The writer and comedian lifts the lid on the things that make her laugh the mostBedazzled is a great comedy film. Dudley Moore really kills me. And the 2000 remake is funny as hell, too. Continue reading…
Continue ReadingThe comic, singer and actor, performing in the UK for the first time in seven years, answered your questions
2.16pm GMT
Thanks for all the questions – I’ll be at Ronnie Scott’s at the end of the week!
2.14pm GMT
unprinted asks:
What does the song You Make Me Feel Mighty Real mean to you? Why chose to cover it?
Mighty Real was sort of an anthem for the pre-AIDS gay experience – a time of unbridled celebration and sexual freedom.
2.11pm GMT
toooom asks:
Another admirer of King of Comedy here. What are you most proud of?
What I’m most proud of is that I’m still in the game. I still love performing and being creative. I love what I do!
2.10pm GMT
sachat asks:
Have you ever had stage fright? Which of your projects has been the most nerve-racking?
Of course! Any time you walk on stage you’re nervous, that’s part of what motivates you to do a great show. But any time that I do television or films that’s the most nerve-racking because other people are dependent on your professionalism.
2.09pm GMT
25aubrey asks:
Who in your eyes, are the real king and queen of comedy, past or present?
When I was growing up, I adored Totie Fields and, of course, my dear friend Paul Mooney.
2.07pm GMT
Genevieve Scoville asks:
I’m a keen listener to your radio show on SiriusXM. Is there someone who sticks out as your favourite interviewee?
Most recently, Mena Suvari was a lovely surprise but on a regular basis, comedian Judy Gold is a fabulous interview. She’s on my show frequently. She’s a terrific conversationalist.
2.06pm GMT
Myam0t0 asks:
Beans on a fry-up?
I adore beans. On anything and everything!
2.02pm GMT
SeanWylas asks:
Today’s political and cultural climate in the US and the UK is shifting in a way that was not expected by many. As a result, it seems that a comment that once would have been seen as thought-provoking (even if you disagreed with it) can now send social media lynch mobs at people and potentially ruin careers (if not lives). This is seen on the left and on the right. As someone who speaks her opinion, how do you feel about this culture? How do you respond to such things?
I have definitely started to edit a lot of things that I would not have thought twice about saying 10 or 15 years ago. It simply isn’t worth it to be exposed to the unsophisticated thinking of so many people. I’ve learned how to recalibrate my approach to social commentary.
1.59pm GMT
Murdomania asks:
You recently said: “I try not to get caught up and swallowed up by the changing tides because they’re gonna keep changing” … however, now that Oprah indicated a lack of desire to be nominated to run to be the next President of the United States, would you be enticed to throw your hat in the ring? Sandra Bernhard POTUS46 has a nice ring to it.
I wish I had it in me but I’m afraid I’m not your lady for this one!
1.56pm GMT
Arthur666 asks:
I’ve always enjoyed your multilayered approach to comedy, and it always seems to have a message. Do you think this is lacking in the current comedy world?
I think the issue is there’s too much product out there. And there’s only a certain amount of things people can talk about. So sometimes it becomes redundant. It’s getting harder to hone your craft because of YouTube and the internet. You really need to get out to the clubs to hone your craft. A lot of people these days don’t have the patience.
1.49pm GMT
Buckaroo asks:
There’s an amazing film of yours from the mid 90s – an Australian film called Dallas Doll (featuring the screen debut of Rose McGowan), a sort of reverse Crocodile Dundee. It had a huge cult following, but is unavailable to buy. There’s a host of classic lines in the film, two of which are particular favourites in our family: “I’d like to see THAT angry!” and “Don’t forget the garlic bread, gorgeous.” For old times’ sake, please would you say those lines again now?
Actually it’s Rose Byrne. Working on this film was one of the strangest experiences of my life. It was like being trapped in a ‘no exit’ situation.
1.44pm GMT
DarkAnaemicI asks:
What’s your favourite memory of filming Hudson Hawk?
All my time spent with Richard E Grant! In particular a trip we took together to Vienna. We always had a great time.
1.43pm GMT
Buckaroo asks:
You performed a brilliant version of the Rolling Stone’s Angie on a Channel 4 show years ago called Viva Cabaret. Is it available now?
The answer is no! It’s one of my favourite songs of all time. It reminds me of my first trip to London in 1973 when the song was released. I was 17 and travelling around the world and having an incredible time.
