I had an email yesterday from comedian Tiernan Douieb, telling me about the glittering line-up of the forthcoming Phoenix Fringe. The three-day laugh-in from February 20 includes the likes of Russell... more
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A few years ago I went to see one of Derren Brown’s spectacular shows in the West End. At one point during the show Brown told the mesmerised audience that if they saw the show a second time they... more
I've seen Tom Ward in three comedy competition finals over the last year – the NATYS, the BBC Radio New Comedy Awards final and most recently the Piccadillly Comedy Club New Comedian of the Year. He... more
After I posted a story yesterday about Stewart Lee standing in for Stuart Maconie on BBC6’s Freak Zone, it was pointed out to me that Lee had previously been critical of Maconie in his 2008 show 41st... more
I wouldn’t claim to know every gigging comedian by any means. But when it was announced in the press that Stephen Fry was to marry stand-up comedian Elliott Spencer my ears pricked up. I’d not come... more
Is this a Golden Age of TV Comedy? There may not have been a landmark series such as I’m Alan Partridge or The Office or The Thick of It, but there have been a number of unmissable comedies from old... more
“How many comedy shows do you see every week?” After “do you like Michael McIntyre?” it’s the question I get asked the most when I tell people what I do for a so-called job. Well now I can sort of... more
As comedy goes it could not have been more meta if Stewart Lee had made a cameo appearance. Just when we thought we’d seen the last of him Dapper Laughs released a new video on YouTube on Christmas... more
I had a man in to sort out my central heating earlier this week and inevitably the subject turned to comedy. I asked him who his favourite was. “The little fella” he said. After a bit of guesswork it... more
I turned on the radio yesterday afternoon and heard a comedian telling people not to go to his gig. It was James Acaster on Radio 5 and while he was there ostensibly to plug his extended Soho Theatre... more
