Comedians

Stuart Goldsmith: Compared to What

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Stu Goldsmith is currently touring his second stand up hour, and due partly to his recent appearance as Jack Whitehall’s tour support for his Wembley Arena shows, Stu’s audience in the studio room at Birmingham Glee Club has more than doubled since last year.

With the birth of his first child a little over a year ago, Stuart has made a ‘compromise’ and moved to the countryside, to live with his partner. Now, he is nostalgic for the passive-aggressive nature and fast pace of the city, and is keen to demonstrate why. His observations are accurate and take a refreshingly new stance on the life of a city-dweller, which is a well-trodden terrain in the world of stand up. It seems as though Goldsmith’s life, both personally and professionally, is hurtling at 100 miles per hour, and this is something that is truly exciting to see. The comic is energised, and yet he comes across as more centred, calm and comfortable than I have ever seen or heard him before.

© Nick Gast

Goldsmith’s comedy becomes more skilled and efficient as each year passes. He’s a true grafter, clued up on the ins and outs of performers from all over the world yet dedicated to the nurturing of his own amiable, lively storyteller style. But this year he’s got an extra sense of ‘edginess’ about him. Stuart is cheekier, seeming to enjoy being on stage more. He plays around with ideas with the freedom of someone previously limited in some respect, and I think these previous obstacles must have been behind the scenes because his material has always been the epitome of well-established comedy. Knowing Stu, we can be sure that there is a great amount of detailed analysis going on beneath the surface. We only see his best stuff. And that’s what makes this latest hour such a great feat.

Stu treats his audience to an extra half hour or so of preview material after the initial hour show. This seems to be a sensible model, as audiences get more for our money and the comic gets to run through some new concepts in front of a crowd. And the post-show informal podcast chat proves insightful, as always, with an extra buzz to discussion stemming from the exciting prospect of a recently recorded interview with Stewart Lee.

Not only is this latest show heart-warming and humble and very funny, Compared to What is entertainment from start to finish. Stuart Goldsmith has a passion for comedy that is infectious. He’s in his prime, each year getting stronger and more self-assured, becoming more and more of a genuinely expert writer with each new show.

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH STUART GOLDSMITH

Ricky Gervais: Humanity

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Ricky Gervais embarks on his first live tour in seven years, and with David Brent: Life On The Road being released in cinemas last summer, fans have been more eager than ever to hear more from the brain behind one of Britain’s most iconic sitcoms.

But first, audiences are treated to another familiar face from Life On The Road: Doc Brown. In the film, Doc plays rapper Dom Johnson who joins Brent on tour, and he also starred alongside the sales rep in the Comic Relief single Equality Street back in 2013. On stage however, Doc Brown is far more outspoken than his film counterpart. He has an air of refreshing calm in front of a crowd, yet is easily agitated and eager to justify his reasoning for having various hangups about his life.

Doc Brown gives off the impression of being a young spirit forced to live the life of a middle-aged man. Although presenting himself as a ‘nice guy’, a caring and socially involved person, there is humour in the resentment he feels regarding modern day responsibilities, particularly since he became a family man. Later, we are even treated to a rap, which, quite frankly, is what most of us had been most looking forward to.

When Ricky Gervais walks onto stage, he brings a buzz with him. He’s a 55 year old man in a black t shirt and jeans, sipping from a can of beer, but something about his demeanour makes him magnetising. The theme of the show is, unsurprisingly, humankind, and within this Gervais is able to explore topics such as evolution and speciesism. More specifically too, Ricky directs his fiery critical analysis onto particular aspects of celebrity culture and, later on, his concerns regarding bringing a child into the world given the current social climate.

As writer E. B. White famously said, ‘Analysing humour is like dissecting a frog…’. The long and short of it is that the frog inevitably dies. Gervais, on some scale, sets about to prove that this is not the case. Ricky uses his platform to explain the reasoning behind aspects of his comedy that have previously been met with heavy criticism and heated debate, but certainly not in an apologist sense.

