Present at the opening night of the London Comedy Store, Nick Revell has been performing satirical, political and absurd standup for four decades. After a ten year break to write for TV, including on topical sitcom "Drop The Dead Donkey", he humbly returned to the open mic circuit to relearn his craft, and shares his unique perspective on how things had changed in that time, on stage, in audiences and in green rooms. We talk about the benefit of sleepless nights, his new narrative shows, and whether after nearly forty years he's finally found his voice... 25mins of extra material available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club include Nick on the excess of the early days of the Store, and some brilliant technical advice on how to absorb an instinct for the shape of a joke...  sign up at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders www.nickrevell.com | @TheNickRevell And go and see Nick's brilliantly titled Fringe show: "Nick Revell: Eurasia’s Most Eligible Psychopaths and Their Lovely Homes" Tickets for my show Primer at this year's Edinburgh Fringe @ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

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Filed Under: Audiences, Channel 4, Comedy, Comedy Store, Dave Allen, Drop The Dead Donkey, Eddie Izzard, Edinburgh, Fame, Festival, Fringe, Greg Davies, Gyles Brandreth, Henning Wehn, Inspiration, Interview, James Acaster, Jay Leno, Jo Brand, Jobs, John Cleese, John Lloyd, Lenny Bruce, Mental Health, Monty Python, Nick Revell, Open Mic, Pappy’s, Patton Oswalt, Perrier, Persona, Peter Cook, political, Radio, Radio 4, Richard Pryor, Risk, Robin Ince, Sketch, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Stereotypes, Stewart Lee, Storytelling, Structure, Success, The Comedy Store, The House of Spirit Levels, Tony Allen, Tony Hancock, TV, TV Comedy, Twitter, We Are Klang, Whimsy, Worth, Writing, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage

Almost certainly the comedian with the most online content in the world, Paul Smith has uploaded over 1000 short clips of his crowdwork at Liverpool's Hot Water Comedy Club, and caught a wave of success he could never have imagined. We talk about the moment he nearly lost control of his 8000-strong hometown arena show, why he doesn't want or need TV exposure, and how he feels about the prospect of being credited as the originator of certain stock material and structures...

30 mins of extras available by joining the Insiders Club at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders including Paul's advice for comics aiming to follow in his footsteps, his very early TV work in a standup competition, and how he manages to retain his resistance to pressure.

Paul's Youtube clips | @paulisthejoker | Paul's upcoming Hot Water gigs

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

@ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Audiences, Awards, Comedy, Compere, Compere/MC/Hosting, Competitions, Dan Nightingale, Daniel Kitson, Heckles, Hot Water, Improv, Interview, Jobs, Liverpool, Mainstream, Markus Birdman, Onstage Persona, Open Spot, Persona, Risk, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Stereotypes, Storytelling, Structure, Success, TV, Twitter, Viral, Worth, Writing, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage, XS Malarkey, YouTube

A multi-media artist, fascinated with language, rhythm, and combining jokes with drawing, Markus Birdman also isn't above a dick joke. Aiming for “high octane and no gaps”, with routines composed like a drum solo, we uncover his volatile relationship with his father and his father's God, the stroke that he almost mistook for a hangover, and wanting to be angry as a means of self-definition.

30 mins of extras from this episode are available at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders, including Markus on survivor's guilt, the shot at the top that he might have missed, whether you can fake greatness in comedy, and a short sharp strategy for overcoming writer's block...

www.markusbirdman.co.uk | @birdmanwatching
Tickets for Markus' Ed Fringe show Last White Christmas

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

@ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Age, Alcohol, Alternative Comedy, Alun Cochrane, Art, Audience Participation, Audiences, Awards, Comedy, Compere/MC/Hosting, Dark Humour, Drinking, Edinburgh, Festival, Festival Comedian, First Open Spot, Fringe, Inspiration, Interview, James Acaster, Lee Evans, Markus Birdman, Mental Health, Money, Music, Onstage Persona, Paul Sinha, Persona, Simon Munnery, So You Think You’re Funny, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Stereotypes, Stewart Lee, Storytelling, Structure, Success, Tom Gleeson, Twitter, Worth, Writing, 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, 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, Stand Up, Structure, Success, USA, Viral, Worth, Writing, 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, Comedy, 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, Stand Up, Stereotypes, Structure, Success, TV, Worth, Writing, Writing Jokes

Six years after his first appearance, Josh returns for a textbook ComCom conversation about his creative development since then! We get even further into the minutiae of his writing and structuring process and what makes a perfect observation, plus some spicy celebrity gossip about Taskmaster and the secret of his rebooking success on the Graham Norton Show!

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

Find tickets to Josh's new tour here.

www.joshwiddicombe.com | @joshwiddicombe

See my show Primer at this year's Edinburgh Fringe

@ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: #Hypothetical, Acting, Adam Hills, Alex Horne, Audiences, BBC, Channel 4, Comedy, Corporate Gigs, Corporate Work, Dave (TV channel), Ed Gamble, Edinburgh, Fame, Festival, First Open Spot, Frank Skinner, Fringe, Graham Norton, Greg Davies, Hypothetical, Interview, James Acaster, Jimmy Carr, Jobs, Josh Widdicombe, Live, Live At The Apollo, Mainstream, Money, Netflix, Nish Kumar, Observational Comedy, Onstage Persona, Persona, Podcasting, Quickly Kevin will he score?, Radio, Rob Beckett, Seann Walsh, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Steve Martin, Stewart Lee, Structure, Success, Taskmaster, TV, TV Comedy, Twitter, Widdicombe, Worth, Writing, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage

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

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Filed Under: Acting, Actor, Adelaide, Audiences, Australia, Awards, Bec Hill, Comedy, 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, Stand Up, Storytelling, Structure, Success, Twitter, Viral, Whimsy, Writing, Writing Jokes, YouTube

A ray of hairy sunshine, Matt Braunger is one of those acts who pummels an audience with a constantly switching array of styles and techniques. Likened by Marc Maron to "a puppy who won't let go", he writes entirely on stage and chases universal emotion. We talk about happiness, faith, the importance of a point of view, shooting a sitcom in branches of IKEA, and tattooing a face on a scrotum. 

www.mattbraunger.com | @Braunger

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

See Stu at Machfest
And at Soho Theatre between 9th-11th May

@ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Acting, Audiences, Comedy, Fame, First Open Spot, Improv, Interview, James Adomian, Kyle Kinane, Live, Marc Maron, Maria Bamford, Matt Braunger, Onstage Persona, Patton Oswalt, Persona, Stage Persona, Stand Up, Storytelling, Structure, Success, SXSW, Todd Barry, TV, TV Comedy, USA, Worth, Writing, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage