Tim Key: ‘I like writing in the pub, but then the poems tend to be about the pub’

The comedian on his strangest fan encounter, preshow rituals and his new film with Tom Basden and Carey MulliganHow did you get into comedy?I joined a sketch group, went to the Edinburgh fringe, and then kept doing that for years. It’s a good place to …

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Barry Cryer: Same Time Tomorrow? review – a life full of laughter

The late comedian’s son, Bob Cryer, offers an intimate and astute portrait of his father’s skill and wit, and the vulnerability beneathI never met Barry Cryer, but I do have a memory of him, which seems characteristic of those generated by this great l…

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Comedian London Hughes: ‘I made more money in one year in America than my whole life in Britain’

Fed up with the white boys’ club of British standup, a one-way ticket to LA finally brought fame to the ‘comedy Beyoncé’. Now she has written a memoir detailing her rise from bullied teen to transatlantic hit“Let me think,” says the comedian and actor …

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Edinburgh fringe with the family: five shows for kids

Imaginary friends, runaway horses and Roger McGough’s take on the Wind in the Willows are among the treats for younger audiences at the festivalSummerhall, 11.30am, until 20 August Continue reading…

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Punching up: why British comedy has never been kinder, more inclusive

As British politics has got crueller, our comedy has gone in the opposite direction, becoming a haven of decency and diversity. In this extract from his new book, Different Times, David Stubbs asks if these gentler comics are the new cutting edgeThere…

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Gary Gulman announces new book, “Misfit” and stand-up tour dates

Gary Gulman is hands-down one of the best joke writers of our modern era. Now he’s taking a stab at… MORE
Gary Gulman announces new book, “Misfit” and stand-up tour dates appeared first on The Laugh Button.

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Rachel Parris: ‘Standup would have terrified me – the piano was a good comfort blanket’

The comic on hecklers, pre-show rituals, Jane Austen puns and her childhood heroesWhy did you get into musical comedy?I did musical comedy first because that was all I could do! I’d written and performed songs since I was young, so it was the most obvi…

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The Time Machine: A Comedy review – malfunctioning merriment

New Wolsey theatre, IpswichThis riff on HG Wells’s sci-fi novella has a sharp cast but relies on a wearisome play-within-a-play concept and lacks momentumIn 2021, HG Wells fans were aghast at the Royal Mint giving the Tripods an extra leg and the Invis…

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Laura Lexx: ‘I did 10 gigs for a master’s in standup comedy – then never stopped’

The comedian and author on studying laughter theory, industry frustrations and the perils of gigging at a racecourseHow did you get into comedy?I studied the history of variety and vaudeville under Oliver Double at university and then did a master’s in…

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