The Comedian's Comedian Podcast

Seann Walsh is an extraordinary observational comic, with a phenomenal talent for getting to the heart of the funny in the most everyday topics, and enlivening a routine with act-outs. We talk about how his persona changed from open mics to big rooms, and how he strove for authenticity, despite the looming feeling that something was missing from his impressive TV career. Just when this outsider am...

A man on a mission, comedian and academic Dr Matt Winning is an expert on climate change and on making the apocalypse funny. We explore how to make a show educational without being worthy, finding purpose in struggle, and how to survive as a comic when you’re not motivated to quit your day job. We also dig into the maintenance of optimism when your crises are about something a little more mea...

Twins Randy and Jason Sklar blow audiences away with their extraordinarily layered stand-up, weaving their delivery alongside, through and around each other’s voices; sparring, arguing and then dropping into perfect sync on a punchline.   We get stuck into their writing process, the difficulties of working as a team when their family lives don’t sync as easily as their creative lives, th...

A juggernaut of charisma and filth, Ninia Benjamin has a supernatural connection to her audience and a mind like a firework display. We discuss why she won’t ever explain her race or size, only her point of view, and how she moved beyond the onstage anger that used to motivate her.  We also dig deep into her career rebirth after an ‘annus horribilis’ brought about by professional struggl...

A master of "pulling back into the wide angle", Jamali Maddix thrives on big routines about big subjects, letting his innate comic ability run riot. We talk about the pressures of keeping up hit-rate within routines, and get technical about top-lines, and why he wants the premise of a bit to be more intelligent than he is himself. But what happens when you lose sight of your goals i...

The only comic ever to have consecutively won Best Newcomer and Best Show at the Edinburgh Fringe, John Kearns is a master at finding pathos in the prosaic, combining clowning and standup in a way that makes absolutely no sense written down. With influences from Jacques Tati to Neil Hamburger, we explore his sense of place within himself, overreaching in his writing, and ambition in his...

A semi-forensic vivisection of my Conan appearance and LA junket; a small reward for those of you inclined to learn more about the experience... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Returning to stand-up this month with a run at Soho Theatre, after many years working on other projects including his sitcom Plebs, Tom Basden is inventive and prolific, also handsome. We talk about the parallels between the superb musical comedy that won him Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh fringe and his new stand-up, discover Tom's English middle-class-ness and why he's very suited to t...

In this Christmas Special, we speak to the actual Santa Claus, via his little helper and confidant, consummate clown Herbie Treehead. Herbie is a phenomenal street-performer, known around the world for his joyful daftness, silly songs and funny bones. We talk about what his first Santa season means to him, and discover an enormously rich and respectful seam of kindness and good cheer. We...

Flo and Joan are a uniquely funny musical duo, with deadpan front-cloth patter rooted in their actual siblinghood. We talk about going from open mics to a special on Amazon Prime in just four years, get the inside story on their recent gig at the Royal Variety Performance, and learn why going viral makes you turn your phone off. We also discover what they learnt from the Canadian improv...

Star of his own sitcom "Jerk" (BBC) and a gleefully discomforting stand-up, Tim Renkow makes his point with devastating wit. We talk about how people's exploitation of Tim's physical vulnerability has shaped his outlook and work, learn how his dispassion towards his audience's reaction makes him a stronger comic, and find out why he would rather be alone in a wood with a shotgu...

"America's Funnyman" Neil Hamburger is the disturbing comic creation of Gregg Turkington; deeply funny, vile and poignant in equal measure. Ordinarily reluctant to talk about his alter-ego, Gregg gradually uncovers his love for outsider art, and the qualities he considers genius. We learn about the origins of Neil in prank phone calls and fake live shows, the comedy he can't stand and why, and the...

Inspirational, irascible and as talented an improvisor as you could invent, Matt Besser is the kind of stand-up who can skilfully weave a set live on TV. He is also constantly referred to as a co-founder of the enormously significant Upright Citizens Brigade, which arguably serves him right for co-founding it. We take a deep dive into the genesis of the Chicago improv scene, le...

