A consummate compere, wielding her natural warmth and blunt honesty to devastating effect, Thanyia Moore has pulled off something extraordinary - a slot on Mock the Week before she debuts her first hour. We discuss her lack of love for writing, and the inverse pressure of a post-TV debut, as well as her secret game-plan for comedy and beyond. We also talk about whether the change in UK comedy industry booking policy as a response to Black Lives Matter is meaningful or temporary; spotting accidentally radicalised language in reviews; and how to tell when you’ve just done some good acting…

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for ad-free episodes, extra content from every show that has it, and much more - including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, Alfie Brown, James Acaster and Fern Brady, plus the incredible “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet.

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Acaster, Acting, Age, Athena Kugblenu, Audiences, comcompod, COVID-19, Dane Baptiste, Edinburgh, Interview, Katherine Ryan, Live At The Apollo, Mock The Week, Stage Persona, Success, Whoopi Goldberg, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage

A ramshackle prospective who's who (also: when's when and where's where) for this year's truncated Edinburgh Fringe. Feels nice. Might see you there.

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Audiences, Carl Hutchinson, comcompod, Corona, COVID-19, Daniel Sloss, Dara O'Briain, Edinburgh, Festival, Fringe, The Pleasance, The Stand

Crime fiction powerhouse and former circuit comedian, CK McDonnell is on the cusp of levelling further up, with a TV adaptation of his half a million selling “Dublin Trilogy” in the works.

We talk about how to write fast, being calibrated for tough criticism, solving problems in the shower, and how to let characters evolve - especially Bunny McGarry who went from villain to his best loved creation.

25 mins of extra content from this interview is available exclusively to the Insiders Club! We discover Caimh’s secrets of self-publication, learn about how he cultivates the fanbase that now flock around him, and learn why he won’t record his own audiobooks!

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Fern Brady and the incredible “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet.

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Audiences, Chris Addison, comcompod, COVID-19, Dan Evans, Dublin Trilogy, Edinburgh, Gary Delaney, Interview, Mock The Week, Sarah Millican, Success

Stevie Martin has been generating excellent material for years, and is now starting to break through due to her jaw-droppingly funny online videos, packed with punchlines and with a genuinely unique flavour.

We talk about the huge amount of time and prep that goes into her work, as she battles to feel like a “proper comedian” in an industry that prioritises certain styles, backgrounds and looks.

We also explore her brilliant former sketch outfit Massive Dad, and whether their aesthetic made them “unapproachable” as performers; the relative loneliness of stand-up; and trying to love Edinburgh in the way that it deserves to be loved…

Insiders:
35 mins of extra content available exclusively to the Insiders Club include Stevie on her murky past as an Edinburgh Fringe reviewer! She also shares some surprising insights about what works on Twitter and why, the inside editorial secrets of content creators, and we find out why her next Edinburgh poster might sell her in a very different way than previous years.

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Fern Brady and the incredible “self-help for comedians” special with Amanda Donnet.

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: ABK, Acting, Adam Riches, Age, Alasdair Beckett-King, Audiences, Awards, Big Train, Brett Goldstein, Channel 4, comcompod, Corona, COVID-19, Edinburgh, Fame, Feminism, Fern Brady, Festival, Fringe, Interview, Nish Kumar, Onstage Persona, Persona, Podcasting, Stage Persona, Success, TV, TV Comedy, Twitch, Twitter, Viral, Writing Jokes, YouTube

Laser-guided comic, writer and corporate host, the "modnifique" Ian Moore is every inch the Comedy Store headliner, but in the early part of his career his battle with stage fright left him a more deadpan act than he intended. We talk about the phenomenon of white blokes in suits raging against the world; the reality of his apparent dream life commuting from rural France to the UK for gigs; and the excoriating ten-page editor's note on his first foray into detective fiction, and his brilliant response to it…

25 mins of extra content available exclusively to the Insiders Club includes Ian on what it means to him to be a Mod, his entry-point into being published as a writer, and the forces behind his doomed attempt to set up a creative retreat for artists. Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&As with Nish Kumar, Alfie Brown and your invite to the forthcoming one with Fern Brady (24th May)

Catch up with Ian:

ianmoore.info 

*Death and Croissants out July 2021*  Pre-Order HERE

*New Podcast - Mustn't Grumble* HERE

Everything Stu's up to:

This podcast is @ComComPod on twitter and instagram

www.comedianscomedian.com

Stu’s “Virtual Office Party” is now available as the perfect solution to remote-working office parties, sales conferences, motivational and wellbeing events.