Ricky Gervais: Humanity

Gervais is well aware that his close-to-the-mark quips have been incredibly divisive in the past, from his Mel Gibson remark at the Golden Globes in 2010, to recent comments about Caitlyn Jenner’s realignment surgery and car crash in 2015 which resulted in the death of a woman. The latter incident, and Ricky’s bulletproof defence of his joke, features heavily in the show.

While admitting to his own faults and explaining where he has gone wrong in the past by causing genuine offence that he had not intended, Ricky proposes that often those who are offended by his material have merely misunderstood his point, or the issue he is discussing. He, like many of us, often despairs at 21st century society, as we are stifled by political correctness. Ricky criticises ineffective, emotive debate about things that only offend us because they’re about something we care about, as opposed to all the other offensive things that are happening in our world today, through exploring complex social issues like ‘dead naming’ and its links to transphobia.

But what I find most value in within Gervais’ comedy, despite the ingenuity of his reasoning and hilarity in the way he points the finger and laughs at himself, is that this comedian talks about the things that he loves and the people that mean most to him, as though his audience is being invited to a family get-together. There is something so endearingly pure about Ricky Gervais’ comedy. It shines through most in his material about his love for animals. It is with this topic that he starts the show and also how he ends it. His pleas with the audience to educate themselves on worldwide instances of animal cruelty (such as the Yulin Dog Festival) and charities that are working to bring these practices to an end is particularly poignant. Ricky has even chosen to donate all extra profit from the premium tickets sold for the Cardiff leg of the tour to  and .

Ricky Gervais is so humble, and yet he is a classic. Make sure to check your local tour venue for remaining tickets for the Humanity tour, as Gervais is back in full force.

DAVID BRENT: LIFE ON THE ROAD

Elf Lyons Preview

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Elf Lyons

Fresh out of Gaulier, Elf Lyons is embarking on an experimental new hour of stand up, inspired by her fascination with ballet.

Lyons is critical of various ballet productions, including Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, and this leads her to attempt to recreate Swan Lake as a one-woman production, in French. These extravagant intentions are realised within a small theatre room above the Old Joint Stock pub in Birmingham. It’s the first outing of Elf’s new material but the confidence of her delivery doesn’t give the audience this impression.

Timeless in a way that is reminiscent Noel Fielding’s performance in The Mighty Boosh, Elf is a wide-eyed, theatrical whirlwind of a performer. She is uncompromising but likeable, with a cheeky glint in her eye like that of a naughty school girl. And I’m sure that’s what she must have been, underneath the shy, awkward exterior of her youth that she describes.

In her efforts to create ‘something out of nothing’, Lyons gets swept up in the fantasy of ballet narratives whilst remaining astutely self-aware. Her comedy is obscure, often relying on visuals, utilising costume, dance and mime, and she teeters on the border between long-limbed elegance and charming clumsiness. Elf is an endless cultivator of energy on stage. And with a style of comedy that is predominantly child-friendly due to its clownish nature, alongside an abundance of fresh ideas that will be refined through further stage time, Lyons’ comedy is generally accessible if you are willing to leave your inhibitions at the door.

Whereas this performance had Elf detail her plans for her new rendition of Swan Lake, it also jumped around to explore lots of other areas including her time spent in France over the past year with a 45 year old lover, her relationship with her mother growing up and time spent at the Priory as a child. It will be interesting to see which elements make it to the final show, or whether the ambition of a full production of Swan Lake performed in under an hour will come to fruition.

Either way, it was a nice change to sit down with a ‘double wine’ and enjoy an hour of escapism. Keep an eye out for Elf Lyons as she puts together this new show, as no doubt it will develop a great deal over the coming months.

