Back when I was a lad in the nineteen-hundred and eighties, standup showcase shows were on cable television 24 hours a day, and I watched every single one of them. They were all good to me and my insatiable appetite for standup, but the big ones were on HBO. I seldom had access to HBO, […]
Continue ReadingBack when I was a lad in the nineteen-hundred and eighties, standup showcase shows were on cable television 24 hours a day, and I watched every single one of them. They were all good to me and my insatiable appetite for standup, but the big ones were on HBO. I seldom had access to HBO, […]
Continue ReadingJonathon Young’s dance-theatre show Betroffenheit explores his grief after a family tragedy. The author Max Porter, comic Jayde Adams, performer Mojisola Adebayo and Young himself discuss their artistic responses to personal traumas
Jonathon Young sits on a hard bed, the kind that speaks of institutions. Green light tinges the walls around him on the stage. This is “the room”, a space triggered by an event referred to as “the accident” throughout his show Betroffenheit. “The night of the accident we’re all asleep,” his character recites. “The alarm wakes me and … I run. I’m the first on the scene and they’re in there. I try to help them get out but it’s too late.”
Eight years ago, Young was on a family holiday north of Vancouver when the cabin in which his daughter, 14, and two cousins were sleeping, caught fire. Young tried to save them, but the flames were 150 feet high. All three children died.
I’m there on the stage, appearing as though I am present and experiencing these events anew. But of course I’m not
There is something about a release that is a letting go, the body relaxing … But for me it was the opposite
Continue ReadingJune Diane Raphael is teaming up with political operative and Emily’s List Chief of Staff Kate Black to write a book. Titled Represent. The Badass Woman’s Guide to Running for Office and Changing the World, the book will be published by Workman. Here’s the official description of the book: A concrete, funny, stylish, accessible, and […]
Continue ReadingBryan Cranston has a new comedy headed to Amazon. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming network has given a six-episode series order to a comedy created by Cranston and Greg Mottola called The Dangerous Book for Boys. The half-hour comedy was originally in development at NBC back in 2014 and is based on the […]
Continue ReadingAuthor Mike Sacks is reviving a lost genre with his new book Stinker Lets Loose! Sacks, who has penned five popular comedy books, including two interview collections (2009’s And Here’s the Kicker and the 2014 New York Times bestseller Poking a Dead Frog) is now reminding readers about the forgotten, halcyon, beer-infused days of truck […]
Continue ReadingAn eye-wateringly explicit new stage show celebrates erotic correspondence sent by famous figures through the ages
“I did as you told me, you dirty little girl, and pulled myself off twice when I read your letter.” He might be celebrated for his epic and allusive novels, but James Joyce came straight to the point when writing to his partner, Nora Barnacle. This was the opening salvo of a letter from 1908 and is just one of scores of explicit missives he sent her.
A new stage show is celebrating such letters of desire sent by famous figures through the centuries, whether explicit or coded, erotic or romantic. Theatre-maker Rachel Mars is curating a selection to be read aloud in the performance which is part of the Hotbed “festival of sex” at Camden People’s theatre in London. These will be interspersed with anonymised modern messages: texts, tweets and dating app sexts.
Continue ReadingKamau Bell has spent a lifetime trying to figure out how he fits into the big picture of things. His new book, The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6′ 4″, African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama’s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian, is (if you couldn’t guess […]
Continue ReadingIf trying to catch up on 800+ episodes of Marc Maron’s WTF podcast seems like too much of a hill to climb, or you just want to fast-forward to the best parts and look at them whenever you want, then you’re in luck. Maron announced he’s excerpting dialogues with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Kevin Hart, […]
Continue ReadingMarc Maron has written a book rounding up some of his most memorable WTF interviews, and it now has a release date. Maron announced today that the book, titled Waiting for the Punch: Words to Live by from the WTF Podcast, will hit bookstores on October 10th, and it’s currently available for pre-order at Amazon. Maron wrote […]
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