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…

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much much more.

Connect with Paul here:

@PaulSinha

www.paulsinha.com

Everything Stu's up to:

"Child Labour" parenting podcast with Stuart Goldsmith & Sindhu Vee

www.childlabourpod.com

Mondays 9pm BST - "The Infinite Sofa" chat show

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.

www.infinitesofa.com

Tuesdays 8pm BST - "Chops" Online comedy club

www.chopscomedy.com

www.twitch.tv/stugoldsmith

Wednesdays 8pm BST - "ThinkTank"

A new even-more-experimental exercise in creativity, community, and throwing together a virtual bank heist under pressure.

New ideas and new jeopardy every week!

www.twitch.tv/stugoldsmith

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Art, Audiences, Awards, Chris Barrie, comcompod, Coping, Corporate Gigs, COVID-19, Criticism, Daily Mail, Dave (TV channel), Edinburgh, Fame, Fringe, Interview, Jobs, Kate Copstick, Lee Mack, London, Mental Health, Nish Kumar, Onstage Persona, Paul Sinha, Persona, political, Political Comedy, Radio 4, Reviews, Romesh Ranganathan, Sexuality, Shappi Khorsandi, Stage Persona, Stephen K Amos, Stereotypes, Storytelling, Structure, Success, The Chase, Tim Vine, TV, TV Comedy, Twitter, Vikki Stone, Would I Lie To You?, Writing Jokes

“Hello babies, welcome to Gary Gulman…”  A comedian’s comedian in the truest sense, we discuss the making of Gary’s stand-up special/documentary “The Great Depresh”, charting a mental health journey via electroconvulsive therapy and medical ketamine, through recovery to genuine brilliance.  We learn the origin of the world’s most humble opening joke and why we should crowds credit for their vocabulary; and also cover the writing tip that’s visible if you freeze-frame a single shot of the movie, and his love of Kurt Vonnegut.

45 minutes of exquisite extra content, available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club, includes Gary on his extensive writing tips for comics and why it’s impossible to use up creativity, and some behind the scenes secrets on his experiences doing spots on Conan.

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for this and much much more!

Connect with Gary here:

www.garygulman.com

@garygulman

Stu's current endeavours:

Released every Monday

"Child Labour" parenting podcast with Stuart Goldsmith & Sindhu Vee

www.childlabourpod.com

Mondays 9pm BST - "The Infinite Sofa" chat show

Top celebrity talent (former 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.

www.infinitesofa.com

Tuesdays 8pm BST - "Chops" Online comedy club

Headline acts with new material plus the cream of emerging comics, all with a live audience in the "room"

www.chopscomedy.com

www.twitch.tv/stugoldsmith

Wednesdays 8pm BST - "ThinkTank"

A new even-more-experimental exercise in creativity, community, and throwing together a virtual bank heist under pressure.

New ideas and new jeopardy every week!

www.twitch.tv/stugoldsmith

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Alex Edelman, Audiences, Brain Regan, comcompod, Conan, Crashing, HBO, Interview, John Mulaney, Joker, Letterman, Maria Bamford, Mental Health, Stage Persona, Success, The Tonight Show, TV, TV Comedy, Twitch, USA, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage, YouTube

Catherine Cohen took home “Best Newcomer” at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, with a jaw-dropping show bursting with wit, originality and layer upon layer of irony.  Her angle of attack, mocking the audience for being so pathetically in love with her, allows her to take huge risks on stage, in a character that was grown through vast quantities of just the right sort of stage time.

We talk about why she loves the occasional “stone-faced” audience-member, about playing to win and succeeding, surviving burn-out, and why she can’t stop “freaking out about absolutely everything”…

Join the Insiders Club now at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for all this and much much more.

Catch up with Catherine Cohen:

http://www.catherine-cohen.com

TW: @catcohen | IG: @catccohen

TW: @ComComPod | IG: @ComComPod

As per the post-amble, consider giving these comics a follow on Twitter:

@DaneBaptweets

@ninia_benjamin

@funmbi

@ginayashere

@destheray

@jamalimaddix

@olathecomedian

@AhirShah

@paulsinha

@MrNishKumar

@tezilyas

@dalisochaponda

@athenakugblenu

STU GOLDSMITH’S INFINITE SOFA

Every Monday and Thursday night at the new later time of 9pm, Stu Goldsmith’s Infinite Sofa brings you the warmest and most atmospheric cure for the social-isolation blues!

Forthcoming guests include Rhod Gilbert, Sara Barron, Iain Stirling, Flo and Joan, and Luisa Omelian, who with 12 members of the public join Stu for an hour and a half of brilliant comedy, music and variety with interactive games and big laughs. 

