BBC2, live and on catchupThis chance to see new comedy faces, including Judi Love, Michael Stranney and Toussaint Douglass, reaps easygoing rewardsVictoria Wood, Harry Hill and Eddie Izzard are among the comics celebrated in the BBC’s new Festival of F…
Continue ReadingAvailable onlineSilverman shifts away from shock-peddling and scripted jokes in a Q&A that comes alive when she reflects on comedy itself“I hope this was interesting in some way,” says Sarah Silverman to end this online event, with a note of uncert…
Continue ReadingThe comedian, actor, writer, and standup on the things that make him laugh the mostRowan Atkinson doing his school register sketch, live in Birmingham in the very early 90s. Or, on TV, Bob Newhart doing a phone call to Walter Raleigh, in which Walt tri…
Continue ReadingThe comedian, actor, writer, and standup on the things that make him laugh the mostRowan Atkinson doing his school register sketch, live in Birmingham in the very early 90s. Or, on TV, Bob Newhart doing a phone call to Walter Raleigh, in which Walt tri…
Continue ReadingHis routines about race, identity and a black Winston Churchill clocked 3,000 complaints. As he looks forward to touring again, the standup explains why he won’t be toning things down Watch Nabil Abdulrashid’s audition for Britain’s Got Talent from las…
Continue ReadingPippa Evans, star of improvised musical Showstopper!, has written a self-help book based on her stage experiences. ‘Yes … and?’ asks our comedy criticDid you ever think: I wish my life was more like Whose Line Is It Anyway? It’s not, I suspect, the fir…
Continue ReadingShe used to chair the Conservatives. He used to perform in his underpants. Could Nick Helm turn Sayeeda Warsi into a comedian?A Tory baroness and a leftwing comedian walk into a bar. As setups for a punchline go, it sounds fairly promising. But on day …
Continue ReadingOur series exploring the stage origins of hit comedies continues with the cult hospital horror show that scared up audiences to become a fringe sensationGarth Marenghi, serious horror writer and self-described “master of the macabre”, was born in 1950 …
Continue ReadingLive comedy’s lack of regulation has enabled sexist and predatory behaviour but a group of female standups have ambitious plans to overhaul the industryIrish comedian Ruth Hunter started standup in 2015. She immediately noticed “everyday sexism” – male…
Continue ReadingOnlineCho’s live-streamed Valentine’s Day sex advice workshop encompassed BDSM, bestiality and the fun that can be had with ‘pervertible’ household objectsValentine’s Day is a celebration of love and romance, I’d thought, with a bit of commerce thrown …
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