Flawless in delivery, bubbling over with jokes, and with something real and compassionate to say, Suzi Ruffell is at the peak of her powers. We talk about: her latest Edinburgh fringe show "Dance Like Everyone's Watching"; making sure that LGBTQ+ people in the audience feel seen; how punishing she found being a new act (and whether she could do it all again); and why she finds happiness terrifying.

Extras available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club include Suzi on her dos and don'ts of tour support, having worked extensively with Josh Widdicombe, Romesh Ranganathan and Kevin Bridges, as well as her thoughts on what makes a good director, and the best advice she was ever given... Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders to support the podcast with a regular monthly donation of your choice. Every level gets the same stuff, you pay what you think is appropriate.

suziruffell.com | @suziruffell
Get tickets for Suzi's Edinburgh show here

Tickets for my show Primer at this year's Edinburgh Fringe
@ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Acting, Audiences, Bruce Dessau, Chortle, Daniel Sloss, Drama School, Edinburgh, Feminism, Festival, Fringe, Gender, Hannah Gadsby, Interview, Jay Z, Jobs, Josh Widdicombe, Kai Humphries, Kerry Godliman, Kevin Bridges, Live At The Apollo, London, Marcus Brigstocke, Maria Bamford, Mental Health, Onstage Persona, Persona, Reviews, Romesh Ranganathan, School, Seann Walsh, Sexuality, Sketch, Stage Persona, Stereotypes, Success, Sue Perkins, Suzi Ruffell, Tony Allen, Touring Comedian, TV, TV Comedy, Widdicombe, Writing On Stage

Vikki Stone is a polymentalist, which is like a polymath for instruments. You'll all be using it soon...
Combining pinpoint observations with an innate compositional ability, not to mention all those tangible musical skills, she's underscoring set-ups and key-changing punchlines until your ribs hurt. We talk about side-hustles, captivity and the tricks of the trade, and find out why you're wrong about panto...

Tickets for Vikki's show Song Bird at the Ed Fringe

www.vikkistone.com | @VikkiStone

Tickets for my show Primer at this year's Edinburgh Fringe

@ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Acting, Al Murray, Alan Partridge, Audiences, Corporate Gigs, Corporate Work, Directing, Drama School, Edinburgh, Festival, Festival Comedian, First Open Spot, Fringe, Inspiration, Interview, Isolation, Jobs, Mental Health, Micky Flanagan, Money, Music, Musical, Musical Comedy, Nick Helm, Persona, Pleasance, Podcasting, Radio 4, Reviews, Risk, Sarah Millican, Stage Persona, Stephen Fry, Stereotypes, Structure, Success, The John Bishop Show, The Pleasance, The Pub Landlord, Tim Minchin, TV, Twitter, Victoria Wood, Vikki Stone, Whimsy, YouTube

Jayde Adams is a superstar in waiting; talented, highly driven and with an honesty which makes audiences fall in love with her. We talk about her turbulent early life in the shadow of her late sister, discover how an inflatable church led her to her calling, and hastily bleep an enormous amount of libel...

Don't miss Jayde in Edinburgh this year: The Ballad of Kylie Jenner's Old Face
@JaydeAdams

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

Tickets for my show Primer at this year's Edinburgh Fringe
@ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Audiences, Edinburgh, Festival, Fringe, Interview, Reviews, Risk, School, Stage Persona, Stereotypes, Storytelling, Success, The Guilty Feminist, TV, TV Comedy, Twitter, Writing Jokes

I said it and I'm sticking with it: Russell Hicks is a risk-taking ball of fire. Making a conscious choice to bet the house on every gig, he eschews material in favour of 100% riffing, with explosive results. We explore the economic consequences of approaching a set like a game of pinball in an industry based on reliability, dig into his use of comic muscle memory, and find out why he paints on a cave wall and not a canvas...

Extra material available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club includes Russell on why he chose the UK over America, how it felt to be told he wouldn't succeed whilst succeeding, and the suggestion other comics always make to him... and why he ignores it. Join up at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders

Find Russell's comedy album, consisting of three different hours recorded in Edinburgh 2016 at www.russellhicks.co.uk

See my show Primer at this year's Edinburgh Fringe

@ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Alex Edelman, Alternative Comedy, Audience Participation, Audiences, Awards, Bill Hicks, Bob Slayer, Comedy Store, Daniel Kitson, Dave Chappelle, Edinburgh, Festival, Fringe, Interview, Jobs, John Gordillo, Johnny Vegas, Lenny Bruce, London, Marc Maron, Maria Bamford, Mental Health, Money, Netflix, Onstage Persona, Persona, Phil Kay, Reviews, Ross Noble, Russell Hicks, Stage Persona, Structure, Success, USA, Viral, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage, YouTube

In the hands of a lesser comic, Ahir Shah's ambitions towards political discourse might seem lofty, but this agile act has the punchlines to back them up. 

We explore how he sees one-liners as ".zip" files, using punchy gags into which he's compressed huge ideas, and learn how he attempts to safeguard his precarious mental health, particularly with regard to the loneliness of the job.

20 mins of extra content available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club includes Ahir on his survival tips for small scale touring, the strategy behind his switch from the free to the paid fringe this year, and the thought he'll keep in mind when appearing shortly on "Have I Got News For You".
Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders to access the private podcast with all extra content plus "Comedy Critique", in which the Insiders collaborate on feedback to newer comics!

Tickets and details of Ahir's Fringe show
ahirshah.com | @AhirShah

See my show Primer at this year's Edinburgh Fringe
@ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

www.theirworld.org | www.educationcannotwait.org

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Ahir Shah, Audiences, BBC, College, Competitions, Edinburgh, Emo Phillips, Festival, First Open Spot, Free Fringe, Fringe, Have I Got News For You, Interview, London, Mental Health, Nish Kumar, Observational Comedy, Onstage Persona, Panel Shows, political, Radio, Reviews, Risk, Stage Persona, Stereotypes, Structure, Success, TV, Writing Jokes

Beloved of her fans, and radiating a genuine adoration for people, Bec Hill fizzes with comic creativity. We talk about how she lost and refound her sense of play, and explore the relationship between her faith, her self-critical voice and her work. We also cover the difference between a nerd, a geek and a dork; and talk fringe shows, flipcharts and whether she peaked at Piaf...

Extra material exclusively available to members of the Insiders Club includes:

• Her biggest challenge with social media and the surprising reason she no longer posts jokes
• How Bec dealt with a new act reproducing a very specific aspect of her style and what she fears from big business
• Bec and Stu share some more private stuff about what success means to us both.

And come and see me at the Ed Fringe
@ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

This episode was recorded at The Cheese Comedy Club, Bristol

www.facebook.com/thecheesecomedyclub/ | cheesecomedy.club | @cheese_comedy

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Acting, Actor, Adelaide, Audiences, Australia, Awards, Bec Hill, Eddie Izzard, Edinburgh, Ego, Equality, Fear, Festival, Festival Comedian, Fringe, Gaming, Gender, Glee Club, Hannah Gadsby, Improv, Interview, Jobs, Josie Long, Mental Health, Onstage Persona, Persona, Plagiarism, Reviews, School, Stage Persona, Storytelling, Structure, Success, Twitter, Viral, Whimsy, Writing Jokes, YouTube

Star of "The Thick Of It" and "In The Loop", and award-winning director of "Veep", comedian Chris Addison is the director of new feature film "The Hustle", starring Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway. We talk about his apprenticeship under Armando Iannucci, how he handles the very first day on set, and the difference between a perfect version and a useful vision...

