Britain’s Got Talent winner Viggo Venn: ‘I made £10 a gig. But look at me now. New pants!’

The Norwegian clown, whose hi-vis strip show won BGT and took over TikTok, is bringing his silliness to a yurt in Edinburgh. ‘Something bigger than me is happening,’ he says. ‘It’s out of my control’What is talent? And what is British? You may not expe…

Continue Reading

‘They cheered on Everest when we revealed our catsuits’: the Scummy Mummies on 10 years ​o​f podcasting

The​ duo have amassed more than 5m downloads with their irreverent take on parenthood, divorce and everything in between. They marked their anniversary with a record-breaking live showWhat fun it is to spend an afternoon with Helen Thorn and Ellie Gibs…

Continue Reading

A bot walks into a bar … Edinburgh fringe performers use AI to write jokes

All aspects of artificial intelligence will get the comic treatment at this summer’s festivalA comedy show is probably not the first place to hear about a burning new issue, but standup routines have a habit of swiftly reflecting the worries of our tim…

Continue Reading

‘If you break even that’s a bonus’: what it costs to perform at the Edinburgh fringe

Theatre and comedy acts at this year’s festival break down their expenses and consider the financial risks“The big, difficult cost this year is accommodation,” says RoguePlay’s artistic director Kim Wildborne. The physical theatre company is heading to…

Continue Reading

Dane Baptiste: ‘My body likes to cleanse itself before telling dirty jokes’

The comedian on getting old, festival toilets and British standups’ failure to talk about inequalityHow did you get into standup?I always loved comedy, but because I didn’t know the who, what, where and when, I didn’t think it would be something I coul…

Continue Reading

Happiness! Ken Dodd exhibition to open at the Museum of Liverpool

The comedian, who died in 2018, will be remembered in a new exhibition that brings together props, costumes and an interactive ‘giggle map’Tickling sticks, a Dicky Mint puppet and a Yorick skull complete with protruding teeth will go on display in Sept…

Continue Reading

Deirdre O’Kane review – comedy adventures in ageing and HRT

Soho theatre, LondonThe Irish standup’s new show swerves from the problems with getting older to 80s nostalgia, and just about pulls it off“I’m ageing by the minute,” says Deirdre O’Kane. But there’s nothing mellow about the opening stages of Demented,…

Continue Reading

Here’s what venues can do to become fat-friendly spaces – and spare a lot of pain

Making seat measurements readily available and providing alternative options would enable everyone to have a nice time at theatres, cafes … and any place with chairs and peopleI have to call places before I visit them. I never know if I should say “I’m…

Continue Reading

At 14, I escaped a lethal house fire and lost everything. Comedy saved me

Krystal Evans was scarred, mentally and physically, by the fire. She blocked out the memories – until she decided to write about themIn previous, shorter standup shows, Krystal Evans tried to talk about her childhood experiences, but to say it didn’t w…

Continue Reading

Susie McCabe: ‘The worst advice I’ve had? Don’t be too gay in your material – men won’t like it’

The Glasgow comic on why she has to shower before a gig, taking a show about womanhood to the Edinburgh fringe and the need for more working-class voices on TVIs it true you first performed standup as a drunken dare?Yes! I went to visit a friend who’d …

Continue Reading