The comedian, actor and writer on the things that make him laugh the most
Maria Bamford. I was at Montreal comedy festival in 2006 and was totally intimidated by all the loud comics. I was on a bill with this comic who showed she wasn’t afraid to be humble and insecure, and suddenly I didn’t feel alone! I think that’s what comedy is: making people feel less alone.
Continue ReadingEvery day millions of people ask Google life’s most difficult questions. Our writers answer some of the commonest queries
I’m a comedian but I don’t think I’m that sad. To be fair, I don’t think I’m that funny either, but that’s a whole other comments section under a whole other article called: “Do you have a receipt for that joke; if not, then I won’t be refunding your ticket.”
So why don’t I give refunds? Sorry, lost my train of thought there. Why are comedians so sad? Well, the majority I know aren’t. Sure, they’re unemployed, they lack sun and they spend far too long waiting to catch someone’s eye in the Soho theatre bar, but sad? Maybe, actually, by the sounds of that breakdown – no pun intended. But any more than anyone else? Surely it’s just that we hear them talk about it more than, say, a shepherd or a leading light in phlebotomy?
It’s not the comedy that makes me sad, it’s the comedy that makes me better. Live and let laugh, that’s what I say
Related: Adam Riches’ Coach Coach at Edinburgh festival review – comic homage to Hollywood sport cliches
Related: Tears of clowns: who are the saddest of TV’s sad comedians?
Continue ReadingEvery day millions of people ask Google life’s most difficult questions. Our writers answer some of the commonest queries
I’m a comedian but I don’t think I’m that sad. To be fair, I don’t think I’m that funny either, but that’s a whole other comments section under a whole other article called: “Do you have a receipt for that joke; if not, then I won’t be refunding your ticket.”
So why don’t I give refunds? Sorry, lost my train of thought there. Why are comedians so sad? Well, the majority I know aren’t. Sure, they’re unemployed, they lack sun and they spend far too long waiting to catch someone’s eye in the Soho theatre bar, but sad? Maybe, actually, by the sounds of that breakdown – no pun intended. But any more than anyone else? Surely it’s just that we hear them talk about it more than, say, a shepherd or a leading light in phlebotomy?
It’s not the comedy that makes me sad, it’s the comedy that makes me better. Live and let laugh, that’s what I say
Related: Adam Riches’ Coach Coach at Edinburgh festival review – comic homage to Hollywood sport cliches
Related: Tears of clowns: who are the saddest of TV’s sad comedians?
Continue ReadingHow do comics survive life on the road? They rob their minibars, turn roadies into bird-watchers – and read The Da Vinci Code
I once played in a tiny little school hall in a tiny little village called Drumnadrochit, on the shores of Loch Ness. After the gig, the manager came in and said the audience were refusing to leave. When I asked why, she said they were all expecting a raffle. So I had to go back out and conduct the raffle.
Continue ReadingA wave of comedians from Poland, Hungary, Latvia and Romania are helping to tackle stereotypes about EU immigrants in the UK
It’s not easy being a Polish comedian in Brexit Britain. “I haven’t heard anyone actually say the words, ‘Go back to your country,’” says Mike Topolski, a standup and actor originally from Wrocław in western Poland who moved here seven years ago and is now proudly engaged to “a Geordie lass”. “But I did a gig a couple of months ago in south London and the jokes were not well received at all. I was the only foreigner there and it felt like it was a Brexit crowd. They were just staring at me and I could see them thinking: ‘How are you still here? Should we build a wall or what?’” His signature opener? “Yes, a comedian. But also builder, plumber, electrician and gardener.”
Topolski is one of more than 80 comics in the lineup of the UK’s first Eastern European comedy festival (EEComFest), which opens on Wednesday with 19 shows at venues across London. It features acts from 15 countries, from Bosnia and Moldova to Malta and Slovenia. The festival’s mission statement jokes that this is “another try from immigrants to get control over the United Kingdom and end the British way of life. It will be in London, as it’s the UK city with the biggest immigration problem.” But clearly the aim is the opposite: to use humour to try to improve mutual understanding. It’s like Eurovision, only intentionally funny.
If I say I’m 31 and I live with my parents, in Romania, that is very funny. It’s too late to be living with your parents
Related: Comedy without borders: Eddie Izzard and the language of standup
Continue ReadingIn her new ABC show Nakedy Nudes, the Tasmanian-born comedian delights in taking the highbrow mantle off art history
“Art history taught me I have no place in history,” said Hannah Gadsby in her furious, hilarious, devastating stand-up show Nanette. “Women didn’t have time to think thoughts; they were too busy taking naps naked in the forest.”