February: Comedian Of The Month #37, Fin Taylor

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When a performer is confident on stage, both in material and in justification of views, audiences are immediately more inclined to trust them. It takes an astute comedian to tread the line between arrogance and self-deprecation in an interesting way, and this is where Fin Taylor’s skill shines through. Fin casts his opinions with authority; the statements may sometimes be bold (university students aren’t fully-formed people, for example) but he justifies them well. His reasoning is sensible, despite his initial declarations being met with laughter.

Fin Taylor is a bold voice in the realm of satirical stand up comedy who has fun playing around with irony, presenting shocking ideas that are followed up with surprisingly well-justified reasoning. He doesn’t solicit the audience’s affections, nor does he grovel or expect pity when he is the butt of the joke. In fact, Fin explicitly states that he doesn’t deserve pity, as he confesses ‘I have had such an easy start to life’, yet makes a humble attempt at using his privilege to challenge previously held assumptions and attitudes.

© Fin Taylor

The comedian has brought three shows to the Edinburgh Festival, with his latest show Whitey McWhiteface (2016) making a lasting impression on audiences and critics alike as the comic considered the issue of racism from his perspective of a privileged white man, whilst avoiding an apologist approach. Fin’s manner of stand up comedy easily translates from serious political comment to more trivial everyday matters, showing an integrity to his performance: he successfully adapts his style to allow him to cover a broad range of topics (whether that be social, political or nitpicking), thus proving himself to be an exciting component of the British stand up scene.

For more information, follow Fin Taylor on Twitter or visit his website.

JANUARY COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

Elf Lyons Interview

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© Lucy Brown

Elf Lyons is a comedian whose stand up is potentially as much of a performance as comedy can get. She is vibrant, loud and unafraid of exploring territory unknown to herself and her audiences, making for exciting and unique experiences for performer and viewers alike. Her latest solo show Pelican, a show exploring the comic’s relationship with her mother, received great critical acclaim and it seems as though this newest show might just follow suit.
Lyons has also teamed up with comic Ryan Lane to produce a surreal two-man show called Hilda & The Spectrum. Elf is currently performing Work In Progress shows at various venues across the country, so be sure to catch her if you are looking for something a bit different.
MoodyComedy caught up with her to hear more about the new shows…

1) What’s changed in the life of Elf since we last spoke in 2015?

Well, most importantly – I’m still ginger – and I still love sharks- but other than that, everything has changed in some way. I can run 5k in 27 minutes (my best time), I’ve been to L’Ecole Philippe Gaulier for a year and lived in Paris studying acting, clown and bouffon. I had a whirlwind relationship with a French man who looked like a blond Serge Gainsbourg. Met my comedy soul mate Ryan Lane when we moved into the same house in France – like a more neurotic clown version of Will & Grace. Learned to box, started ballet, gigged in lots of very cool places, I do lots of weird stuff with the Alternative Comedy Memorial Society. Was a part of the Duckie Homosexualist Summer School at the RVT, created my own monthly LGBTQ comedy night at Her Upstairs. And now I have just finished touring my previous solo show Pelican – and now I am starting to showcase and preview my brand new shows.

2) What is your latest show about?

It’s my attempt to do a one woman production of Swan Lake, the ballet, in under an hour, in French. Using two fire extinguishers to replace the swans. Title to be decided.

I am also doing a crazy Mighty Boosh-y weird character show with Ryan Lane called Hilda & The Spectrum – based on two drag characters we created at Gaulier together.

3) What influenced your creativity while writing this new show?

After Edinburgh I had a huge bout of writers block – which comes to us all at some point – so to get myself out of the zone I did a workshop with Lucy McCormick which heavily inspired me and gave me the jiggle I needed to experiment. She likes the idea of playing with failure on stage – which led me to take the initiative to start playing with my fantasy to do the impossible and do a full scale production of Swan Lake on my own.

There is a lot of clown in the show – lots of improvisation. I’m really inspired by Spy Monkey too and I am currently doing a workshop with them which is pushing my clowning skills.

I love completing ‘challenges’ on stage – hence the desire to see if I can communicate the whole thing in a language that isn’t my first (French) and which is a language that I also can’t actually speak fluently at all.