Combining all the best elements of a DIY approach to touring, a powerhouse comic ability, and some ridiculous positivity of mind, Carl Hutchinson is on the up. We talk about relatability, rooting your material in your own embarrassment and some nifty tricks to conceal your observations as something else. We also get stuck into some of the notable missteps that glance off his robust sense of self,...

YouTube-famous glam-rock showpig Chris Fleming has amassed a legion of fans through his brilliantly funny music videos, such as "I'm Afraid To Talk To Men", "Grad-Student Shuffle" and "Polyamorous". We talk about how he found himself drowning in stand-up, and clawed his way back to shore through developing his live work for the internet. We also discuss proving one isn't "a YouTuber", the "re...

A captivating comic with enormous mass appeal, Jimeoin has built a career across the UK and Australia, dancing lightly through absolute silliness and rock solid punchlines. We talk backstage after his barnstorming Edinburgh show about harnessing daftness, the creative benefits of sitting alone in a dark room and how easy it is to become a monster when you get your own TV show at 24 years...

Multiple international award-winning physical comedy duo The Kagools are an explosion of pure silliness, that don't conform even to the "rules" of contemporary clowning, let alone straight standup. Double-act Nicky Wilkinson and Claire Ford describe their amazingly supportive relationship, and outline the highs and lows of a life under lightweight waterproof material... Sign up for...

Zach Zucker and Viggo Venn and their permanent director and co-creator Jonny Woolley are like a mainline injection of a comedy drug that hasn't been invented yet. This trio has been around the world four times at some disgustingly young age, winning awards and crazed fans, and revelling in mistakes, misadventures and madness. We talk about their first Edinburgh and how they snatched victory f...

Sofie Hagen is a remarkable comedian, who is arguably better known at present for her activism than her excellent work in comedy. We talk about the incredible think-tank of the small Danish circuit where she started out, and the toxicity she discovered therein; her insightful analysis of how "losers win" at the Edinburgh festival; the dual purpose of having gender neutral toilets at her shows...

Sara Barron is a relentlessly honest and desperately funny comic, relating brutal and sometimes filthy truths in a warm and welcoming way. We talk about how her background in the storytelling organisation "The Moth" showcases her innate skill with story structure, and cover starting comedy late, starting comedy twice, and why the audacity to admit your book might suck is a powerful...

An exclusive conversation with the man behind (and underneath) "Randy", a searingly honest, multi-layered and genuinely brilliant standup comedian who happens to be a purple felt puppet. A multiple international award-winner and nominee, Heath has never felt comfortable talking as himself, but finally gave into Stu's overtures at Just For Laughs Montreal. We talk about the gap between truth and fi...

Host of Live at the Apollo, and with her own Netflix special under her belt, not to mention The Mash Report and appearances on QI and Mock The Week, Ellie Taylor is a born comedian who revels in the dynamic between glamour and grotesque. We discuss her unique introduction to comedy via reality show, how her happy life outside of comedy protects her, the weird science of writing and why s...

Rob Auton is a revelation; a comic like no other. His superbly funny and intensely thoughtful shows take a single topic like "Hair", "Time", or "Sleep" and dig for real meaning in those concepts, to hilarious and even profound effect. We talk about his love of thinking, the poetry in a football pass, the collaging skills of Kanye West, and why comedy really does mean the world to him. 30...

Winner of the 2019 "Comedian's Choice" award for Best Show, as voted for by fellow comics, Joz Norris is an imaginative and very funny mainstay of the UK's alternative comedy scene. He talks live at the Monkey Barrel comedy club about his character "Mr Fruit Salad", and how an attempt to fall back in love with comedy and the fringe after a period of exhaustion, resulted in the creation of a f...

Flawless in delivery, bubbling over with jokes, and with something real and compassionate to say, Suzi Ruffell is at the peak of her powers. We talk about: her latest Edinburgh fringe show "Dance Like Everyone's Watching"; making sure that LGBTQ+ people in the audience feel seen; how punishing she found being a new act (and whether she could do it all again); and why she finds happiness terrifying...