Demi Adejuyigbe’s must-see comedy backflip: ‘It’s kind of Evel Knievel!’

The Good Place writer didn’t know there were prizes at the Edinburgh fringe until his acrobatic debut show earned him a nomination. Now he hopes to spring similar surprisesIf you wanted a career that sums up the amorphous nature of modern comedy – from…

Continue Reading

Tony Slattery: the generous improv great whose successes masked his suffering

He was a wonderful team player in Whose Line Is It Anyway? and affection for him grew when he disclosed the severe pain and distress he was trying keep at bay• Comedian Tony Slattery dies aged 65• Tony Slattery: a life in picturesImprovisation has seld…

Continue Reading

Russell Howard looks back: ‘Am I peculiar? You’d struggle to find anyone who does standup who isn’t a bit weird’

The comedian on mining his very large family for material, avoiding the celebrity circus, and being an unashamed standup fanboyBorn in Bath in 1980, Russell Howard is one of the UK’s most successful comedians. He started his career on the standup circu…

Continue Reading

Samuel Barnett: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)

The English actor shares what tickles his funny bone, from a bracing bagpipes outtake to a foolproof moment of awkward familial physical interactionMore summer essentialsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHi Guardian Australia. …

Continue Reading

Ben Elton: ‘I fancied Olivia Newton-John. It’s alright to say that about a third cousin, right?’

The standup talks about tensions behind the scenes of Blackadder, his Wiggles movie that never happened and his opinions on hecklersOf all the things you’ve written, what gets quoted at you the most?It’d be something from my three series of Blackadder …

Continue Reading

Jenny Eclair looks back: ‘Anorexia is difficult to get out of. I can joke about it now, because I’m overweight’

The comedian and novelist on the stress of sudden success, her disordered relationship with food, and how hobbies have replaced her libidoBorn in Kuala Lumpur in 1960, Jenny Eclair is a comedian, actor and author. The daughter of a major in the British…

Continue Reading

Janey Godley obituary

Scottish comedian and actor whose sweary voiceovers to Nicola Sturgeon’s briefings during Covid were a viral sensationJaney Godley, the Scottish comedian, actor and writer, who has died of cancer aged 63, performed to sell-out crowds across&n…

Continue Reading

Bill Bailey: ‘When I met Paul McCartney, I was so nervous that I forgot how to speak’

The comedian planned to tell the Beatle ‘something eloquent’ backstage – but wound up completely thrownGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIf you could change the size of any animal to keep as a pet, what would it be?A tiny elephant, so tiny you…

Continue Reading

‘Oh god I’m Sue Gray – don’t, I’m cringing’: comic Emma Sidi brings the embattled civil servant to the stage

After Starstruck and Taskmaster, the new project sees Sidi play a profane, lowbrow version of Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff. She explains why her latest comedy creation is breaking-news proofWhen Emma Sidi was in year seven, a classmate predicte…

Continue Reading

Elouise Eftos: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)

‘Australia’s first attractive comedian’ shares what makes her laugh, including a Showgirls parody, ‘Sweded’ films and Emma Stone on Saturday Night LiveGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailI was aware of the internet from quite a young age, maybe …

Continue Reading