Re Hilda & The Spectrum – it is every niche 90’s pop culture reference you can imagine in 45 minutes – all set in the world of the East Berlin sporting community. With Ryan our work is based on playing games with each other – and through playing games in our characters we create the scenes. In some ways the narrative doesn’t matter – it is our silliness and relationship that does. And it is SO SO CAMP.

4) What do you want audiences to take from it?

I want them to feel like Agnes in Despicable Me whenever she sees a Unicorn.

5) Is writing or performing more cathartic for you?

Performing. Always. Because I am with people. I write all the time but predominantly on my own, and after a while that is no good for the soul. I am very self aware when I write too, because I am analysing the writing, language/structure for the joke etc, and I can end up getting stuck in my own head. On stage, you’ve taken the plug out, all you think about are the people in front of you – and it is such an orgasmic release. All my neuroses disappear on stage.

6) What, if anything do you think your comedy is missing?

Pyrotechnics.

And a live band.

7) How do you define yourself as a comic?

A long one.

I think my comedy comes from the bits that I don’t write on my own and instead the interactions and odd-spur-of-the-moment realisations that come out on stage in the heat of the moment. (I don’t know. It’s hard to analyse without sounding like a pretentious turd.) I feel so comfortable with my wobbly long gangly body when I am on stage – I forget about the bits that make me insecure when I am off stage – so when I am on stage I become free to use it and play with it to create comedy in all forms. Basically, physical and weird. That’s my comedy. And sexy. Let’s throw that word in there too.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT ELF LYONS’ WEBSITE

Seven Questions With… Eddy Brimson

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Eddy Brimson

Eddy Brimson is a British stand up comedian and writer with a likeable ‘every man’ demeanour. Very much a crowd pleaser, Brimson effortlessly gets large audiences on side through his surprisingly chipper comedy style, despite the initial stern impression he gives.
I asked Eddy these seven questions to find out more about him…

1) What motivates you when writing comedy?

Ohhh that’s a hard one. Jokes are hard to come by, you’ve seen my set. I suppose what motivates me is not wanting to get bored. I usually wait for something to happen but you’ll be surprised how dull the journey to a gig usually is.

2) What is the perfect weekend for you?

Watford FC and Hemel Hempstead Town FC both winning and L*t*n Town (I refuse to write their name) losing. I love chips, and so chips. No vinegar. Work is always fun. Although it’s not really work is it? Not like being a nurse, a fireman or the bloke selling helium balloons to kids in the high street. That’s a shocking job. It’ll only end in tears. You think he is selling happiness but in reality he knows that balloon will either fly away, pop or deflate. How he sleeps at night I’ll never know. I bet it’s not on a helium filled bed. Arsehole.

3) What is your worst nightmare?

The reverse of the above… but without the balloon bit. I haven’t got kids so I don’t really care.

4) What is your best feature?

My best feature is without doubt my ability to listen. Well that’s what I’ve been told. Well I think that’s what she said. Boooom… I’m here all week. Seriously, I’m here all week, I’ve not got the bus fare home.

5) What’s your favourite type of biscuit?

I’m a huge fan of the chocolate Bourbon. When I was a young man out looking for love with my mates a friend of mine used to tell girls his dad invented it. You’d be surprised how many Bourbons we would eat whilst alone together. Sad days.

6) What is your attitude towards winter?

I loooove winter, it’s brilliant. Apart from the gigs where you get the office parties with the joker from work who will always try and outdo you. The pissed up manager that everyone hates but who’s trying to be everyone’s pal. The huge groups of teachers and coppers who are without doubt the worst behaved people when out in a pack. People pulling crackers just as you deliver a punch line and the angry lads who really just want to see how far they can get with the girls from accounts whilst you as an act are just getting in the way.

Apart from that, yeah I really like the winter.

7) What do you want to achieve?

