In today’s trip down memory lane, the ever effervescent Shaparak Khorsandi leads the way – with a quick stop off at Comedy’s figurative playground – via her own yellow brick road. We dissect second chances, shifting statuses, and how the pursuit of money stunts artistic quality...
Candid, nuanced, and not lacking in poise, Shaparak opens up on the difficult situations to which her early standup inexperience subjected her, and the realisation of how bullying is ultimately rooted in jealousy.
Stu's new comedy special "I Need You Alive" has a worldwide digital premiere on Feb 23rd, see the trailer and find the ticket link at www.stuartgoldsmith.com
Skilfully navigating territory of misogyny and a clash between lad culture and woke lads, Esther Manito’s recent show “#NotAllMen” burst at the seams with relatable material rooted in the clash between her Middle Eastern heritage and her Essex upbringing.
Esther talks here about whether you can be too relatable; having children before comedy and musing on an agent’s misguided warning that no-one wants a ”comedy mum”; and growing up in Essex at the time of the Gulf War, with anti-Arab rhetoric prevalent in her school
15mins of extras available exclusively to the Insiders Club include more from Esther on her generalised anxiety disorder, and the worst gig of her life!
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.
Stu offers remote and in-person talks to business, distilling insights from over 400 comics on cultivating resilience and the ability to bounce back, to all levels from C-suite to team members.
“There’s perfect and there’s perfect; and that was perfect.” David Cooper, Chief People Officer Circle Health Group
One of the first guests on ComCom about 8 years ago, Paul Sinha has had a rollercoaster of a life in the interim. From fringe comedian to celebrity quizzer as “The Sinnerman” on The Chase (ITV), to a memorable appearance on Taskmaster (Dave) which came just as he was diagnosing himself with Parkinson’s disease, we catch up on how his comedy has metamorphosed from political agitation to personal story-telling.
We cover how the mainstream-ification of his audiences changed his comedy; how he lost a friend to Covid-19 but managed to survive a devastating dose himself; what expectations he has of his life from now on; and why he’s a better comedian now than he’s ever been…
30 minutes of extra content, available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club, includes Paul on how he refuses to think about mortality, his new style of joke-writing on Twitter, and the inside story on his performance on Taskmaster…
Top celebrity talent (previous guests include Dara O'Briain, Sarah Millican and Russell Howard) join Stu and 12 members of the public, in an increasingly cult-like live online performance experiment.
As you might expect from the impish British-Iranian comic who wears her heart on her sleeve, this conversation gets pretty deep pretty fast! We talk about shifting status, manufacturing common ground with your crowd and the nature of addiction. We also discover Shappi’s recent enthusiasm for “giving love” to an audience, and what it’s like when the comedy circuit starts to resemble the playground…
Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much more by joining the Insiders Club at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders
In at the beginning of alternative comedy, and now a “venerated lefty” and Columnist Of The Year 2015, punchy pundit Mark Steel has lost none of his passion. We discuss his BBC Radio 4 series which pokes fun at the British on a town-by-town basis, learn about the startling revelations of his personal history, and hear how he rubs shoulders with the enemy, backstage at “Question Time”…
Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much more by joining the Insiders Club at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders