Does anyone I know fancy coming with me to see the Rabbit Hole with Iain Lee and Katherine Boyle in Glasgow this Saturday? I unexpectedly have a spare ticket.
Archive — Comedy
On my podcast playlists right now
I have listened to podcasts on an almost daily basis for well over 10 years now. Here is a selection of my current podcast recommendations. Read full article
2 commentsReview: Jim Tavaré: From Deadpan to Bedpan
Last year Jim Tavaré almost died in a road accident. So he is back at the Fringe to tell the story — and seemingly to help make himself better. Read full article
CommentWhat happened with the missing episode of Blue Jam?
The Chris Morris sketch that was faded out by an engineer before it ended went down into legend. But why did it happen? None of the explanations stack up to me. Read full article
CommentNote — 2018-03-08
‘Fame proved toxic for the relationship’: when comedy double acts go sour
‘Fame proved toxic for the relationship’: when comedy double acts go sour
David Baddiel, Andy Zaltzman, Richard Herring and other comics on fame, failure and friendship.
What happens to the members of a comedy double act who have gone through a ‘divorce’? This article focuses mainly on the comedians whose partner has gone on to have greater success.
A fascinating topic, also often regularly mentioned on Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast.
And is it just me, or are most of these less successful comedians actually funnier than their more-famous counterparts?
Note — 2018-01-15
There may be no real science behind the concept of Blue Monday. But there is definitely something strange about mornings in January.
I always go back to work as soon as possible after the new year. On my morning walk to work, the streets are dark unlike any other time of year, and eerily quiet.
It’s now a new year tradition of mine to spend my first morning walk of each week listening to Blue Jam. Chris Morris’s peerless radio programme of the late 1990s mixed dark comedy with downtempo music. It was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in the small hours of the morning, maximising its unsettling vibe.
That vibe seems to suit these weird, dark Mondays in January.
The programmes are available to download via Cook’d and Bomb’d.
Dave Gorman: Goodish bye
Dave Gorman has explained why he has decided to finish making his TV programme, Modern Life is Goodish.
With this TV show, Dave Gorman was churning out several hours of new comedy a year, and immediately burning it by televising it. Most comedians only produce one solid new hour a year, and tour it heavily before it goes anywhere near TV.
Only recently I was wondering how on earth he was achieving it. It seems we now have an answer: not very easily or healthily.
Hats off to Dave Gorman for his monumental achievement. I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next.
Rediscovering the radio work of Chris Morris
20 years on, the work of Chris Morris still feels far more relevant and valuable than any satire of today. Read full article
2 commentsReview: Best of Bug hosted by Adam Buxton
I made the trek through to Edinburgh on a school night for the rare opportunity to see Adam Buxton's Bug show in Scotland. Although I was feeling the effects today, it was well worth it. Read full article
3 comments