Ardal O’Hanlon: ‘Comedy never used to be a career – it was for slackers with ukuleles’

The star of Father Ted and Death in Paradise on his ‘unstable’ personality, his revealing new standup show – and the terrifying bomb scare he endured as a childArdal O’Hanlon is too embarrassed to have his picture taken in the restaurant where we’ve ju…

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Eddie Izzard review – would-be MP’s ‘last’ standup show

Brighton DomeWunderbar is packed with surreal sugar – delightful animals and gobbledegook – but the pill of messianic politics is hard to swallow‘This is my last tour before politics,” says Eddie Izzard, who plans to stand as an MP at the next election…

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Cracked actor: stage stars review Boris Johnson’s debut as PM

Impressionist Jon Culshaw, playwright James Graham, comedian Bridget Christie and critic Mark Lawson on the prime minister’s opening week in WestminsterI’ve been doing Boris impressions ever since he emerged as Boris the Menace in Private Eye. He stuck…

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From Titania McGrath to a Brexit party standup: is rightwing comedy on the rise?

This year’s Edinburgh fringe was full of wokeness jokes from liberal standups as well as a host of conservative comedians who punch downHas there been a rise in rightwing comedy? Or just more acts pinning their colours to that mast? A common claim – fl…

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Jon Stewart now has to shame the Senate for continuing to block the 9/11 First Responders Bill

Last month Jon Stewart went before a House committee and basically shamed the half-empty room into doing what they should’ve… MORE
Jon Stewart now has to shame the Senate for continuing to block the 9/11 First Responders Bill appeared …

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Stand-up comedian Ben Gleib is running for President of the United States in 2020

Insert seriously, no kidding, or a third thing blatantly acknowledging the stark contrast of a comedian getting into politics. Stand-up comedian Ben Gleib, seen regularly on the fourth hour of the Today show but even more regularly as host of Idiotest …

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A lifetime of material: a comedian’s guide to the Indian election

The Stay Awake party, the polling station in an area populated by lions … on the eve of results in India, Anuvab Pal reveals how the biggest election in history – with 900 million voters – is comedy goldI sit down to read the Indian Express and come ac…

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No laughing matter? What Ukraine’s joker-in-chief says about politics today

He’ll be quick-witted and funny – but how can Volodymyr Zelenskiy possibly lead a country? A comedian gives his verdict on the new president and other gag-cracking politicians‘Ukraine have elected a comedian as president,” the text message began and, a…

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No laughing matter? What Ukraine’s joker-in-chief says about politics today

He’ll be quick-witted and funny – but how can Volodymyr Zelenskiy possibly lead a country? A comedian gives his verdict on the new president and other gag-cracking politicians‘Ukraine have elected a comedian as president,” the text message began and, a…

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Andy Zaltzman can’t fix Brexit but he can make you laugh

The comedian’s new show offers audiences ‘bespoke on-demand gags’ but reinforces the idea that satire is impotent In Richard Holloway’s book Waiting for the Last Bus – it’s about dying – he peers into the existential abyss. “The experiment of being was…

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