Joz Norris captures spirit of fringe comedy in crafty new film

Originally planned as an Edinburgh show, You Build the Thing You Think You Are is now a film – and a different proposition to live-streamed lockdown comedyJoz Norris’s new experiment starts with a provocation. “To me,” says the comic, “a live-stream sh…

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Mark Nelson: ‘Blazing Saddles – so quotable, so politically incorrect, so funny’

The award-winning standup, broadcaster and writer on the things that make him laugh the mostWithout a doubt, An Audience With Billy Connolly. The “incontinence pants” routine is such a brilliant piece of physical comedy. Related: The Guide: Staying In …

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Farty paintings and getting sozzled on gin: a seriously silly history of art and comedy colliding

Can comedy ever be art? From the crucifixion in puppet form to Vic Reeves on dada, we celebrate the daftness that can ensue when one spills over into the otherA critic once called Simon Munnery’s Edinburgh show “the closest comedy gets to modern art”. …

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Fight a pigeon for your seat! Unforgettable theatre encounters

Susan Wokoma recalls plays backed by birdsong, Tallulah Brown found a fairytale in the reeds and Gregory Doran takes a trip back to LancasterRead the rest of our series on the theatres that made us Tallulah Brown’s play When the Birds Come was at the E…

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Edinburgh festival fringe sets stage for summer of online shows

Organisers prepare for ‘weird’ visitor-free season including weekly variety performanceEdinburgh festival fringe is preparing for a “weird” visitor-free summer with a package of online initiatives including variety shows streamed every Friday.The world…

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Pass the green screen, granny! The comics pushing homemade videos to new heights

Comedians’ old YouTube skits are enjoying a revival in lockdown. And now standups are returning to online video – to push its possibilities even furtherAt a house party in the north-east of England, teenagers are congregating around a computer, recitin…

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Tim Minchin: ‘Closest brush with the law? Nude run, 1996’

The Australian comedian and musician on social media, the anxiety of love and Abba hitsBorn in Western Australia, Tim Minchin, 44, began his career as a comedian, winning the 2005 Perrier best newcomer award at the Edinburgh festival fringe. In 2009, t…

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Myra DuBois: ‘Kate Winslet’s boobs in Titanic always make me chuckle’

The comedian, drag act and entertainer on the things that make her laugh the mostWhen an inebriated Antony Costa from Blue urinated on a cash machine outside a post office near Covent Garden. He was stood up for that, and I did laugh. The cash machine …

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Standup has thrived without subsidy but now comedy clubs need urgent support | Joe Lycett

A new study suggests more than three-quarters of our comedy venues face permanent closure – we must save themOne Saturday in my late teens I went to the Glee Club in my home town of Birmingham to see a mixed bill of standup with my friends. On the bill…

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Netflix or Hill? The standups streaming on rival service NextUp

Bec Hill, Laura Davis and Eshaan Akbar can be watched on this online home for comedy’s rising stars and circuit regularsWith gig venues closed, where do you turn for your comedy fix? You can find the creme de la standup creme on Netflix – or so Netflix…

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