A scene that started as a counter to straight standup at the end of the 1970s is still hard to peg – but it’s much more than just weird stuff that doesn’t work on telly A giant sentien…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AMIn the first of our festival previews, we round up some of the best offerings we’ve already reviewed – including Tim Key, Liz Kingsman, La Clique and Hungry This searing, sweaty disco is…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48AMMatt Sienkiewicz and Nick Marx spent months researching rightwing comedy and found that whether or not you’re laughing, you can’t ignore its power In January, Neil Young gave Spotify an …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33AMHaving defeated impostor syndrome, the standup is taking on Taskmaster and returning to the Edinburgh fringe with ‘sexy and chaotic’ new show Hag Sophie Duker’s just shared a Taskmaste…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:48AMKings Place, LondonThe Stranger Things actor discusses her experiences on male-dominated sets, alongside hosts Susan Wokoma and Deborah Frances-White’s standup comedy Since its first episo…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18PMShe sings naked, had an epiphany chopping wood in Sweden, came out dressed as a cat, is making a sitcom with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and is helping Matt Lucas to be funny. Meet comedy pow…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:03PMPlaying junior doctor Shruti is a far cry from the standup’s ‘really silly’ sketch comedy but her improv background helped her find moments of levity in Adam Kay’s NHS drama When Amb…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54AMSoho theatre, LondonKey swerves Covid cliches by recreating his professional crisis in silly poems, poignant prose and punchlines involving his five-foot teddy bear companion Struggling to a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AMHer scathing, surreal standup wowed audiences – and when she was diagnosed as neurodivergent, it started to make more sense to her, too In 2018, Fern Brady’s comedy career was taking off…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:33AMShaparak Khorsandi and Esther Manito both came of age during a time when women were expect to comform to male stereotypes. To reflect, they did what they do best: wrote comedy shows about it…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AMGet Off! was set up by Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Nina Gilligan in order to create safer workplaces within little-regulated industry An organisation has been established to tackle sexual hara…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03AMDuchess theatre, LondonAndrew Doyle’s Twitter creation – played by Alice Marshall – takes predictable aim at Greta, Meghan and trans athletes with jokes that just aren’t funny Titani…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:03PMThe comic has come blazing out of lockdown fearless and on full throttle, buying a motorbike for her 50th birthday and turning the menopause – along with an incident in a park – into com…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:24AMStandups including Suzi Ruffell, Paul Sinha and Lee Peart reveal how hecklers, bookers and ‘the gay slot’ have affected their appearances in the spotlight The comedian Stephen Bailey was…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:03PMO2 Arena, LondonHis arena show about the global experience of the pandemic – with some added jokes for a UK crowd about footie and Meghan Markle – shows Noah to be a skilled performer wi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54AMThe trailblazing actor and comedian on asserting her bisexuality in the 80s, misogynistic male comics – and befriending Madonna During nearly five decades in showbiz, Sandra Bernhard has r…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:42AMTired of racism on the comedy scene, Jenan Younis started her own night Weapons of Mass Hilarity – where gags about body hair and Farsi abound Every comedian expects rejection when they’…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:03AMShe sometimes said she’d rather be a hairdresser but Aherne’s cheeky early appearances in the pubs and clubs of Manchester led her to TV fame In the early 90s, Manchester’s cultural re…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AMJoyce Grenfell inspired her, she wrote her own musical at school and a fringe theatre show with Julie Walters paved the way to TV fame. As Victoria Wood’s Talent returns, we revisit her ea…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:48AMThe format should give comic talents a time to shine. So why don’t our flagship shows reflect the diversity of comedy in 2021? Panel shows have been a pillar of British comedy for decades.…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:24AMThe popularity of internet comics has ballooned in the past year, and talent agents are taking notice. But will viral lols translate to a long-term career? Whether it is Munya Chawawa as the…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03AMOur series exploring the stage origins of hit comedies continues with the cult hospital horror show that scared up audiences to become a fringe sensation Garth Marenghi, serious horror write…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54AMLive comedy’s lack of regulation has enabled sexist and predatory behaviour but a group of female standups have ambitious plans to overhaul the industry Irish comedian Ruth Hunter started …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AMIn the first of a series exploring the stage origins of hit comedies, the actor remembers creating the delusional letting agent at Bristol University “For a lot of series one, I don’t li…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48AMThere has been a huge comedy boom on the gaming platform, enabling acts such as Bilal Zafar to gain creative control and reach new audiences A Bonjela-addicted football manager berates his p…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AMCarmen Ali and Siân Docksey are among the comedians who riff on their experiences as strippers. The pandemic has revealed both industries to be precarious – but they’re looking out for …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:32AMThe world of standup has been rocked by allegations of sexual harassment and assault – and finally some men in the industry are vowing to tackle it When US comedian Kelly Bachman found her…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54AMIn the UK’s most southwesterly county a burgeoning standup scene thrives everywhere from remote village halls and old bakeries to the cliffside Minack theatre A cliff edge, an old bakery …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:24PMPun fights in boxing rings, nine-year-old standups and a 19-day joke-a-thon … anything goes in vibrant, diverse Leicester, finds our writer as she continues her comedy tour It is the home …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:02AMFor years, sexual predators have infested the live comedy scene. But female comedians are demanding action. Is this British standup’s #MeToo moment? ‘If this was a normal office where, o…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:36AMComedians’ old YouTube skits are enjoying a revival in lockdown. And now standups are returning to online video – to push its possibilities even further At a house party in the north-eas…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM