Star of “Good News” and “Stand-up Central” as well as a former “Mock the Week” team captain, Russell Howard is also one of the UK’s most electrifying live performers. In this unusually candid interview, he exposes the unique pressures of fronting your own TV show, uncovers whether his success has made him happy, and we find out what you say to yourself after walking offstage at Wembley Arena…

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Filed Under: Arena Comedy, Awards, BBC3, Comedy Central, Competitions, Criticism, Edinburgh, Fear, First Open Spot, Improv, Inspiration, Jimmy Carr, John Oliver, Jon Richardson, Josie Long, Just For Laughs, Kerry Godliman, Late And Live, Live At The Apollo, Mock The Week, Observational Comedy, One Liners, Russell Howard's Good News, School, So You Think You’re Funny, Stand Up Central

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Bird-flipping, bumhole-shouting Gein’s Family Giftshop are horror-obsessed, wildly inventive and deeply funny. We dig into the internal dynamics of the group, find out why they don’t wear wigs, and examine the crucial role played by their unseen fourth member.

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Filed Under: Chortle, Controversial, Dark Humour, David Lynch, Edinburgh, Fear, Feminism, Festival, Footlights, Fringe, Funz and Gamez, Horror, Improv, Inspiration, Interview, Isolation, League of Gentlemen, Physical Comedy, Podcasting, Provocateur, Puffin Island, Quality Control, Radio, Radio 4, Reviews, Risk, Simon Pegg, Sketch, Stage Persona, Steve Coogan, Structure, Success, The Mighty Boosh, Writing On Stage

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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…

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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

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Wickedly spiky and dry as sand, controversy-courting stand-up Jena Friedman has writing credits for “Letterman” and “The Daily Show” under her belt.  We discover her unusual origin, as her thesis on Chicago’s improv scene drew her into the undertow of the comedy world, and talk in depth about the courage required to “own” difficult material...

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Filed Under: Controversial, Criticism, Dark Humour, Edinburgh, First Open Spot, Improv, Jewish Comedy, Reviews, Risk, Sketch, Stage Persona, Structure, Success, Twitter, USA, Viral, Writing On Stage

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An irrepressibly charming personality, Aisling Bea’s standup bubbles over with unusual perspectives and ludicrous family stories; few acts have climbed as high as fast. She talks here about finding a balance between her sitcom success and her comedy career, intimidating herself, and loving working…

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Filed Under: 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Actor, Aisling Bea, Dave Gorman, Edinburgh, Fear, Feminism, Festival, First Open Spot, Free Fringe, Fringe, Holly Walsh, Improv, Interview, Ireland, James Acaster, Joe Lycett, Josie Long, Katherine Ryan, Live, Live At The Apollo, London, Nish Kumar, Old Rope, Onstage Persona, Pappy’s, QI, Quality Control, Reviews, Risk, Sharon Horgan, Stage Persona, Storytelling, Structure, Success, Tiffany Stevenson, Trollied, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage

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Introducing Jason Byrne to an audience is like dropping a vitamin tablet into a glass of water; his shows are a masterclass in improvised mayhem.  He talks here about the challenges of translating that madness onto TV, examines the structure of a particularly memorable incident in real depth, and also discusses the times when the show hasn’t catalysed as he wanted.

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Filed Under: Billy Connolly, Bob Monkhouse, Bottom, Carson, Dylan Moran, Edinburgh, Fear, Festival, Festival Comedian, First Open Spot, French and Saunders, Fringe, Improv, Inspiration, Interview, John Bishop, Ken Dodd, Kenny Everett, Live, Live At The Apollo, Mental Health, Mike Wilmot, Noel Fielding, Phil Nichol, Physical Comedy, Risk, Spike Milligan, Stage Persona, Stephen Fry, Steve Martin, Success, The Pleasance, The Young Ones, Tommy Cooper, Tommy Tiernan, Touring Comedian, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage

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Sick of being told he was the funniest guy off-stage, something had to change for lightning-fast wise-cracker Jimmy Pardo.  Fortunately it did, and he became the “self-deprecating blowhard” America knows and loves today.  We talk about the pros and cons of opening for Conan O’Brien, and explore the irresistible allure of TV, even in the face of new media.  But can you ever escape feeling like you can’t write a joke?

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Filed Under: Alison Rosen, Andy Richter, Comedy Central, Compere/MC/Hosting, Conan, Craig Ferguson, Criticism, Improv, Interview, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Kyle Kinane, LA Podfest, Never Not Funny, Podcasting, Rachel Quaintance, Stage Persona, Storytelling, Structure, Success, Todd Barry, Todd Glass, USA, Writing On Stage

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One of the most recognisable faces in UK comedy, Matt Lucas charts his journey from Shooting Stars’ improvising baby-grow nutcase George Dawes, to the double-act with David Walliams that made him a household name, to his most recent foray into purely physical comedy Pompidou. We explore his writing and creative process, and as well as unpacking the controversy surrounding Little Britain and Come Fly with Me, we learn what drives Matt, and whether his success has brought him happiness.

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Filed Under: Alan Davies, BBC One, BBC3, Ben Miller, Character, Charlie Chaplin, Criticism, Double Act, George Dawes, Harry Enfield, Improv, Inspiration, Interview, Ivor Dembina, Little Britain, London, Nicole Kidman, Owen Jones, Peter Kay, Physical Comedy, Reviews, Rhys Thomas, Shooting Stars, Sketch, Stage Persona, Success, Vic And Bob

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