The Mrs Barbara Nice & Friends Podcast

Comedian Shappi Khorsandi was part of one of the last gigs Barbara Nice took part in before lockdown. She has missed all her deadlines since then and she's kind of ok with it. Here she talks to Barbara about perfect parenting in lockdown, how to adjust your work deadlines to fit around parenting and tidying up the mess after your killer pets have cut a swathe of death through the local wildlife. F...

Barbara Nice has been "borrowing" Kirsty Newton to perform comedy and music at her Piggin' Lock-in gigs and realises that she isn't the only comic to do that. In the past, Kirsty has been "borrowed" by Phil Nicholl, Robin Ince and Paul Merton, but now it's Barbara's turn to talk to her about why she isn't a massive name, how busy a comedian's life was before lockdown and why now is a brilliant tim...

It's MONDAY in the world of Barbara Nice and Friends (your listening day may vary) and today Barbara is joined by award winning Dramatist Terry Johnson for a view on how the world of theatre is coping through lockdown Terry was one of the first adopters of the performing on zoom we almost take for granted now, and his show on Ken Loach at the start of lockdown brought Barbara to tears. Intentional...

Reg Blackwood, formerly known as "Reg as in Elton John, Nice as in the biscuit" joins Barbara Nice all the way from New Zealand to reminisce about their times at the "Gag Club" in Birmingham and how he had a hand in creating the legend that is Barbara Nice to be his comedy mother. Along the way they talk about other acts that graced the Gag Club stage that went on to become famous and the eccentri...

Steve Neill is an actor, comedian and writer who has met Barbara Nice on the circuit back in the times when people gathered solely for the purpose of laughter.  Now he regales Barbara with tales about how the social distancing rules may well have improved his audience levels, how he can impress any child by revealing his is the voice of an owl and how he could get paid for eating anchovies. His ne...

Firstly, Steve Day's wife was an Olympian in the 1996 Games. She probably wants us to mention that right off the bat. That said, it's Steve Day himself who has joined Barbara Nice for a conversation today. Steve realises he has a lot of lockdown jokes and assumes that when it all ends, no-one will want to hear anything about lockdown any more, so shares his best stuff with us while it's still rele...

It's the first day of a new month, and Barbara is on a high after another successful lock-in comedy show over the weekend. While she is in such a good mood, she talks to comedian Lindsey Santoro, with whom she has shared many a car journey back in the day comedy was live. Lindsey tells her of her lockdown life, how her husband is hiding from her in the bath and how she is losing all her best mater...

Today, we find Barbara Nice in her Garden and as she ruminates about the slugs and birds, comedian and improviser Pippa Evans bursts in. They talk about the confusion over where they first met, how to take an idea from the first initial thoughts to into reality as well as share interesting rumours about jelly-tots Plus, Pippa gives us an impromptu performance of a song never heard before. You hear...

Barbara Nice is planning her next lock in comedy night, but the related technology is giving her some trials and tribulations She is joined by promoter and broadcaster Maryam Snape to talk about such technology and how Maryam keeps herself busy by planning multiple social events to keep Birmingham busy during Lockdown They also talk about the time Maz had to chase down Spike from Buffy, plus there...

Comedian Mark Watson is famous for his extra-long shows that usually take place at the Edinburgh festival. Barbara herself joined the last one at the start of the month which didn't go spectacularly but certainly made an impression Now Barbara and Mark re-unite to talk the best ideas they've had during lockdown, why Mark wants to return to dawdling and the mortal enemy of the comedian: the slug. Y...

One podcast begats another, Lorraine Cheshire is not only an actor of repute, appearing on such shows as Early Doors, Trollied and currently, Ackly Bridge on Channel 4, but she also used to frequent the Golden Garter, home of previous podcast guest Sing-a-Long-a-John She tells us stories of that venue as well as all the best gossip from the make up chair of the various TV productions she has been...

Today, Barbara has invited 200th @podcastnice twitter follower (perhaps known for more than that) Arthur Smith onto the podcast to receive the benefit of his lockdown wisdom Arthur was a man who regularly held gigs inside his Ballam property, so he is well suited to this lockdown comedy situation we all find ourselves in at the moment They also talk alternative comedy, mysterious garden plants, be...