Extra material available exclusively to the Insiders Club includes Chris on the surprising secret weapon that made Veep a success, what technical department was so important to The Thick Of It, and why he never reads reviews... Sign up today at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders

mrchrisaddison.tumblr.com | @mrchrisaddison | The Hustle

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

Get tickets to my new tour dates at www.comedianscomedian.com/tour or on any of the following venues below:

17/04/2019 Oxford Old Fire Station

19/04/2019 Bromsgrove – The Artix

27/04/2019 Plymouth Barbican

9-11/05/2019 Soho Theatre, London

05/10/19 Edinburgh Stand (early show – 5pm)

11/10/19 Northampton Royal and Derngate

25/10/19 Teignmouth Pavillions

26/10/19 Swindon Arts Centre

04/11/19 Nottingham Glee Club

05/11/19 Birmingham Glee Club

08/11/19 Bristol - The Comedy Box at the Hen and Chicken

04/12/19 Aldershot - The West End Centre

25/01/20 Corsham - The Pound Arts Centre

01/02/20 Newcastle Stand (early show - 5pm)

02/02/20 Glasgow - The Stand

07/02/20 Farnham Maltings

28/02/20 Cambridge Junction

@comcompod | www.comedianscomedian.com

Charity Gig Shout-out!

On Monday 13th May, help support women, children, mothers and babies in the world’s poorest communities. Tickets for this gala line-up featuring loads of past ComCom guests and more besides can be got at the Leicester Square Theatre website or www.womenandchildrenfirst.org.uk/comedy

Comics new and old!

Check out www.comedy.co.uk/pro to see everything British Comedy Guide has to offer you and your career: curate your online profile on the most-visited website about UK comedy; get involved at the opportunities hub; and access exclusive articles about performing, writing and producing!

Don't forget to use the code COMCOM to get £5 off your membership.

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Acting, Actor, Armando Iannucci, Audiences, Chris Addison, Compere/MC/Hosting, Daniel Kitson, Dara O'Briain, Dave Gorman, Edinburgh, Festival, Fringe, Interview, John Cleese, Live At The Apollo, Onstage Persona, Perrier Comedy Award, Persona, Radio, Radio 4, Reviews, Seinfeld, Stage Persona, Success, The Hustle, The Thick of It, Tiffany Stevenson, TV, TV Comedy, USA, VEEP, Whimsy

In a double first for the podcast we speak not only across a transatlantic internet connection but also to our first critic! But Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw is unlike any other; a fast-talking and acerbic eviscerator of computer games, his hilarious "Zero Punctuation" reviews regularly attract downloads in the millions, while his sci-fi and fantasy novels have garnered critical acclaim. We discuss world-building, why games lend themselves to horror more than comedy, and cover investment, anxiety and shouting rude words. 

Extras: Yahtzee explores his comedy influences, his one attempt at standup and explains the iterative process behind his videos. Sign up now at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders 

@YahtzeeCroshaw | Youtube | Zero Punctuation | Yahtzee's Blog

Get tickets to my new tour dates at www.comedianscomedian.com/tour or on any of the following venues below:

13/03/2019 Salisbury Art Centre

20/03/2019 Cheltenham Playhouse

29/03/2019 Crawley -The Hawth

05/04/2019 Reading – South Street Arts

12/04/2019 Leamington Spa - Royal Spa Centre

17/04/2019 Oxford Old Fire Station

19/04/2019 Bromsgrove – The Artix

27/04/2019 Plymouth Barbican

9-11/05/2019 Soho Theatre, London

05/10/19 Edinburgh Stand (early show – 5pm)

11/10/19 Northampton Royal and Derngate

25/10/19 Teignmouth Pavillions

26/10/19 Swindon Arts Centre

04/11/19 Nottingham Glee Club

05/11/19 Birmingham Glee Club

08/11/19 Bristol - The Comedy Box at the Hen and Chicken

04/12/19 Aldershot - The West End Centre

25/01/20 Corsham - The Pound Arts Centre

01/02/20 Newcastle Stand (early show - 5pm)

02/02/20 Glasgow - The Stand

07/02/20 Farnham Maltings

28/02/20 Cambridge Junction

@comcompod | www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Audiences, Character, Character Comedy, Charlie Brooker, Eddie Izzard, Ego, Fame, First Open Spot, Gaming, Horror, Interview, Isolation, Jobs, Mental Health, Mogworld, Monty Python, Open Mic, Persona, Podcasting, Problems, Reviews, Risk, Stage Persona, Stereotypes, Success, Writing Jokes, YouTube, Zero Punctuation