1.42pm GMT
JimdiGriz6 asks:
[I’m] yet another massive fan of your work in King of Comedy. Did your craziness in that film come from real life, or was it a stronger version of [it]? … I’ve known a few women a little like you at times in that film!
At that time i was much closer to the character in the sense that i was just starting out in my career. I was very young, had a lot of extra energy, emotion to spare. Masha was more in tune with who I was then rather than now for sure…
1.36pm GMT
HdAlex asks:
What things are most important to you in your job?
Promptness, professionalism and no obscene language.
1.34pm GMT
OzMogwai asks:
Are you as funny in real life as you are on film, tv and stage? PS, you fucking own Raging Bull.
It depends on the setting! Of course I can be much funnier offstage rather than when I’m performing but those are private moments with friends who get the absurdity I seem to capture as I go through life!
1.25pm GMT
aemenzies17 asks:
Any advice, ideas or recommendations about how to survive Trumpageddon? I live in the US, and each day is more painful than the last. Please help!! PS, thank you for all the years of comedy therapy!
My best advice is to take big breaks from listening to the talking heads and endless updates on his latest faux pas and do something creative and rewarding so you can continue to have some normalcy in your life. As in all stressful times, this will pass!
1.25pm GMT
Arthur666 asks:
I see you musically as a rock’n’roll vixen. What can we expect from your set at the jazz church that is Ronnie Scott’s?
It’ll be a blend of personal stories, fabulous misc of course with my Sandyland Squad band on hand and a journey in and out of day-to-day quotidian life as I see it!
1.24pm GMT
Hello – It’s great to be back in London where, although the language is generally the same, the culture is much different. And that’s always inspiring!
3.00pm GMT
Sandra Bernhard webchat – post your questions now
To call Sandra Bernhard a triple threat would be selling her short. Since she started out in LA’s comedy scene and on The Richard Pryor Show, she’s been a provocative force in standup, and her cabaret-style shows prove she can deliver a song as well as a punchline.
Continue ReadingCliffs Pavilion, Southend
Bailey’s honest enthusiasm for the marginal, the overlooked and the seldom juxtaposed is delightful
More than three decades into his career, Bill Bailey’s shows march to the beat of no one’s drum but his own – in tonight’s case, an adapted steel pan that looks like a barbecue. In short, Bailey does whatever pleases him on stage, which from one moment to the next can be satire or surrealism, noodling on an exotic musical instrument or sampling birdsong to comical effect. His real skill is to bring huge audiences cheerfully along with him, which is no mean feat when you’re joking about the Battle of Maldon in AD991, or the contribution made by ancient Babylon to the segmentation of time.
It’s a lot to do with Bailey’s ease with himself – there’s no neurotic ingratiation here – and the honesty of his enthusiasm for the marginal, the overlooked and the seldom juxtaposed. His new show, Larks in Transit, is less focused than its predecessor, Limboland, but no less funny. Some sequences scale the peaks of sublime silliness with minimal effort expended. There’s not just silliness, though. The opening stages tiptoe coyly around the subject of Brexit – more coyly than usual, perhaps, given he’s performing in a town that voted 60/40 to leave the EU.
Continue ReadingCited as one of the all-time great standup sets, Leary’s show both hasn’t aged well and has never been more topical
‘I’m an asshole,” sings Denis Leary in a signature number at the start of No Cure for Cancer, first televised 25 years ago this month. Still regularly cited among the great standup sets of all time, the show – performed off-Broadway, directed for TV by Ted Demme and released as a book and CD – launched Leary as a superstar, in the US at least. There was a follow-up, Lock’n’Load, along with countless movie roles and an Emmy nomination for his TV series Rescue Me. He’s still a fixture of the US entertainment scene and appeared last year in a double act with James Corden on The Late Late Show. Leary dressed as Bill Clinton, Corden as Hillary, and together they sang Trump’s an Asshole.
“No Cure for Cancer’s caustic spirit not only hasn’t waned in 25 years,” wrote one critic recently, “it’s been heightened considerably.” I can see why you’d argue that, but having just watched the special for the first time in years, I only partially agree. Yes, it’s a masterclass in standup technique. Yes, it inhabits a certain mindset with electrifying conviction, but the show seems more hymn to assholery than satire.
