Considering oneself "an artist who works in the field of comedy" is the starting point for a fascinating re-framing of the whole goddamn thing, in this conversation with the wonderfully funny, curious, and extraordinarily inventive Ben Target. We discover a shared inspiration in an Argentinian circus, explore Ben's holistic approach to theatre-in-the-round, and find out why minor authority figures are inherently funny...

See Ben's Edinburgh Fringe show 'Splosh'

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23/05/2018 Swindon Arts Centre

26/05/2018 Farnham Maltings

30/05/2018 Aldershot, West End Centre

01/06/2018 Sheffield, The Lescar

02/06/2018 York, The Basement

03/06/2018 Newcastle – The Stand

04/06/2018 Leeds, Duke Studios

08/06/2018 Southampton, Hanger Farm

09/06/2018 Cambridge Junction

12/06/2018 Edinburgh, The Monkey Barrel

13/06/2018 Glasgow, The Stand

15/06/2018 Birmingham Glee

17/06/2018 Brighton Komedia

21-23 June London, Soho Theatre

29/06/2018 Tringe Festival

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Filed Under: Age, Audiences, Awards, Character, Clown, Depression, Drama School, Ed Gamble, Eddie Izzard, Edinburgh, Festival, Festival Comedian, Fringe, Fuerza Bruta, Improv, Interview, Isolation, Jobs, Johnny Vegas, Leicester Comedy Festival, Liam Williams, Mental Health, Nick Helm, Nish Kumar, Open Mic, Pappy’s, Simon Munnery, Sketch, Spencer Jones, Stage Persona, Stereotypes, Street-Performing, Structure, Success, Surreal, The Herbert, Tony Law, Zach Galifianakis

James Davis' star is in the ascendent.  In this live special episode from South By South West in Austin Texas, we discuss how the "Hood Adjacent" comic keeps his material provocative without being exploitative.  Just off the back of writing gags for Will Smith on a major new movie, we learn how James is levelling up...   

James on Twitter: @TheJamesDavis
James on Insta: instagram.com/theejamesdavis  

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See Stu on tour in the UK HERE 
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Filed Under: Acting, Audiences, Chris Rock, Clown, College, Comedy Central, Denzel Washington, Drake, Drama School, Eddie Murphy, Edgy, Ego, Fame, Festival, First Open Spot, Hood Adjacent, Interview, Jamie Foxx, Live, Mainstream, Martin Lawrence, Michael J Fox, Money, Netflix, Open Mic, Persona, Saturday Night Live, School, Seinfeld, SNL, Stage Persona, Stereotypes, Storytelling, Success, The Late Show, TV, TV Comedy, Twitter, Urban Circuit, USA, Will Smith, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage, YouTube

I've never seen such an immediate standing ovation as the one we gave Zoe Coombs-Marr at the end of her show "Trigger Warning" this year.  Her multiple award-winning creation "Dave" is a troubled hack comic and the centre of an awesomely meta-textual subversion and dismantling of the craft of comedy. We talk about the range and limits of character work, learn about feminist super-group show "Wild Bore", and find out why she'd be happy to fail if it meant the world changed. See Zoe live or get tickets for "Wild Bore" at www.zoecoombsmarr.com/ www.comedy.co.uk/fringe/2016/zoe_coombs_marr/ Learn more about the show at www.comedianscomedian.com See Stu on tour www.comedianscomedian.com/tour Join the growing Facebook comcompod community at www.facebook.com/groups/ComediansComedianPodcast

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Filed Under: Acting, Audiences, Character, Clown, Controversial, Criticism, Dark Humour, Diversity, Drag, Edinburgh, Fame, Gender, Heckles, Sexuality, Success, TV

Carmen Lynch combines deft writing, rhythm and performative poise, to deadly effect. We talk about stopping and re-starting comedy, and how it feels to escape from the day-job a second time. We also explore the beauty in simplicity, how to beat shyness with performance, and her recent spots on Letterman and Conan.

Follow @lynchcarmen or go to www.carmenlynch.com for more info

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Filed Under: Age, Alternative Comedy, Amateur, Audiences, Beginners, Clown, Competitions, Criticism, David Letterman, Edinburgh, Fame, Just For Laughs, Open Mic, Quality Control, Reality TV, Writing On Stage

Sweaty, bearded turbo-clown Paul Currie’s shows are stuffed with unforgettable images, feelings and smells. Beloved of comedy’s intelligentsia, this award-winning performer doesn’t let go of your heart until the last cornflake is eaten and the last tear shed.

We discuss the cultural ecology of his native Northern Ireland; the difficulties of working in isolation; and we also talk about how the apparent vogue for clowning affects a veteran performer.

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Filed Under: Age, Alternative Comedy, Audiences, Clown, Depression, Edinburgh, Fear, Inspiration, Jobs, London, Money, Reviews, Silent Comedy, Stage Persona, Street-Performing, Success, Surreal

Superbly funny and very skilled Jinkx Monsoon won RuPaul’s Drag Race IV, and with long-term collaborator Major Scales is continuing to weave that very public success into an established comedy career. We discuss maintaining individuality within the confines of reality TV, the shared territory between a drag persona and a comic voice, and how transformation affects the true self. We also cover accusations of transphobia, the assumptions made of drag performers’ gender identity, and Jinkxy’s “bitterness towards stupid people”…

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Filed Under: Character, Clown, College, Criticism, Double Act, Drag, Gender, Musical, Musical Comedy, Persona, Reality TV, TV

Rigorously intellectual and brilliantly poetic, Liam Williams approaches comedy like writing a novel, but does he even enjoy standup?

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Filed Under: Alcohol, Character, Clown, Criticism, Edinburgh, Fear, Footlights, Plagiarism, Poetry, School, Sheeps, Sketch, Stage Persona, Storytelling, Structure, Tim Key, Writing On Stage

Winner of two UK Barry Awards - voted on by comedians - for his 2015 show “Proper Job”, Spencer Jones is a natural born, funny-boned twinkler. Never mind his clowning, props, vocal loops and charming idiocy, he reduces an audience to tears just by walking on to the stage. The hard work and professionalism underpinning the chaos might surprise you…

Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much more by joining the Insiders Club at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders

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Filed Under: Adam Larter, Ali Bryce, Big Babies, Broken Biscuits, Character, Clown, Dan Kirwan, Dr Brown, Ecole Philippe Gaulier, Edinburgh, Festival, Festival Comedian, Fringe, Improv, Inspiration, Interview, Karl Schultz, Live, Lucy Hopkins, Physical Comedy, Quality Control, Red Bastard, Risk, Sketch, Stage Persona, Success, The Boy With Tape On His Face, The Herbert, Writing On Stage