The trailblazing actor and comedian on asserting her bisexuality in the 80s, misogynistic male comics " and befriending Madonna During nearly five decades in showbiz, Sandra Bernhard has rac…
Tired of racism on the comedy scene, Jenan Younis started her own night Weapons of Mass Hilarity " where gags about body hair and Farsi abound Every comedian expects rejection when they're s…
She sometimes said she'd rather be a hairdresser but Aherne's cheeky early appearances in the pubs and clubs of Manchester led her to TV fame In the early 90s, Manchester's cultural revoluti…
Joyce Grenfell inspired her, she wrote her own musical at school and a fringe theatre show with Julie Walters paved the way to TV fame. As Victoria Wood's Talent returns, we revisit her earl…
The format should give comic talents a time to shine. So why don't our flagship shows reflect the diversity of comedy in 2021? Panel shows have been a pillar of British comedy for decades. T…
The popularity of internet comics has ballooned in the past year, and talent agents are taking notice. But will viral lols translate to a long-term career? Whether it is Munya Chawawa as the…
Our series exploring the stage origins of hit comedies continues with the cult hospital horror show that scared up audiences to become a fringe sensation Garth Marenghi, serious horror write…
Live comedy's lack of regulation has enabled sexist and predatory behaviour but a group of female standups have ambitious plans to overhaul the industry Irish comedian Ruth Hunter started st…
In the first of a series exploring the stage origins of hit comedies, the actor remembers creating the delusional letting agent at Bristol University "For a lot of series one, I don't like S…
There has been a huge comedy boom on the gaming platform, enabling acts such as Bilal Zafar to gain creative control and reach new audiences A Bonjela-addicted football manager berates his p…
Carmen Ali and Siân Docksey are among the comedians who riff on their experiences as strippers. The pandemic has revealed both industries to be precarious " but they're looking out for ea…
The world of standup has been rocked by allegations of sexual harassment and assault " and finally some men in the industry are vowing to tackle it When US comedian Kelly Bachman found herse…
In the UK's most southwesterly county a burgeoning standup scene thrives everywhere from remote village halls and old bakeries to the cliffside Minack theatre A cliff edge, an old bakery or…
Pun fights in boxing rings, nine-year-old standups and a 19-day joke-a-thon … anything goes in vibrant, diverse Leicester, finds our writer as she continues her comedy tour It is the home …
For years, sexual predators have infested the live comedy scene. But female comedians are demanding action. Is this British standup's #MeToo moment? 'If this was a normal office where, on yo…
Comedians' old YouTube skits are enjoying a revival in lockdown. And now standups are returning to online video " to push its possibilities even further At a house party in the north-east of…
It's the only place in the world where jokes about local councillors work. But is Belfast's sharp-tongued comedy circuit becoming less hostile to outsiders? Patrick Kielty's first Belfast st…
How do you make audiences laugh in a town that hates show-offs and loves to hassle performers? Our writer gets some hot tips as she continues her comedy tour In 2005, you could fit the whole…
From care work to shelf-stacking, many standups have taken up jobs to survive lockdown " highlighting how privilege has created a two-tier system in comedy On 16 March, when Boris Johnson ad…
Wit and four-letter artistry have made Glasgow a comedy stronghold " and with the clubs shut, the laughs are going online Glaswegian comedians haven't always been complimentary about their h…
The Mash Report has always turned tough topics into comedy. As it returns in lockdown, host Nish Kumar and standups Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Tom Mayhew talk about satire's role in a crisis …
Amateur nights, 'chaos energy' and jokes about yeast … Our writer continues her UK comedy tour and discovers Mancunians' appetite for the alternative It's Manchester's first ever Grubby Co…
We're brutal, awkward, daft and surreal, say the rising stars of Tyneside's booming comedy scene. Our writer braces herself for a gag-heavy night on the toon Anyone who's had a night out in …
When her trainer called muscly women 'unfeminine', the standup turned her outrage into a hilarious show full of sweat, barbells, chalk and childbirth Jessica Fostekew felt nervous yesterday,…
Larry David took the role of "Larry David" onscreen. But how close are such characters to real life? Three comics starring as versions of themselves reveal where they draw the line Fans of t…