Find out more at www.infinitesofa.com

CHOPS COMEDY

Every Tuesday at 8pm come and watch your favourite comics riding their sea-legs in the new world of online stand-up, with a warm and a generous studio audience, at Chops Comedy!  Forthcoming headliners include Josie Long, Sarah Millican, Jarred Christmas, Rob Kemp, Russell Hicks and Lost Voice Guy

www.chopscomedy.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Audiences, Awards, comcompod, Compere/MC/Hosting, Coping, Corona, COVID-19, Drama School, Edinburgh, Equality, Festival, Fringe, Gender, Interview, Isolation, Mental Health, Musical Comedy, New York, Persona, Podcasting, Reviews, Risk, Stage Persona, Structure, Success, TV Comedy, Twitter, USA, Whimsy, Writing On Stage, YouTube

At last! Brett Goldstein (movie star, comedian, writer, super-fan of ComCom and perpetual invite-swerver) drops by for a “NonComPod” that won’t expose at all how crackers he is. Sadly Stu can’t help himself and it all goes a bit “Are You Happy?” A brilliant conversation with a kind, funny, deeply handsome man, who lets us into his mind to discuss humility, boredom and workaholism - and why the comedy community is like an AIDS quilt...

25 mins of extra content available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club include the backstage view of Brett’s “Films To be Buried With” podcast, how a run of terrible gigs way back during the Comedy Reserve fringe line-up show became a brutal bootcamp, and a decent chunk of Stu giving Brett unsolicited advice on how to navigate his mental health…

Join the Insiders Club now at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for all this and much much more.

*New episodes are now streamed live at www.twitch.tv/stugoldsmith on 1pm BST every Wednesday, for release the following week*

STU GOLDSMITH’S INFINITE SOFA
Every Monday and Thursday night at the new later time of 9pm, Stu Goldsmith’s Infinite Sofa brings you the warmest and most atmospheric cure for the social-isolation blues!
Forthcoming guests include Nish Kumar, Suzi Ruffell, Anna Mann and Randy Feltface, who with 10 members of the public join Stu for an hour of brilliant comedy, music and variety with interactive games and big laughs.
Find out more at www.infinitesofa.com

CHOPS COMEDY
Every Tuesday at 8pm come and watch your favourite comics riding their sea-legs in the new world of online stand-up, with a warm and a generous studio audience, at Chops Comedy! Forthcoming headliners include Josie Long, Sarah Millican, Jarred Christmas, Rob Kemp, Russell Hicks and Lost Voice Guy.
www.chopscomedy.com

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Acting, Actor, Audiences, Benny Boot, comcompod, Competitions, Coping, Corona, Depression, Derek, Directing, Edinburgh, Fame, Fear, Films To Be Buried With, First Open Spot, Fringe, Inspiration, Interview, Isolation, Jack Whitehall, Jobs, Josie Long, London, Lone Island, Mental Health, Nick Helm, NonComPod, Onstage Persona, Persona, Pleasance, Podcasting, School, Storytelling, Structure, Success, SuperBob, TV, TV Comedy, Twitch, Twitter, Uncle, Writing Jokes, YouTube

Shut up and listen to Alonzo Bodden, a towering comic who wields an absolute authority onstage! In the final pre-pandemic recording, we discover Alonzo's struggles to connect with black audiences, find out why alternative comedy doesn’t exist, and learn whether he’d accept a cure for depression if it meant giving up comedy…

30 mins of extra content available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club include Alonzo’s extraordinary “missed break” after he won season three of Last Comic Standing just as cancellation of the show meant the final was never aired, how Terry Crews beat him to the punch in a big movie role, and how to go up next after a superstar… Join the Insiders Club now at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for all this and much much more.

STU GOLDSMITH’S INFINITE SOFA

Every Monday and Thursday night at 8pm, Stu Goldsmith’s Infinite Sofa brings you the warmest and most atmospheric cure for the social-isolation blues!

Forthcoming guests include James Acaster, Romesh Ranganathan and Sarah Millican, who with 10 members of the public join Stu for an hour of brilliant comedy, music and variety with amazing guests, interactive games and big laughs. 

www.infinitesofa.com

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Join Stu Goldsmith for a one-to-one coaching session about your comedy career or personal project.  These aren’t joke-writing sessions, more of a sort of micro-ComCom mentoring experience, to identify how you might be getting in the way of your own creativity and offer some solutions!

“Stu has made me think about writing comedy in a way that I wouldn’t have considered otherwise. His mentorship allowed me to access the deep, vulnerable, and humorous truths that are actually more impactful than the surface stuff I was doing otherwise. Highly recommend.” Jasky Singh

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/lunch and book your one-to-one with Stu now!

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Acting, Age, Alternative Comedy, Audiences, Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, Compere/MC/Hosting, Competitions, COVID-19, Dane Cook, Def Jam, Interview, Patton Oswalt, Stage Persona, Success, Todd Glass, TV Comedy, USA, Writing Jokes

An experiment was performed in which the co-creator of Look Around You, creator and writer of Friday Night Dinner, former commissioning editor for CH4 and expert Timewaster Robert Popper was subjected to an interview.  We talk about FND and why it has become Robert’s best known work, his experience with death threats in the South Park writers room, and how he and Peter Serafinowicz rolled on the floor crying with laughter at “...thants”. Make a note in your copy books now…

30 mins of extra content available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club includes Robert on his one big disagreement with the writers of Peep Show whilst working as series producer, as well as some delicious insight into the world of The Timewaster Letters, and a hilarious toolkit for your own frivolous phonecalls…  Join the Insiders Club now at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders for all this and much much more.

