The Comedian's Comedian Podcast

In 1987, Jeff Shaw decided he was going to do comedy for a living. He meant it. With shades of “The Story Of Anvil”, this interview follows a man who has picked himself up and started again over four decades, each time achieving a version of his dream, and surviving the paradigm shifts that have accompanied his every decade in the US comedy industry. With tens of thousands of shows under his belt,...

This episode is a splash of pure sunshine, with the veteran of 1000 full-length improvised musicals in Olivier Award-winning “Showstopper!”, Ruth Bratt. She’s a supernaturally brilliant improviser and a sparkling human being, who is a) ambitiously lazy and b) feeds off the carrion of her own heart. We talk about her work with some of the biggest names in her craft; entering a waking dream state du...

Nearly 12 years since his first appearance way back in episode 6, Adam Bloom joins us to celebrate the publication of his book “Finding Your Comic Genius” - an absolute treasure trove of his original and deeply technical comedy writing techniques. We talk about how his writing for and with huge comedians and celebrities over the years has honed his ability not just to write perfect punchlines, but...

Co-host of The Dollop podcast and a superb comic and improviser, Gareth Reynolds is touring the UK right now! In this gold-standard episode we talk about his improv characterisation, the history of his collaboration with Dave Anthony, and how taking “The Dollop Pill” has gradually changed everything he thought he knew about America. We also get into the “robust mental health triumvirate” of improv...

Nish Kumar is one of the most powerful and provocative voices in British stand-up comedy, and his debut special “Your Power, Your Control” is streaming now on Sky On Demand & Now TV, for those in the UK & Ireland.  He returns to the podcast to talk in depth about the creative process behind the writing of that show, the inciting incident in which a bread roll was thrown at him at a ch...

Most recognised for her role on  Meet the Richardson’s , writer and creator of  To Hull and Back  (BBR4) and co-writer on C4’s  Hullraisers , Lucy Beaumont is about to embark on her 2023 stand up tour. Despite her massive success, she feels like she’s only just getting started. We discuss her honest and frank writing style and processes – both in writing for herself w...

Trigger warning: Discussion of child sexual abuse. Jonny Pelham has become one of the most disarmingly hilarious comics in the UK by building his punchlines on a bedrock of unflinching honesty. There’s a big difference between the comedy cliche of “saying the unsayable”, and being able to find the humanity and authenticity in a subject that people don’t want to talk about.  We talk about his...

We finally got him! Mike Birbiglia arrives in Edinburgh for the first time this August with his smash hit new stand-up/story show “The Old Man And The Pool” and shows us why he's 'Broadway’s greatest comic storyteller' (Deadline). We talk about the minutiae of his creative process, from the rhythms of his jokes and his deft use of implication, to the glue between bits, and a walkthrough of hi...

“I’m just a creative for an ad agency, and the only product is me…” Gianmarco Soresi is a phenomenally driven, hard-working comic whose ambition and social media savvy might rankle, if he wasn’t so utterly funny.  We talk about growing up a theatre kid and what he had to let go of to become a comic, his need to be witnessed, and his adoration of “mathematically beautiful” jokes, includin...

One of the North East’s best-kept comedy secrets, Lee Kyle is a dimpled diamond with a twinkly warmth and bucket-loads of swearing. We talk about focusing on multiple projects and thriving in chaos - plus the downsides of ADHD, and how he wrestles with self-doubt and demotivation. We also discover the origins of NE comedy co-operative incubator “Felt Nowt”, and why the first minute of Lee’s set is...

Master of miscellany, Neil Delamere has a huge presence in his home country of Ireland and across the UK, boasting a style of comedy where every single second is packed full of laughs. We talk about the difference between a good comic and a great comic; the type of comedy that piques Neil’s interests; and why he thinks storytelling is the purest, and most powerful, form of entertainment. We also l...

Ingenious stand-up, actor and impressionist James Adomian’s impact is truly global, with his voice appearing on a hundred cartoons and a thousand podcasts - making him "a famous person no-one knows”. Delving deep into his character performance and how he chooses who to impersonate, James lets us in on his love for Aristophanes and his processes of tackling intelligent and academic subjects, in voi...

