The Comedian's Comedian Podcast

This week we swing wide the comcom vault door and crack open a vintage 2012 with the indefatigable Sarah Millican. We talk about her unbound positivity, the necessity to jettison pre-gig baggage, and managing her - as well as the audience’s - expectations. We also delve into Millican’s Law, Thermos pasta, and men’s proclivity to urinate in hotel kettles. Stu's new comedy special "I Need You Alive"...

A re-release of the 2013 live episode with a very young and sprightly James Acaster, on the responsibility of the comic to their crowd, sabotaging gigs and answering audience questions on slacks... www.jamesacaster.com Stu's new comedy special "I Need You Alive" has a worldwide digital premiere on Feb 23rd, see the trailer and find the ticket link at  www.stuartgoldsmith.com Hosted on Ac...

Despite his alt roots, barnstorming Kurt Braunohler straddles comedy scenes like a Colossus! We talk about his lifelong and very inventive quest to “insert absurdity into strangers' lives to make the world a better place”, choreographing randomness, and drawing inspiration from Kurt Vonnegut and Eugene Mirman. We also dive into how his glorious new show ”Perfectly Stupid” represents an emotional m...

Sarah Keyworth is a seriously funny comedian, and has a succinct and uncomplicated way of showing it. In this very thoughtful interview, they talk about the point where being saddened by other peoples’ reality meets the irresistible pull of activism. We also explore their creative partnership with the late, great Paul Byrne; and why they’d love to have a pint with JK Rowling… 20 mins of extras ava...

Skilfully navigating territory of misogyny and a clash between lad culture and woke lads, Esther Manito’s recent show “#NotAllMen” burst at the seams with relatable material rooted in the clash between her Middle Eastern heritage and her Essex upbringing. Esther talks here about whether you can be too relatable; having children before comedy and musing on an agent’s misguided warning that no-one w...

Comedy machine-gun Glenn Moore smashed Edinburgh again this year with a show in which every word and breath serviced his phenomenal joke-rate. Thrill, as you discover how he’s driven to this prodigious comedy output by an almost pathological fear of being told off by an audience for not trying hard enough! We revisit his earliest shows, speculate as to what drives him to apply a much sterner stand...

“Socialist, feminist, lesbian, protest singer” Grace Petrie made her first foray into “official” standupdom this year with a phenomenal Edinburgh debut, in which as well as skewering transphobes and bigots, she managed to extend genuine empathy towards them - all while being very, very funny. As well as talking about her comedy origins as a support act for Josie Long and Robin Ince and her work wi...

This year comedy dynamo Lauren Pattison received a Best Show nomination to add to her Best Newcomer, with her show “It Is What It Is”, which detailed how she was among the first comedians to move home and proudly take up a day job during the pandemic. We talk about her relentless work ethic; class structures in comedy; and why she there’s no shame in supplementing your comedy income. We also discu...

Exploding supernova Jordan Gray has just had the Edinburgh that every newer act dreams of: five-star reviews across the board, sell-out shows, a transfer to the Palladium, as well as being made an honorary X-Man by Sir Ian McKellen. She’s an extraordinarily funny, talented and skilled act who’s managed to pull an absolute Minchin! We talk about the danger of believing your own hype, why she h...

Everyone’s favourite “clown in a gown”, Bianca Del Rio is an unstoppable onslaught of insult comedy, swathed in haute couture, and concealing an absolute gem in the form of Roy Haylock, who talks to Stu out of makeup and only occasionally in character… Currently in the middle of a colossal tour, which drops into the Edinburgh Fringe this week, we talk about the unique crucible of combative perform...

Musical Theatre Comedy star, YouTube pioneer and Stu’s one-time wrestling partner, Jenny Bede is off to the Edinburgh Fringe with her new baby in tow, for her show “The First Pregnant Woman In The World”.  We talk about the potential downside of being a triple threat; how she coped with awful musical theatre auditions; her recent ADHD diagnosis and how she learned to stop apolo...

A uniquely nuanced voice in comedy, the riotously imaginative Tom Ward balances gleeful absorption in the creative process and robustly-managed mental health.  Destined to become a fan favourite, this episode sees Tom sensitively exploring: why comics with certainty make him suspicious; his internal landscape and how he copes with the non-triggered meltdowns occasioned by his Complex PTSD; an...

