It’s got sex jokes, Hitler gags and endless gallows humour. The comedian once famed for being ‘ignorant-arrogant’ reveals why she’s written a show about the deaths of her stepmother and the father who taught her to swear‘There was one night,” says Sara…
Continue ReadingThe comedian on mining his very large family for material, avoiding the celebrity circus, and being an unashamed standup fanboyBorn in Bath in 1980, Russell Howard is one of the UK’s most successful comedians. He started his career on the standup circu…
Continue ReadingThe comedian and novelist on the stress of sudden success, her disordered relationship with food, and how hobbies have replaced her libidoBorn in Kuala Lumpur in 1960, Jenny Eclair is a comedian, actor and author. The daughter of a major in the British…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonInspired by joint therapy sessions with her father, the standup’s joyful show has vivid portraits of her ‘borderline-delusional’ parentsHow would you describe my vibe, Sophie Duker asked friends one day, and – quelle surprise – she …
Continue ReadingAlex Horne, Joe Auckland and Ben Reynolds on being best friends since childhood, their shared love of comedy, and spending their birthdays togetherBorn in 1978 in Chichester, West Sussex, Alex Horne is a comedian and co-host and creator of&nb…
Continue ReadingSalisbury PlayhouseA fitfully funny play from the creator of Broadchurch considers the terrifying prospects of parenthood yet never quite deliversHere’s a perfect prop for farce: a huge, baby-blue birthing pool, stubbornly resisting inflation, plonked …
Continue ReadingPregnancy is a privilege but is also weird, awkward and difficult. The cathartic nature of standup helps us consider the confusion of imminent parenthoodAt the start of the year, when I booked to perform my comedy show at the fringe, I was laughing in …
Continue ReadingSome lied. Some hid it. And few ever mined it for jokes. Becoming a mum used to be near-fatal to a comedian’s career. But now, in a Mother’s Day special, we meet the new wave taking on taboos‘Before I had kids, I swam in an ocean of time,” says Josie L…
Continue ReadingCracker industry bosses and comics shed light on the art of the cracker joke, from winning formulas to ‘innovation teams’ – and why they’re more important than ever in the digital ageWhat do you get if you cross a potentially awkward, booze-soaked fami…
Continue ReadingDorking HallsPlayful material about Pascoe’s life on the celebrity B-list is eclipsed by a heartfelt second act focused on private truths about new motherhoodSara Pascoe isn’t the first comic to get a laugh by appraising the precise dimensions of her f…
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