“It was an absolutely hysterical and wonderful evening, for both those partaking and everyone watching online!”

- Maria Kuzak (Fundraising Manager at CALM)

The games and interactive element were hilarious and extremely well executed! 10/10 from us, you created a real buzz in our business, thank you." 

- Ben Gott, (SVP at Merkle)

For more info on how this unique concept can bring your staff together while working apart, go to www.stuartgoldsmith.co.uk

Stu also offers remote talks to business on what the distilled wisdom of over 350 comics can teach you about resilience, especially in times of pandemic.

“The most inspiring talk I’ve had in years!” (LEGO staff member)

Find out more at www.stuartgoldsmith.co.uk

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Age, Audiences, Blogging, comcompod, Comedy Store, Coping, Corporate Gigs, COVID-19, Edinburgh, Interview, Stage Persona, Success, TV, Writing Jokes

On the eve of his first solo Netflix special, one of South Africa’s finest comedy exports returns to the show to discuss the challenges of filming a show in Covid times, and the influence of his movie-grown director in planning the shoot. We talk with double Emmy-nominated Loyiso about compromising decisions on and off TV; his aim to improve rather than earn; the value and price of stubbornness; and why “clarity is freedom”…

Loyiso Gola: Unlearning is available now on Netflix.

www.loyisogola.com

@loyisogola

15 minutes of extra content available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club includes Loyiso in detail on his filming technique, why crowdwork is a dangerous drug, and his conscious effort not to exploit trauma for material…

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&A’s with James Acaster, and Nish Kumar.

Everything Stu's up to:

This podcast is @ComComPod on twitter and instagram

www.comedianscomedian.com

Stu’s “Virtual Office Party” is now available as the perfect solution to remote-working office parties, sales conferences, motivational and wellbeing events.

“It was an absolutely hysterical and wonderful evening, for both those partaking and everyone watching online!”

- Maria Kuzak (Fundraising Manager at CALM)

The games and interactive element were hilarious and extremely well executed! 10/10 from us, you created a real buzz in our business, thank you." 

- Ben Gott, (SVP at Merkle)

For more info on how this unique concept can bring your staff together while working apart, go to www.stuartgoldsmith.co.uk

Stu also offers remote talks to business on what the distilled wisdom of over 350 comics can teach you about resilience, especially in times of pandemic.

“The most inspiring talk I’ve had in years!” (LEGO staff member)

Find out more at www.stuartgoldsmith.co.uk

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Audiences, comcompod, COVID-19, Edinburgh, Festival, Fringe, Interview, Loyiso Gola, Stage Persona, Success, Top Secret, TV, TV Comedy

Bethany Black makes a powerfully funny connection with her fanbase, and has been wielding it to great effect over the course of her heavily-shielded pandemic experience.

We explore the effect on her work of her concurrent diagnoses with autism, ADHD and agoraphobia, and discuss how her fanbase consists of people just like her, rather than the cool kids she was trying to impress.

We also cover painting her herself into a corner with stand-up; how some promoters book to their own taste without realising; not being famous enough for The Chase; and what she’s already anticipating tolerating in her sixties…

No extras for this episode but you can still hit www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for all the extras from every episode that has them, including the exclusive Insiders Q&A with James Acaster!

Follow Bethany Black:

Follow @beffernieblack
Follow her and subscribe to: http://twitch.tv/beffernieblack
Buy her stand-up special: http://gofasterstripe.com/unwinnable
Tip her through http://ko-fi.com/bethanyblack

Everything Stu's up to:

Stu’s “Virtual Office Party” is now available as the perfect solution to remote-working office parties, sales conferences, motivational and wellbeing events.

