The Comedian's Comedian Podcast

In the second part of this conversation, we look in detail at John's principles for directing standup. Not so much a list of rules as a whole approach to helping a comic achieve their own goals, and not those of the director... Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much more by joining the Insiders Club at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders Get tickets for Stu Goldsmith's&nbs...

Director or script-editor of over sixty other acts including Michael McIntyre, Eddie Izzard and Reginald D Hunter, John Gordillo is a superb comedian in his own right. The antithesis of a one-liner act, we discuss his dedication to “following the idea”, and seeking out comedy that is truly situational rather than going for the gags. Just don't call him “The Professor”... Get ad-free new episodes,...

The second half of this conversation with the warrior poet/comic/divvy focuses on Tim's relationship with comedians Alex Horne and Mark Watson, and how his position as their respective foils gave him the freedom to experiment... Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much more by joining the Insiders Club at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders @ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian...

A lager-sodden "not deliberately bad" poet, Tim Key is responsible for some of the most startlingly theatrical fringe comedy of the last ten years. From his outrageous origin as a college-troupe cuckoo, to his frustrations at the culling of his sketch group "Cowards"; through fringe stardom to his big screen success alongside Alan Partridge, we trace Tim's emergence as one of the most compelling v...

A smart cookie based in New York, Liz Miele combines punchline density with social media acumen. She runs, she dates, she cries, she talks about it all. But is she actually as "Emotionally Exhausting" as her show suggests? Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much more by joining the Insiders Club at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders @ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com H...

Brendon Burns returns to the show, live at Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival, to clear up some matters of condescension, technique and the petulance of his youth. In addition to discussing his new internet-based strategy, tour and podcast, we also analyse the routine he's most proud of, and how he grew it over the course of years... Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much m...

Lou Sanders is off the rails. Her deliciously shameless stage persona is backed up by punchy writing, peppered with surreal flavours. From gurus to glitter, we discuss the technique behind her tackle... Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much more by joining the Insiders Club at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders @ComComPod | www.comedianscomedian.com Hosted on Acast. See...

Occult comedian Andrew O'Neill describes jokes as "spells to make people laugh". We talk about the differences between magick and faith, getting information about the world through standup, nailing your really weird colours to the mast, and trying to be your own favourite comedian... Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much more by joining the Insiders Club at www.comedians...

Cult-runaway Harley Breen is a man mountain with a barnstorming club and festival act. Underneath his loudmouth lumbersexual persona is a deeply principled single father with a reflective nature and a fascinating story to tell... Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much more by joining the Insiders Club at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders @ComComPod | www.comedianscomedia...

South Africa-born Urzila Carlson is now one of New Zealand's favourite acts, winning “Best Female Comic” there an astonishing five years running. Irrepressibly cheerful, she combines her natural talent with an innate empathy for her audience, and sheer hard work. We talk about respecting one's crowd, structuring an hour, and why Stu can't make her cry... Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content fro...

A wilfully preposterous boozehound in a pashmina, Thom Tuck is a superbly theatrical stand-up, one third of fringe-conquering sketch outfit The Penny Dreadfuls, and co-ringmaster of The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society. We delve into the challenges of developing a festival-friendly solo act for the live circuit, and discuss whether his commitment to character is ever a cage. He also reveals a s...

Star of the brain-smashingly surreal sketch show "Anna and Katy", and Daisy in "Not Going Out", Katy Wix is an actress with an exceptional comic mind. We talk about the roots of creativity, the fear of daydreaming, and her new book, "The Oberon Book Of Comic Monologues For Women". Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much more by joining the Insiders Club at www.comedianscom...

Alfie Brown is variously known as the future of British comedy, the enfant terrible of the comedy circuit, and/or a jumped-up posh kid rebelling against anything that'll have him. Frustratingly, he's almost certainly the former, as he refines his act to include less maddening naivety and more genuinely breath-taking comic verve. Can he convince you he's not just some West London it-boy wanker? I t...