This is the central idea advanced in Gadsby’s new two-part ABC series Nakedy Nudes. Her thesis is that the current ideals of beautiful bodies and strict gender norms have a long past, inherited from the ancient Greeks and their Renaissance relatives.
Related: Hannah Gadsby review – electrifying farewell to standup
Related: Wendy Whiteley on art, gentrification and Brett: ‘I felt a bit Whiteleyed-out’
Continue ReadingThe writer and comedian lifts the lid on the things that make her laugh the mostBedazzled is a great comedy film. Dudley Moore really kills me. And the 2000 remake is funny as hell, too. Continue reading…
Continue ReadingThe comic, singer and actor, performing in the UK for the first time in seven years, answered your questions
2.16pm GMT
Thanks for all the questions – I’ll be at Ronnie Scott’s at the end of the week!
2.14pm GMT
unprinted asks:
What does the song You Make Me Feel Mighty Real mean to you? Why chose to cover it?
Mighty Real was sort of an anthem for the pre-AIDS gay experience – a time of unbridled celebration and sexual freedom.
2.11pm GMT
toooom asks:
Another admirer of King of Comedy here. What are you most proud of?
What I’m most proud of is that I’m still in the game. I still love performing and being creative. I love what I do!
2.10pm GMT
sachat asks:
Have you ever had stage fright? Which of your projects has been the most nerve-racking?
Of course! Any time you walk on stage you’re nervous, that’s part of what motivates you to do a great show. But any time that I do television or films that’s the most nerve-racking because other people are dependent on your professionalism.
2.09pm GMT
25aubrey asks:
Who in your eyes, are the real king and queen of comedy, past or present?
When I was growing up, I adored Totie Fields and, of course, my dear friend Paul Mooney.
2.07pm GMT
Genevieve Scoville asks:
I’m a keen listener to your radio show on SiriusXM. Is there someone who sticks out as your favourite interviewee?
Most recently, Mena Suvari was a lovely surprise but on a regular basis, comedian Judy Gold is a fabulous interview. She’s on my show frequently. She’s a terrific conversationalist.
2.06pm GMT
Myam0t0 asks:
Beans on a fry-up?
I adore beans. On anything and everything!
2.02pm GMT
SeanWylas asks:
Today’s political and cultural climate in the US and the UK is shifting in a way that was not expected by many. As a result, it seems that a comment that once would have been seen as thought-provoking (even if you disagreed with it) can now send social media lynch mobs at people and potentially ruin careers (if not lives). This is seen on the left and on the right. As someone who speaks her opinion, how do you feel about this culture? How do you respond to such things?
I have definitely started to edit a lot of things that I would not have thought twice about saying 10 or 15 years ago. It simply isn’t worth it to be exposed to the unsophisticated thinking of so many people. I’ve learned how to recalibrate my approach to social commentary.
1.59pm GMT
Murdomania asks:
You recently said: “I try not to get caught up and swallowed up by the changing tides because they’re gonna keep changing” … however, now that Oprah indicated a lack of desire to be nominated to run to be the next President of the United States, would you be enticed to throw your hat in the ring? Sandra Bernhard POTUS46 has a nice ring to it.
I wish I had it in me but I’m afraid I’m not your lady for this one!
1.56pm GMT
Arthur666 asks:
I’ve always enjoyed your multilayered approach to comedy, and it always seems to have a message. Do you think this is lacking in the current comedy world?
I think the issue is there’s too much product out there. And there’s only a certain amount of things people can talk about. So sometimes it becomes redundant. It’s getting harder to hone your craft because of YouTube and the internet. You really need to get out to the clubs to hone your craft. A lot of people these days don’t have the patience.
1.49pm GMT
Buckaroo asks:
There’s an amazing film of yours from the mid 90s – an Australian film called Dallas Doll (featuring the screen debut of Rose McGowan), a sort of reverse Crocodile Dundee. It had a huge cult following, but is unavailable to buy. There’s a host of classic lines in the film, two of which are particular favourites in our family: “I’d like to see THAT angry!” and “Don’t forget the garlic bread, gorgeous.” For old times’ sake, please would you say those lines again now?
Actually it’s Rose Byrne. Working on this film was one of the strangest experiences of my life. It was like being trapped in a ‘no exit’ situation.
1.44pm GMT
DarkAnaemicI asks:
What’s your favourite memory of filming Hudson Hawk?
All my time spent with Richard E Grant! In particular a trip we took together to Vienna. We always had a great time.