“It was an absolutely hysterical and wonderful evening, for both those partaking and everyone watching online!”
- Maria Kuzak (Fundraising Manager at CALM)

The games and interactive element were hilarious and extremely well executed! 10/10 from us, you created a real buzz in our business, thank you." 
- Ben Gott, (SVP at Merkle)

For more info on how this unique concept can bring your staff together while working apart, go to www.virtualofficeparty.co.uk

Stu also offers remote talks to business on what the distilled wisdom of over 350 comics can teach you about resilience, especially in times of pandemic.

“The most inspiring talk I’ve had in years!” (LEGO staff member)

Find out more at www.comedyinsights.com

This podcast is @ComComPod on twitter and instagram
www.comedianscomedian.com  

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Acting, Actor, Age, Alcohol, Audiences, Awards, Bill Hicks, Brendon Burns, Caroline Aherne, comcompod, Coping, Corona, COVID-19, Dr Who, Edinburgh, Festival, Fringe, Gary Delaney, Gender, Inspiration, Interview, Janey Godley, Jobs, Johnny Vegas, Jongleurs, Mark Watson, Mental Health, Peter Kay, Stage Persona, Success, TV, Twitch, Twitter

Energetic, elastic and totally committed to being “the toughest kid on the estate” when it comes to his ability to get laughs, Russell Kane has firm ideas about his precise place in the comedy firmament.

We talk about the creative power of his exceptional on-stage energy; his surprising reaction to Stewart Lee’s material about him; his unerring ability to mind-map a topic and see the central idea immediately; and learn about the hour-long preview which he scripted in just eight words, moments before walking onstage…

25 minutes of extra content available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club includes Russell’s incredible advice for comics considering performing live standup on YouTube, and thoughts on his possible over-commitment to showing one particular critic who was boss…

The single confidant who suggested that his experiments with image were driving away his long-term audience…

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much more, including the exclusive Insiders Q&A with James Acaster.

Follow Russell on:

@russell_kane
www.russellkane.co.uk
And subscribe to his channel on YouTube, home of the “Kane-ing”

Everything Stu's up to:

Stu’s “Virtual Office Party” is now available as the perfect solution to remote-working office parties, sales conferences, motivational and wellbeing events.

“It was an absolutely hysterical and wonderful evening, for both those partaking and everyone watching online!”
- Maria Kuzak (Fundraising Manager at CALM)
The games and interactive element were hilarious and extremely well executed! 10/10 from us, you created a real buzz in our business, thank you."  - Ben Gott, (SVP at Merkle)
For more info on how this unique concept can bring your staff together while working apart, go to www.virtualofficeparty.co.uk

Stu also offers remote talks to business on what the distilled wisdom of over 350 comics can teach you about resilience, especially in times of pandemic.
“The most inspiring talk I’ve had in years!” (LEGO staff member)
Find out more at www.comedyinsights.com

This podcast is @ComComPod on twitter and instagram

www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Age, Arena Comedy, Audience Participation, Audiences, Awards, BBC, BBC3, Bill Burr, Channel 4, Chortle, Chris Rock, College, comcompod, Corona, Corporate Gigs, Corporate Work, COVID-19, Criticism, Daniel Kitson, Edgy, Edinburgh, Ego, Fame, Fear, Festival, Fosters Comedy Award, Frankie Boyle, Fringe, Improv, Inspiration, Instagram, Interview, Jeremy Hardy, Jobs, Jongleurs, Josie Long, Katherine Ryan, Lee Mack, Live At The Apollo, London, Mainstream, Money, Noel Fielding, Observational Comedy, Onstage Persona, Parenting, Perrier, Perrier Comedy Award, Persona, Peter Kay, Problems, Reginald D. Hunter, Reviews, Risk, Romesh Ranganathan, Russell Brand, Russell Howard, Russell Kane, Seann Walsh, Stage Persona, Stereotypes, Steve Bennett, Stewart Lee, Structure, Success, TV, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage, YouTube