Ignacio Lopez is an ascendant comic currently selling out his national tour due to a combination of talent, strategy, and sheer determination. We talk about his enjoyment of playing high status and the pitfalls associated with that, about him flying alone as a child between families and countries, and how he used comedy as a social cheat-code. We also explore comedy as a separate language, and the...

Emma Willmann is a New York killer comic, with a big online presence and a completely magnetic angle on gender and sexuality. We talk here about her unique origins with a schoolteacher who let her get up and perform if she managed to focus throughout the class; as well as covering hyperfocus, ADHD and stopping taking the pills, and the comfort in relating to finding a process.   All...

Hilarious comic Steve Agee is known to many as John Economos in “The Suicide Squad”, and Steve from The Sarah Silverman Programme, as well as being the bearer of the most satisfying narrative arc in the insanely funny “Peacemaker” (HBO Max). He talks with us live at South By Southwest about being part of the James Gunn Cinematic Universe, and the panic attacks that ruled his life and mea...

After a truly horrible year, John Hastings has came swinging with yet another blockbuster  fringe show, working through the passing of his dear friend, the much loved comedy director Paul Byrne, not to mention a divorce and a wince-inducing bike crash. We talk about John’s move from the UK circuit to Los Angeles, and discuss the finer details of what it means to participate in several di...

Launching her new show “Legacy” at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival right now, Michelle Brasier completes a trilogy of heartfelt, philosophical and very funny one-woman shows about loss and forgiveness, which includes the multi-award winning “Average Bear”. We talk about her work with purveyors of sketch carnage Aunty Donna, and discover why drama school rejects have all the fun. We als...

“I did Instagram Live for 2 years straight, for 5-6 hours a day” Tub-thumping powerhouse Godfrey has been in the game for the best part of three decades and yet still radiates happiness and positivity. We talk about his phenomenal work ethic and drive; being the first English-speaking comedian to gig in Russia; why someone this happy needs to do comedy; and the business dimension to comedy wh...

“Is there any more depth to you, or are you just jokes?" …So went The Honourable Tom Houghton’s experience with Netflix influencer/reality show “The Circle”, and we get right into that here! We also discuss his ballistic comedy style, the social media strategy that has seen him accrue over 10M likes across Tiktok and Instagram, and his truly harrowing relationship with his boarding school. We...

Instinctive, irrepressible, and with an inimitable aversion to bullshit, today we revisit Fern Brady's 2016 nascent dalliance with success, mere moments before catapulting herself headlong into the comedy stratosphere... Catch up with Fern via: fernbradycomedian.com @fernfrombathgate @FernBrady Go to  www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders  for ad-free episodes, extra content from every show...

Truly a global comedian, Vir Das has five Netflix specials to his name, and his latest “Landing” is an exceptional piece of work, relating the story of a plane journey at the end of which he faces arrest for bringing his country’s name into disrepute. We talk about his beginnings in Bollywood; the difference a background in acting makes to a comics’ approach to authenticity; removin...

Fresh from the ComCompendium annals we rediscover the indomitable Gina Yashere. An engineer in a previous life, and a comic tour de force in this one, Gina's boldness and clarity of mind saw her draft up a plan: simply selling up her life in the UK and moseying over to the ol' USA. We examine Gina's annoyance at being the 'diversity' on panel shows, point the finger firmly in the direction of The...

Today we heave open the ComCom vault door and revisit this episode with the outspoken moral arbiter of stand-up Stewart Lee. As principled as they come – punitively politically correct, and forever eschewing the same limelight in which other contemporaries love to bathe – we ponder the lengths to which he is willing to go in order to gleefully burn bridges. We also discuss what the autumn of his c...

Dusted down, and fresh from the archives, today we re-welcome the wry cynicism of the nation’s favourite  chubby svelte  vegan Romesh Ranganathan. Fearless on stage, yet his own biggest critic off it, we discuss his stratospheric – and largely unplanned – comic success. We place parenthood under the microscope, revise his former vocations as teacher and rapper, before discovering that st...

In today’s trip down memory lane, the ever effervescent Shaparak Khorsandi leads the way – with a quick stop off at Comedy’s figurative playground – via her own yellow brick road. We dissect second chances, shifting statuses, and how the pursuit of money stunts artistic quality... Candid, nuanced, and not lacking in poise, Shaparak opens up on the difficult situations to which her early standup in...