My dreams were shattered long ago when my hair fell out. You can’t sell shampoo with a head like this. And I loved that market stall. As far as comedy is concerned, well that’s a hard one. I just want to get better so that one day, one day I too can get that hair transplant.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT EDDY BRIMSON’S WEBSITE

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

January: Comedian Of The Month #36, Anna Mann (Colin Hoult)

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© Colin Hoult

Colin Hoult is not a name that has gone unheard of in recent years. His stand up shows consistently receive fantastic praise and Hoult himself is known as an ever-changing and innovative performer. Perhaps the comedian’s most well-known onstage character is Anna Mann, a middle-aged actress grappling with deep loneliness brought about by her struggling career and subsequently, her mental health.

Hoult’s observational eye is finely tuned to detail and this is shown particularly through his sketches within his latest show Anna Mann: A Sketch Show For Depressives; a retrospective look at characters attending a therapy group that Anna Mann recently attended. From Anna’s parody of a lonely elderly woman to that of an increasingly aggressive PE teacher, the mannerisms are uncanny and the most vivid of images are conjured, implying a sharp mind.

Anna Mann plays on underlying audience sympathy by jokingly imagining and replying to responses from the room. She is audacious and often cruel, but genuinely loveable. With more than just a hint of a certain Ms Blanche Dubois, Anna Mann’s flamboyancy is entertaining yet her vulnerability endearing. Hoult is able to explore some of the heaviest of topics, such as mental illness, isolation and suicide, in an inventive way; a way that feels new, exciting and not heavy at all.

For more information, follow Colin Hoult on Twitter.

DECEMBER COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

Prevenge Screening and Q&A with Alice Lowe

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Alice Lowe has been touring the country with preview screenings of Prevenge, including Chapter Arts Cardiff on January 24th. Hailing from the Midlands and having starred in comedies such as Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Hot Fuzz and Sightseers, Alice Lowe is an artist whose work I have always followed. Prevenge is the first feature film Lowe has directed, filmed over eleven days in Cardiff, and it is fair to say you won’t have seen anything like it before.

Ruth (Alice Lowe) is our protagonist. Her husband, and soon-to-be father of her baby, has been killed in a climbing ‘accident’. Prevenge begins under tragic circumstances with a bitter edge that becomes increasingly apparent, as Ruth and her unborn daughter crave vengeance. The setting is bleak, yet the cinematography is beautiful, and Lowe’s trademark sharp wit sends ripples of guilty laughter through the audience. Although this film will certainly satisfy fans of slasher horror, revenge movies and dark comedies, there is something else about Prevenge that makes it particularly unsettling. Yes, it is gory. Not your usual dimly lit hallways, full-moon horror, but  a far more vulnerable, open-air, broad-daylight violence.

© Alice Lowe

Though relatively short for a feature film, an impressive amount of action is compressed within its 90-or-so minutes. And not only this, Lowe’s aptitude for character development still takes precedence. Ruth and baby’s victims are often given limited screen time, yet audiences are given a well-rounded picture of who each of these people are and what they represent. We get an idea of their attitudes and personality traits deemed to be negative, thus meaning that their killings have particular comedic impact. And the faces of Ruth’s victims are recognisable, including the likes of Mike Wozniak, Tom Meeten and Dan Skinner.

The Q&A session after the screening proved valuable in aiding the audience’s understanding of the key issues of the film and artistic decisions in production. Alice herself is very astute in her creative thinking, as well as being relentlessly humble. She explains how she came up with the idea for Prevenge whilst six months pregnant, wrote the script in a matter of days and then, within a couple of months, they were filming.

An interesting discussion point that Alice raises following this regards Ruth’s antenatal nurse (played by This Is England and David Brent: Life on the Road‘s Jo Hartley), in that she is the only genuinely constant kind person who has Ruth’s interests at heart. Lowe makes it abundantly clear that worrying about whether audiences will like Ruth was never an item on her agenda, and it is empowering to hear her say this. The interesting thing, however, is that we do like Ruth, despite her sarcasm, callousness and brutality. We can each see an element of our own psyche within Ruth. Hearing Lowe’s perspective on various aspects of Prevenge‘s writing and production gives viewers much to think about. Audiences are left wondering who, or what, is the true source of our discomfort; is it Ruth’s actions or the fact they almost seem justified? Is Ruth alone or is she stifled? Is this baby an embodiment of innocence, or evil?