1.43pm GMT
Buckaroo asks:
You performed a brilliant version of the Rolling Stone’s Angie on a Channel 4 show years ago called Viva Cabaret. Is it available now?
The answer is no! It’s one of my favourite songs of all time. It reminds me of my first trip to London in 1973 when the song was released. I was 17 and travelling around the world and having an incredible time.
1.42pm GMT
JimdiGriz6 asks:
[I’m] yet another massive fan of your work in King of Comedy. Did your craziness in that film come from real life, or was it a stronger version of [it]? … I’ve known a few women a little like you at times in that film!
At that time i was much closer to the character in the sense that i was just starting out in my career. I was very young, had a lot of extra energy, emotion to spare. Masha was more in tune with who I was then rather than now for sure…
1.36pm GMT
HdAlex asks:
What things are most important to you in your job?
Promptness, professionalism and no obscene language.
1.34pm GMT
OzMogwai asks:
Are you as funny in real life as you are on film, tv and stage? PS, you fucking own Raging Bull.
It depends on the setting! Of course I can be much funnier offstage rather than when I’m performing but those are private moments with friends who get the absurdity I seem to capture as I go through life!
1.25pm GMT
aemenzies17 asks:
Any advice, ideas or recommendations about how to survive Trumpageddon? I live in the US, and each day is more painful than the last. Please help!! PS, thank you for all the years of comedy therapy!
My best advice is to take big breaks from listening to the talking heads and endless updates on his latest faux pas and do something creative and rewarding so you can continue to have some normalcy in your life. As in all stressful times, this will pass!
1.25pm GMT
Arthur666 asks:
I see you musically as a rock’n’roll vixen. What can we expect from your set at the jazz church that is Ronnie Scott’s?
It’ll be a blend of personal stories, fabulous misc of course with my Sandyland Squad band on hand and a journey in and out of day-to-day quotidian life as I see it!
1.24pm GMT
Hello – It’s great to be back in London where, although the language is generally the same, the culture is much different. And that’s always inspiring!
3.00pm GMT
Sandra Bernhard webchat – post your questions now
To call Sandra Bernhard a triple threat would be selling her short. Since she started out in LA’s comedy scene and on The Richard Pryor Show, she’s been a provocative force in standup, and her cabaret-style shows prove she can deliver a song as well as a punchline.
Continue ReadingCliffs Pavilion, Southend
Bailey’s honest enthusiasm for the marginal, the overlooked and the seldom juxtaposed is delightful
More than three decades into his career, Bill Bailey’s shows march to the beat of no one’s drum but his own – in tonight’s case, an adapted steel pan that looks like a barbecue. In short, Bailey does whatever pleases him on stage, which from one moment to the next can be satire or surrealism, noodling on an exotic musical instrument or sampling birdsong to comical effect. His real skill is to bring huge audiences cheerfully along with him, which is no mean feat when you’re joking about the Battle of Maldon in AD991, or the contribution made by ancient Babylon to the segmentation of time.
It’s a lot to do with Bailey’s ease with himself – there’s no neurotic ingratiation here – and the honesty of his enthusiasm for the marginal, the overlooked and the seldom juxtaposed. His new show, Larks in Transit, is less focused than its predecessor, Limboland, but no less funny. Some sequences scale the peaks of sublime silliness with minimal effort expended. There’s not just silliness, though. The opening stages tiptoe coyly around the subject of Brexit – more coyly than usual, perhaps, given he’s performing in a town that voted 60/40 to leave the EU.
Continue ReadingCited as one of the all-time great standup sets, Leary’s show both hasn’t aged well and has never been more topical
‘I’m an asshole,” sings Denis Leary in a signature number at the start of No Cure for Cancer, first televised 25 years ago this month. Still regularly cited among the great standup sets of all time, the show – performed off-Broadway, directed for TV by Ted Demme and released as a book and CD – launched Leary as a superstar, in the US at least. There was a follow-up, Lock’n’Load, along with countless movie roles and an Emmy nomination for his TV series Rescue Me. He’s still a fixture of the US entertainment scene and appeared last year in a double act with James Corden on The Late Late Show. Leary dressed as Bill Clinton, Corden as Hillary, and together they sang Trump’s an Asshole.
“No Cure for Cancer’s caustic spirit not only hasn’t waned in 25 years,” wrote one critic recently, “it’s been heightened considerably.” I can see why you’d argue that, but having just watched the special for the first time in years, I only partially agree. Yes, it’s a masterclass in standup technique. Yes, it inhabits a certain mindset with electrifying conviction, but the show seems more hymn to assholery than satire.
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