Jones was uninhibited, energetic, kind, curious – and a great person to spend time with, says the comedian Read Peter Bradshaw’s appreciation of Terry JonesI was quite young when Monty Python came down the airwaves into my brain. When the Python casset…
Continue ReadingHis influence is everywhere – but is the great, groundbreaking comedian being forgotten? Twenty-five years after his death, we reassess his impact The reports of Peter Cook’s death on 9 January 1995 had no difficulty arriving at a consensus about him, …
Continue ReadingLarry David took the role of “Larry David” onscreen. But how close are such characters to real life? Three comics starring as versions of themselves reveal where they draw the lineFans of the Canadian standup Mae Martin could probably tell you a lot ab…
Continue ReadingLeicester Square theatre, LondonAt every turn, the confused ‘astronomer-in-chief’ gives us something to marvel at – from crap ventriloquism to the films of ‘Dustbin Hoffman’At least in the colloquial sense, Count Arthur Strong has always been a space c…
Continue ReadingThe 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…
Continue ReadingThe comedian’s childhood was defined by racist abuse and his mother’s violence. As he publishes his autobiography, he talks about how it shaped him as a performer and activist“I’m fascinated by it. It’s history.” Lenny Henry is explaining why he has de…
Continue ReadingThe standup behind Baby Cobra found fame with her candid material on sex and pregnancy. Back with a memoir, she talks about her work ethic, the taboo of miscarriage – and performing in front of her in-lawsIn her memoir, written as letters to her two yo…
Continue ReadingTV’s most relatable comic – with TV’s most distinctive teeth – talks about sleeping in toilets, being ‘chavvy’ and how Twitter trolls drove him to therapy‘Have you ever been to Disneyland?” Rob Beckett asks, buzzing with the energy of a small child as …
Continue ReadingShe’s had small roles in hipster thriller Search Party and the new Tarantino movie but comedy is Berlant’s first love. Why? Because it’s ‘a place of terror’To fellow comic Bo Burnham, she is the “most influential/imitated comedian of a generation … a m…
Continue ReadingFrom Lizzo to Prince Charles to race and the British standup circuit, the rising comic lets rip London Hughes is the talk of the town. Every town. At this year’s Edinburgh festival fringe, her sold-out, roof-raising show To Catch a Dick narrowly missed…
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