Continue ReadingDoes a regional accent give you a headstart in standup? Are some places funnier than others? Jayde Adams, Tez Ilyas and Ardal O’Hanlon explore laughter and locality
An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walk into a bar. The punchline? That depends on which part of the country you’re in. We’ve long been making gags about our neighbours. The English joke about the Irish, southerners make fun of the north, Liverpudlians tease Mancunians. And vice versa. A comedian can go on stage at a comedy club anywhere in Britain and call a nearby town a dump, and that’s the audience won over.
But what about the crowds themselves? Do some jokes go down better in the Midlands than the Highlands? Is there such a thing as a regional sense of humour?
Related: Jayde Adams review – she raps, she cries, she raises the roof
Related: Ardal O’Hanlon: ‘I was a nervous wreck before standup shows’
Bristol is a magical place to gig. They’ll laugh at silly things but, if you get political, they’ll go with that, too
Continue ReadingThe writer, standup and actor on the things that make her laugh the mostLuke McQueen singing. Or Holly Burn really committing to something in front of a bewildered audience. Senseless comedy, but it makes sense. Continue reading…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, London
Shortlisted for best newcomer at the Edinburgh festival, Pattison delivers a drolly direct account of an annus horribilis
You may not associate live comedy with tales of learning to love oneself and overcoming adversity. But standup is no stranger to redemption these days, and rookies – such as 23-year-old Lauren Pattison – make it their narrative structure of first resort. With her debut show, the Geordie newcomer recounts her 2016 annus horribilis. Not just dumped but “ghosted” by her boyfriend, she struggled to adjust to new life in London – insecure, depressed, blaming herself for the relationship breakdown. Lady Muck traces her route to refreshed confidence, via online dating, an encounter with a sexist comedy fan, and a bilious episode in a supermarket aisle.
Sometimes, it’s more inspiring tale-of-empowerment than comedy show – particularly in the closing stages, which Pattison delivers while choking back tears. Mostly, it stays sprightly and drolly direct, as she relates multiple tales of awkward behaviour while drunk and awkward behaviour while sober. Some of that awkwardness derives from her class background: she’s more aspirational than the girls she grew up with, but too vulgar (she claims) for audiences down south. But there are deeper-seated explanations, soon revealed, for why Pattison continues to feel “uncomfortable in her own skin”.
Continue ReadingDavid Baddiel, Andy Zaltzman, Richard Herring and other comics on fame, failure and friendship
In 1978, the year before the film 10 made a Hollywood star of Dudley Moore, the comedian appeared alongside his long-standing double-act partner, Peter Cook, on the Saturday-night chatshow Parkinson.
“Do you find some difficulty working together?” asked Michael Parkinson, the host.
He probably didn’t, ultimately, want to be in a double act. But I’d put all my eggs in that basket
We had been friends but the double act destroyed that friendship
When he fell down stairs really slowly, just to get a laugh, I felt a jolt of something close to love
Unfathomably, he chose to work on a leading satirical TV show rather than speak to 30 people in a tiny room in Edinburgh
Continue ReadingThe standup, screenwriter and actress on the things that make her laugh the most
Norm Macdonald’s new Netflix special; his bit about suicide.
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, London
The Edinburgh award-nominated standup develops a cheery rapport with the audience in this promising first show
If you want tragicomedy that cuts deep – or, for that matter, a misery memoir – Darren Harriott has got the raw material for it. But that’s not what he chooses to deliver with his maiden solo show, Defiant. Yes, he alludes to his father’s drug-dealing, mental illness and suicide. But there are dozens of other subjects over this magpie hour. This isn’t a show about his troubled backstory, or about anything else. It’s just a calling card, proving – with plenty to spare – that the perky 29-year-old can write and deliver fine jokes and establish a cheery rapport with a crowd.
Which is no mean feat – even if I want a little more over an hour of standup. Structure, maybe – but there’s none here, as the Black Country man flits between vaguely related topics at the same rhythm from start to finish. Point of view? Well, there are a few, but only ever to get Harriott from set-up to punchline. And every contentious opinion expressed is immediately reversed. He’s a remainer, but now he supports Brexit. He’s a republican, but here’s an instance when he loves the Queen. Or “I voted for Corbyn – but I don’t believe in him, man.” I longed for him to pin his colours to a mast. But he’s very personable company and has some excellent routines – like the one about Rastafarianism (his dad’s religion), or the sweet gag about confusing his libido with his craving for a sandwich.
Continue Reading