‘I felt a responsibility to get it right’: the male standups using jokes to cope with miscarriage

Even though it affects one in five pregnancies, the loss of a baby is rarely talked about, especially among men. But standups Jacob Hawley and Will Duggan are using comedy to break that tabooIn 2019, the comedian Jacob Hawley was in his mid-20s and thi…

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Flashback – Jayde Adams and her late sister, Jenna: ‘I started making jokes at her bedside, and I haven’t stopped since’

The comedian, actor and presenter talks about an old photograph, and how her big sister’s early death spurred her to write her award-winning debut standup showBorn in Bristol in 1984, Jayde Adams is a comedian, actor and presenter known for her bombast…

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Sindhu Vee and her father go back in time: ‘As a child, I was always copying him’

The comedian and her dad recreate a childhood photo and talk about early days in India, agoraphobia and swapping banking for comedy Born in New Delhi in 1969, Sindhu Vee spent her childhood in India and the Philippines, before throwing herself into aca…

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Sibling revelry: the sisters who became ferociously funny comedy duos

When you’ve shared jokes since childhood, you can be brutally honest with each other. Flo & Joan and Ruby Wax’s daughters, Maddy and Marina Bye, on becoming family double acts They’ve been described as “the other popular comedy duo” from TV’s golde…

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‘I’d love to see their parents’ bank accounts’: corona and comedy’s class divide

From care work to shelf-stacking, many standups have taken up jobs to survive lockdown – highlighting how privilege has created a two-tier system in comedyOn 16 March, when Boris Johnson advised people to avoid pubs and theatres, the effect on live com…

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Dilruk Jayasinha’s Bundle of Joy: cheer yourself with a short fix of standup – video

With comedy festivals cancelled around the world, Amazon Prime is releasing 10 original Australian specials to tide you over. Filmed at Melbourne’s Malthouse theatres, the series will feature names including Celia Pacquola, Tom Gleeson, Anne Edmonds, T…

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‘I secretly thought I was funny’: how a brain tumour turned my mother into a standup comic

My sixtysomething mother lacked confidence, but has reinvented herself as Manchester’s answer to Mrs MaiselRuth Linton, my mum, is an eternally overdressed, perennially late, sixtysomething (don’t ask, because she’ll always deduct two years), divorced,…

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‘Whenever you have sex, it’s on your mind’: Tom Rosenthal on turning circumcision into comedy

The procedure left the comedian with sexual anxiety – and a tell-all show at the Edinburgh festivalJournalistic etiquette decrees that any delicate questions are usually saved until near the end of an interview. That doesn’t apply, however, when you ar…

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Josie Long review – the mother lode of love, joy and laughs

Stand Comedy Club, Edinburgh The standup tenderly hymns the joys of new parenthood in this delightful, tightly focused showHaving a baby is about as far from unique an experience as it’s possible to get, so it’s impressive how Josie Long makes it her p…

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‘I searched for a stepdad – someone like Ground Force’s Tommy would do’

Aged seven, comic Steve Bugeja helped his mum find a new partner. They had to watch his magic tricks – and know how to handle a trellisWhen I told my mum that my fringe comedy show was going to be all about her being single when I was growing up, she s…

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