Live from the Phoenix in Oxford Circus, Stuart, Carl and Chris get gently inebriated while hosting a saucy three-way mash-up of their respective podcasts! Happy Christmas one and all! To donate to MIND mental health charity: Text SUPPORT to 70660 to give £3 Text GIVE to 82772 to give £5 and visit www.carlandchrispodcast.com for more from those two divs. Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from...

Mickey "D" Dwyer is an outrageously charismatic comic, with an almost mutant ability to win over the toughest room, from the UK to his native Australia and back. Retaining the dynamism, skills and stories from his previous life as a hardcore festival headcase, he's now a clean-living, marathon-running family man - but does he ever miss the bad old days? Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from...

Fiercely intelligent political and socio-political comic, friend of the show and self-confessed “great laugh”, Nish Kumar is at the height of his powers. We discuss the self and the presentational self, his family, tremendous ego and the unquenchable analytical thirst that powers his comedy and his life. But is he really only able to face his problems in front of strangers? Get ad-free new episode...

It's episode 100 of the podcast and Stu's been saving this one up! If you've donated in the last few months you'll have heard this one as a sneaky pre-release but here it is for the rest of us... Phil Kay is a force of nature. Not a metaphorical one; an actual force of nature. “The guy that speaks really fast until it goes wrong” waxes sagacious about staying in the bit that works, no longer being...

Luisa Omielan has established herself as a comic force to be reckoned with, by-passing the usual club/progression route, and cultivating an audience all her own. We explore the dynamic between her excellent stand-up and the theatrical elements that lift it to another level, and she talks candidly about her relationships with her family, and with the circuit that she'd still love to feel more a par...

In part two of this conversation with the free-wheeling comedy craftsman, Ross Noble argues that ideas with unusual logic are often mistaken for "surreal" comedy, and explains his process of un-honing ideas by starting with something neat and then taking it to bits live on stage...Mock The Week, Writing Jokes, Live At The Apollo, Tour, Exclusive, Australia, Improv, Russell Brand, Bill Bailey, Boot...

Ross Noble makes apparently casual improvisation into an art form, breathing life into nonsense for hours at a time and provoking gales of laughter. In the first part of this conversation we talk about how he cultivated his devoted live following, how hard it is to define what's basically him "dicking about", and the benefits of making TV warm-up work for you...Mock The Week, Writing Jokes, Live A...

Prince Abdi is a sublimely daft story-teller, whose material spills out of a life where he can't help saying "yes". We talk about his upbringing and his reluctant involvement in a gang, and he reveals how his experiences in ITV reality show "Show Me The Funny" temporarily set back his career... Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much more by joining the Insiders Club at ww...

David Cross asked me to distribute this never-before-heard deleted track from his 2014 album "It's Not Funny", featuring H. Jon Benjamin as the voice of God. The track was intended as the finale of the album but never included, as he explains in Episode 96 of "The Comedian's Comedian Podcast" - available at www.comedianscomedian.com Purchase the original album at itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/david-c...

In the second part of our conversation, standup and comic actor David Cross explores offence, outrage and sensitivity. We also talk about his work on Arrested Development and Mr Show, and dig into his process, his struggle to write jokes, and how to regard an audience as a living breathing thing... Get ad-free new episodes, bonus content from interviews and much more by joining the Insiders Club a...

The star of "Arrested Development", "Mr Show" and "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret", David Cross is also a phenomenal stand-up, whose work howls at the stupidity and hypocrisy around him. In part one of this interview he talks about his earliest material and how he overcame the fear of bombing onstage, and speaks very frankly about the cycle of anger and depression that could grip...

Bloody lovely Trygve is a superb physical improviser, and more of a "weird lanky white brittle idiot" than a clown. We dissect the hilarious savagery of his imaginary worlds, and talk about stealing ideas from yourself, spotting your habits, and why it's good to go and see bad shows...Dr Brown, Phil Burgers, Kraken, Squidboy, Barry Awards, Golden Gibbo Awards, FRED Awards, SOMPBDILSPIWCL, Le Flop,...