-and-such-paths-as-exist-do-not/) [Jessamyn West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessamyn-west/) > [The state of female artists is very good. But the very definition of art has been biased in that 'art' was what men did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-state-of-female-artists-is-very-good-but-the-very-definition-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [the twelve or fifteen millions in the British Empire, who, while they possess no electoral rights, are yet persuaded they are freemen, and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cobden/the-twelve-or-fifteen-millions-in-the-british-empire-who-while-they/) [Richard Cobden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cobden/) > [I got Michael Caine's book, Acting In Film, and I read it on the plane, desperately trying to glean information from him about how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-mccormack/i-got-michael-caine-s-book-acting-in-film-and-i-read-it-on-the-plane/) [Eric McCormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-mccormack/) > [One of the things about what . . . I do - writing plays - is that a poll is not taken before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/one-of-the-things-about-what-i-do-writing-plays-is-that-a-poll-is-not/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [Look, I come from vaudeville, I come from burlesque, I come from heartaches, I come from sadness, I come from gladness, I come from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-rooney/look-i-come-from-vaudeville-i-come-from-burlesque-i-come-from/) [Mickey Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-rooney/) > [All the craft skills that I have, I feel like I developed and honed in drama school. It's the most important thing for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-holland/all-the-craft-skills-that-i-have-i-feel-like-i-developed-and-honed-in/) [Andre Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-holland/) > [A first novel of astonishing force, craft and beauty, The Headmaster's Wager conjures up a dizzyingly evocative wartime Saigon in the story of Percival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-y-k-lee-2/a-first-novel-of-astonishing-force-craft-and-beauty-the-headmaster-s/) [Janice Y. K. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-y-k-lee-2/) > [This element of surprise or mystery - the detective element as it is sometimes rather emptily called - is of great importance in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/this-element-of-surprise-or-mystery-the-detective-element-as-it-is/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [The craft's occupants clutched their armrests, and more than one of them closed their eyes. But not Artemis. He couldn't. There was something morbidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/the-craft-s-occupants-clutched-their-armrests-and-more-than-one-of/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven-eighths of it underwater for every part that shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-always-try-to-write-on-the-principle-of-the-iceberg-there-is-seven/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Browse all 1,453 Crafts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What I find interesting is how close you can run the laughter along the seam of seriousness, and occasionally cross it, so that half the house genuinely doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. 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