This film is an artistic triumph: an independent production that is definitely worth supporting. Prevenge will be returning to Chapter Arts Cardiff, as well as other cinemas across the UK, later this month.

Follow Alice Lowe and Prevenge on Twitter to keep up to date.

Crackanory Series 4 Preview

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The latest series of the ever-popular, dark anthology series Crackanory is looming. Here is quick preview of the latest set of episodes, to give you an idea of what sinister gems this new series has to offer, in time for January 30th, when the series begins on Dave.

The first episode in the series, entitled A Close Slave, is written by Tony Way. Dara O’Briain narrates the story of a playwright in ancient Rome, who is aided by his helpful slave when suffering from a particularly troublesome bout of writer’s block. Way presents viewers with an interesting blend of uneasy politics and delightful silliness, with the addition of various pieces of historical trivia on top. The drama levels are high as there is certainly a lot for our young protagonist to lose here. But as long as he writes the perfect ending, everything should go smoothly, right?

Living With A Lie, written by Nico Tatarowicz and performed by Sheridan Smith, follows the turbulent experiences of office worker Russell as he struggles to write his first novel. This story is one of lies and false impressions, with Russell’s fictional and genuinely disturbing ‘Aunt Janet’ making an unwelcome appearance across all aspects of his personal and professional life. The writing in this episode is particularly beautiful, with Tatarowicz’s use of metaphor making for poetic storytelling; the kind of writing that inspires others to write. And not only this, Steve Oram stars as Russell’s unsupportive manager Phil. This is definitely a highlight of the new series.

Crackanory S4 – Episode 3 – Bob Mortimer – The Despot of Tea

Bob Mortimer narrates the third episode in the series, Arnold Widdowson’s The Despot Of Tea, and his trademark matter-of-fact delivery shines through in this tale of Geoff, who becomes an unintentional propaganda icon when his acting career takes a surprise turn. This somewhat uneasy tale follows Geoff as he travels to a former Soviet state for of an acting job, only to find out that he has been recruited by the country’s president Alexei to get the nation’s people back on side. If this twisting thrill-ride of a story wasn’t enough for you, it’s worth watching just to hear Mortimer say Sir Slurpington-Boots.

The Frankenstein-esque The Survivor is a delightfully unsettling piece of television. Written by Alex Kirk and narrated by Anna Friel, this tale recounts the difficult discoveries made by Thomas, who awakes in a strange house in the middle of the countryside to the news that his parents have died. He is bed-bound and helpless, pined over more like a family pet than a patient. Nothing is as it seems in the warped, dystopian world Thomas finds himself in, and viewers are kept guessing right up to the very last scene.

Episode five, Proxy Lady, features Mel Giedroyc’s recognisable, playful delivery that is pleasingly blunt in parts. Mel introduces us to 27 year old Beth, a miserable hotel worker who’s life becomes infinitely more interesting when she receives an ominous email from a woman named Greta (House of Fool‘s Ellie White). There is certainly something sick and twisted about the behaviour of the characters from the offset, but an unusual development is that it appears to be Beth who is the heartless one, rather than the mysterious loner she has dealings with.

Crackanory S4 – Episode 5 – Mel Giedroyc – Proxy Lady

Devil’s Haircut is written by Sarah Morgan and narrated by the ‘cool kid’ of comedy Doc Brown. It is a tale of ‘four white men in waistcoats singing stolen slave songs.’ Well, that’s what the sultry and mysterious Lil (Sophia Di Martino) claims a barbershop quartet is, and our protagonist, Spencer, happens to be a part of said barbershop quartet. Seduced by Lil’s red lipstick and intense gaze, the singer finds himself implicated in a pact that he had not intended to get involved in, with the love of his life suddenly becoming a source of great fear.