It's the Monday after the Piggin' Lock-In and Barbara is on a high.  To further pep up her spirits, she talks to pianist and performer John Orchard, known as "Sing-a-long-a-John about the power of a good sing-song, the many famous acts he has shared a bill with, and how performing without an audience isn't the drawback you might think And of course, for only the second time, there is time for a go...

50th Episode Spectacular!  Broadcaster Nick Owen and Barbara Nice go back a long way, back to when Nick was a fresh faced reporter on the Birmingham Post and Barbara was hiding in her house away from the noise of the Birmingham Superprix So following on from that nice comedian Joe Lycett's mention of him in yesterday's podcast, Nick appears to chat to Barbara about the positives of the current sit...

On the 14th of May 2019, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham officially declared Joe Lycett's Kitchen extension open. On the 14th of May 2020, Barbara Nice has a big anniversary too: the big 49th episode of her podcast. On this episode they come together to celebrate both landmarks and have a great chat about gardening as well as Joe's impromptu cat adoption and what words of advice he's been taking to h...

Christopher Green has found fame with his many great comic creations, such as Ada Barr, Tina C and many more.  Here he catches up with old pal Barbara Nice to chat about the new projects they're both creating in lockdown, how a delivery a day can keep the COVID-19 blues away and being part of the performance problem and not part of the performance solution. You can follow Christopher on Twitter he...

Adrian Goldberg has recently recovered from some kind of illness, but what could it be? He chats to Barbara about being a parenting and teaching machine at the moment, but doesn't expect much sympathy from the female members of his household. They also talk a resurgence of subbuteo, mishaps on live radio broadcasts and the "punk rock" aspect of podcasting Plus Producer Paul has had a Birthday and...

Hands across the sea, as Mrs Barbara Nice and Friends reaches out to fellow Podcaster Jo Russell of "I Secretly Recorded my Boyfriend" podcast as well as a long and distinguished radio broadcasting career They talk about how Jo negotiated herself some much needed Dettol at one of Barbara's gigs, the best rumours they've heard or even can start themselves about the current lockdown situation we fin...

Musician and Broadcaster Ben Kane (From the Band The Bank Accounts, whose song "Get into my Head" is actually our intro music-the more you know!) joins Barbara from his accidental lockdown location to talk about his technology, pre-lockdown purchases and the fact he has resorted to commentating on every day happenings Barbara also quizzes producer Paul on who the podcast Twitter account has picked...

On a bumper length edition of her podcast, Mrs Barbara Nice updates us on all that has happened since she last spoke to you, including her apperance on Mark Watson's 24 hour "Watsonathon" and how previous podcasts have caused a reunion of some of her old mates She then connects to "Eaten By Lions" director Jason Winguard to talk his new Radio 4 series, how to keep calm on a film set and when to gi...

After an extended intro searching through co-stars of Alma's Not Normal, Barbara invites Comedian, writer and executive producer Sophie Willan to chat about how well things are going for her lately They talk not only about her new sitcom but being a Northener in London, working class appropriation and the times they met back in the real world, when that was allowed You can follow Sophie on Twitter...

Thom Tuck is a performer, writer and actor who wishes he could do more of all of these things. He once met Barbara at a party and the two got on like a house on fire, so here they try to recreate that moment. Thom talks about growing up internationally, directing other people's comedy and the upsides of putting your content online for people to consume....even if it is on a website with a previous...

Paul Foot is a comedian who would be preparing for a gig, but instead he takes the time to talk to Barbara as well as filling out many forms that land on his desk They talk about the many gigs they still manage to perform from their homes as well as the best cleaning lady in comedy! Paul Foot puts out daily videos on his instagram feed, catch them here: https://www.instagram.com/paulfootcomedy/ Ke...

Birmingham Born Richard Batsford now resides in Australia, which causes all kinds of havoc for Barbara with timezones trying to link up with him Once they are connected, they talk about their times at Birmingham's Gag Club, which Richard ran and Barbara perfomed at, along with all the other famous names that went through its doors at the time. Not only that, but there's time to hear how Australia...

Isy Suttie had just returned to Stand Up Comedy after maternity leave about 2 weeks before lockdown hit, so she feels used to sitting at home and being isolated anyway. But at least she gets to create new comedy characters for online gigs such as the "Covid Arms" as well as advise Barbara on how to properly use disinfectant You can follow Isy on Twitter here:   https://twitter.com/Isysuttie Keep y...