Barnstorming breakthrough-in-waiting, Sean McLoughlin is extremely adept at big chunky stand-up with an interesting moral core. We outline his journey from an angry young man who either needed “a hug or a slap”, through the transformative effects of both being onstage and getting proper therapy, to a towering performer with gigs at the Palladium, Sydney Opera House and the Royal Albert Hall under...

Sharp as a tack and with a scientific bent that underpins her charming demeanour, Ria Lina is experiencing a TV-takeover career breakthrough.  We talk about the different preparation required for Mock The Week, Have I Got News For You and QI; why the fact that a comedy career has no end point is so addictive; and how the recent increase in diversity on the circuit gave her an insight int...

Tremendous story-teller comedian Alison Spittle is a very sunny specialist in making comedy from trauma, but you’ll be furious that she’s had to undergo so much of it. We talk about her incredible new Edinburgh show “Wet”, and why it’s no longer simply about a fight during an aqua aerobics class.  We also cover her excellent shame-beating podcast “Wheel of Misfortune”; the challenge of k...

Amy Miller is an explosive club act, wielding real depth and texture as well as her “resting dustbowl face”, to polarise audiences who either love her, or hate her and can’t figure out why. We get into the relative merits of US and UK gag rate; employing and avoiding comedy tropes about appearance; bullying tall men; how the circuit is changing; and why she’s still being advised by female comics n...

The comic creation of comedian and illustrator Derek Chickpeas, “Olaf Falafel” is an absolute combine-harvester of inspirationally daft ideas; hoovering them up and blasting them out across multiple creative outputs. We talk about “Olaf Falafel’s Art Club”, “Old MacDonald Heard A Parp”, “One Giant Leek” and plenty of other projects including “The Pearl With The Girl Earring” and a load of other st...

CW: Self-harm "Basic plus" (because she’s self-aware), brilliant Helen Bauer is probably the most self-actualised comedian and human we’ve had on the show.  Her punchy gags and insightful premises are all imbued with an absolute tsunami of personality, flirting with us one minute and roaring the next. And she even seems to have accepted her longterm depression… We talk about her Apollo-c...

With his dishevelled appearance and wild energy, you might not be surprised to learn that the wonderfully funny Bobby Mair has had “more therapists than girlfriends”.  We talk about his Canadian comedy work ethic, the trick of making the audience your friend, and find out why bad gigs in the UK are still good. We delve into his origins, starting comedy coincidentally durin...

BAFTA-winning, Cumberbatch-beating actor, comic, and now the writer-performer of his screamingly funny new audiobook “Isaac Steele and the Forever Man”, Daniel Rigby is an extraordinary talent. The star of “Eric & Ernie” (BBC), Black Mirror’s “Waldo” episode, and Donald in Will Sharpe’s amazing “Flowers” (CH4), Daniel is dipping his toe back into standup after years away. In an episode Stu des...

A comedy queen who will not be disrespected, actor and comedian Dulcé Sloan (The Daily Show) joins us at SXSW in Austin Texas, for a blazing and very funny live interview. We cover her natural authority and its relationship to what “every Black person and woman has to learn”; caring about the crowd and why no successful comic ignores the audience; and how one never truly loses one’s vulnerability...

On the tenth anniversary of the first release, our first ever ComCom guest Rob Deering returns to discuss marathons not sprints. One of Stu’s all-time favourite acts, we’ll celebrate Rob’s huge “Running Commentary” podcast with Paul Tonkinson, and its associated fandom; whether Rob is secretly serious; walking away from the desire to be liked; and the secret of Roger Rabbit’s handcuffs… 25 mins of...

In this unmissable live special from South By South West, the Bitter Buddha returns to lay waste to us all with analysis of his insanely good new special, “For The Masses”.  We explore how he structured and taped the special; why his sets are all cries for help; his vulnerabilities and internal responses to things; and how to destroy him if you were a heckler… We also peek into his obses...

CW: Suicide, School shooting Visionary comedian, and actor in “Honey Boy” (Prime) and “Concrete Cowboys” (Netflix), Byron Bowers once moved to LA and slept in his car while he tried to make stand-up work. In this live special from South By South West, he joins us to talk about processing trauma; finding true freedom onstage and emotional freedom among his family; how he apprehends his comic and ac...

“Caffeinated puppy” Matt Richardson joins us to reflect on the parallel tracks of his comedy and “TV personality” careers, and the indefatigable enthusiasm that underpins both. We explore his youthful stand-up bad habits, the trap of “comedy reportage” and also expose the dynamic between his OCD and his fear of doing badly onstage - and how that might have hampered his creativity. But just how goo...