The Office‘s Mackenzie Crook narrates The Disappearance, written by Toby Davies. This is a story of misdirection, one that explores the border between magic and madness, pushing it to its absolute boundaries until, inevitably, something has to break. This episode is pacy and impactful, with an air of The Prestige about it. It features Dominic Coleman as Solomon the successful magician whose love for the craft, family relations and sanity begin to crumble around him.

And finally comes the final episode in the series: Pickled, written by Kevin Eldon and narrated by Miriam Margolyes. This tale begins with a close look at Benedict, a man who goes from riches to rags as his extravagant lifestyle catches up with him. Benedict’s life is in tatters around him, entirely of his own doing. Add a haunted house to the mix and it looks likes things aren’t going to be looking up anytime soon for our poor protagonist. Margolyes’ storytelling is fantastic and dramatic here; perfect for portraying the tense relationship that develops between Benedict and the ghostly old man he meets in the abandoned house.

This latest series of Crackanory perfectly epitomises what the art of entertaining storytelling is all about. The narrators are well-chosen and each story is innovative and unpredictable; definitely worth a watch. Crackanory series 4 begins on Monday 30th January at 10pm on Dave.

Ask The Expert: Sarah Henley (Comedy Promoter)

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Sarah Henley is part of the team responsible for creating the online stand up comedy platform NextUp, a company that organises the recording of stand up shows from the likes of Tony Law, Richard Herring and Lou Sanders and publishes them online for comedy fans to devour. Sarah is also a playwright and director, as well as being the founder of ComComedy.
To learn more about Sarah’s career, I asked her a few questions…

1) What triggered you to set up the NextUp initiative?

Dan, Kenny and I (three of the four NextUp Founders) used to run a comedy YouTube channel and monthly live variety comedy night called ComComedy. It involved showcasing great up-and-coming comics by filming parts of their set and interviewing them and sharing the videos online. We went up to the Edinburgh Fringe each year to film and interview comics and couldn’t believe the amount of high quality shows, which might get a tour or a short run in London, but would then just disappear. We figured that there was a much bigger audience for those great shows, and that they just needed the right platform; so NextUp was born!

2) Who is on the NextUp team?

Dan Berg. He’s got a great background in comedy and has even one a BAFTA for writing! He runs the company on a day to day basis –working across all areas of the business.

Kenny Cavey. Kenny has an incredible amount of experience in production and tech, so he’s our head of production as well as the person in charge of our user experience.

Stuart Snaith. Stuart has many years of experience in the comedy industry – he worked as Head of Comedy for BBC Worldwide and for NextUp he is head of content and partnerships.

Me. I work across a lot of different areas of the business as well, but one of my big focuses is on marketing and communications – making sure we get the message of NextUp out there to comedy fans and comedians alike!

© NextUp Comedy

3) How do you choose which comedians will feature on NextUp?

Good question! And something that I think will evolve as we get to know our audience more and what their particular likes/dislikes are. At the moment we’re trying to promote a really broad range so there’s something for everyone. We’re also really keen on showcasing the diversity of comedy out there that perhaps can’t find a platform on TV yet – there’s a way to go on this one but it’s something we’re passionate about. In the main, we’re looking for really well-crafted full hours of comedy.

4) What aspect of your work/career are you proudest of?

I think when we get a tweet or email from one of our subscribers saying that they’ve just discovered their new favourite comic…that’s when I know we’re getting something right!

5) How do you see NextUp developing in future years?

We’d love NextUp to grow and grow. We want to film more incredible comics and reach a really wide audience. We’re available worldwide so it’d be great to feature comics and market to other countries and really become the home of stand up comedy online.

SIGN UP TO NETXTUP COMEDY STREAMING HERE

ASK THE EXPERT…