www.robertpopper.com | @robertpopper

STU GOLDSMITH’S INFINITE SOFA
Every Monday and Thursday night at 8pm, Stu Goldsmith’s Infinite Sofa brings you the warmest and most atmospheric cure for the social-isolation blues!
10 members of the public join Stu for an hour of brilliant comedy, music and variety with amazing guests, interactive games and big laughs.  (Previous guests include Sindhu Vee, Desiree Burch, Phil Ellis and Rob Rouse, and a guy called Ian who often climbs into his own wardrobe.)

www.infinitesofa.com

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Join Stu Goldsmith for a one-to-one coaching session about your comedy career or personal project.  These aren’t joke-writing sessions, more of a sort of micro-ComCom mentoring experience, to identify how you might be getting in the way of your own creativity and offer some solutions!
“Thank you so much for what was an incredibly productive, useful and thought provoking working lunch/therapy session” - Ben Milden
“Stu instantly put any nerves I had at bay, we spoke about many aspects of comedy and I found it be really beneficial, if you’re considering trying one of these sessions don’t hesitate! 10/10” - Jon Meehan

Go to www.comedianscomedian.com/lunch and book your one-to-one with Stu now!

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Alan Partridge, Armando Iannucci, Audiences, BBC, Channel 4, Chris Morris, comcompod, Graham Linehan, Inspiration, Interview, Jobs, Look Around You, Peter Serafinowicz, South Park, Success, The Day Today, TV, TV Comedy, Twitter, Whimsy, Writing Jokes

Superb comedian, thrilling storyteller and born survivor Janey Godley not only answers back to her online death-threats, but publishes her whereabouts with an open invitation to "come and have a go". We talk about how she thrived despite abuse, poverty and alcoholism in her upbringing; detail her absolute conviction in the power of honesty; and learn how an early experience at the Edinburgh Fringe led her to reject the comedy industry and focus instead on her audience.

CW: We talk about abuse Janey suffered as a child, at the very start of this show, and throughout.

25 mins of extras available exclusively to members of the Insiders Club include Janey on how her refusal to play along led to her being banned from a chain of comedy clubs; how she approaches publicising criminal connections whilst keeping her own nose clean; the ramifications of her husband’s autism, and the glee she feels at her daughter Ashley Storrie’s success in the comedy world. Join now and support the show at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders

Thanks to the Stand Newcastle

www.janeygodley.com | @janeygodley

Janey Godley’s Soup Pot Tour is on right now - tickets available through her website 

Stuart Goldsmith's Edinburgh Fringe show "The Void" is on sale now at tinyurl.com/stu2020

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Acting, Actor, Age, Alan Davies, Alcohol, Audiences, Awards, BBC, Billy Connolly, Blogging, Bridget Christie, comcompod, Comedy Store, Competitions, Criticism, Edinburgh, Festival, Fringe, Interview, Jerry Sadowitz, Jimmy Carr, Jo Brand, Jobs, Josie Long, Leicester Square Theatre, Malcolm Hardee, Mental Health, Money, Morecambe & Wise, Onstage Persona, Panel Shows, Perrier, Perrier Comedy Award, Persona, Phil Kay, Plagiarism, Rhona Cameron, Risk, Stage Persona, Stereotypes, Storytelling, Structure, Stuart Goldsmith, Success, Tarantino, The Pleasance, The Stand, TV, TV Comedy, Twitter, Underbelly, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage, YouTube

The godfather of British alternative comedy, Alexei Sayle is always at the edge of catastrophe. The star of The Young Ones, Alexei Sayle’s Stuff, The Comic Strip Presents, many more and now his Imaginary Sandwich Bar, gets stuck into why inauthenticity is his bugbear, how to make the most of creative discomfort, the earliest days of the Comedy Store, and the transition from counterculture to national treasure

In 30 mins of extras available only to the Insiders Club, Alexei talks about his real feelings towards Ben Elton, and the current crop of arena comics; how he re-fit his show about political optimism when the wind changed; and identifies a link between standup and martial arts regarding the energy of the audience and his own… Available now only at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders

See Alexei on tour now! Details at www.alexeisayle.me

Thanks to Ellen Frost at Bloomsbury Theatre @bloomstheatre

Stuart Goldsmith's Edinburgh Fringe show "The Void" is onside now at tinyurl.com/stu2020

LISTEN HERE

Filed Under: Acting, Adrian Edmondson, Age, Alexei Sayle, Alternative Comedy, Art, Audiences, Awards, BBC, Ben Elton, Bob Monkhouse, Bottom, College, comcompod, Comedy Store, Compere, Compere/MC/Hosting, Fame, Fern Brady, First Open Spot, Fringe, Interview, Isolation, Jobs, Live At The Apollo, Liverpool, London, Onstage Persona, Persona, Phil Ellis, Podcasting, political, Political Comedy, Political Humour, Problems, Radio, Radio 4, Rik Mayall, Sketch, Stage Persona, Stewart Lee, Structure, Success, The Comedy Store, The Young Ones, TV, TV Comedy, Writing Jokes, Writing On Stage