Comedians Archives - Page 41 of 64

August: Comedian Of The Month #31, Jayde Adams

September 7, 2016 by Becca Moody 1 Comment

Each Comedian of the Month on MoodyComedy is a comic who has never previously featured on the website. Reasons for selection can include various current projects the comedian is involved with, or perhaps recent appearances on television programmes or podcasts. There is no strict criteria however, as Comedian of the Month simply stands as a collection of recommendations, highlighting interesting and original aspects of certain comedians and their work.

As the winner of 2014’s Funny Women Award and nominee for Best Newcomer at this year’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards, Jayde Adams is a name and a voice you will certainly be hearing a lot more of in the coming months.

Bristol-born stand up comic Jayde Adams is boisterous, bright and bossy. She sets an agenda early on; there are things to do and simply no time for mucking around: “I haven’t got time for your insecurities,” she barks at an audience member who reluctantly joins her on stage. Here we have a performer who is incredibly easy for me to write about; she is loud and provocative, with colourful costume, dance and props making her sets visually interesting, as well as a powerful singing voice and abundance of musical tracks to diversify her sets.

Her 2016 Edinburgh show is entitled 31 (and may I point out here that it is a complete, yet undeniably satisfying, coincidence that Adams is MoodyComedy’s 31st Comedian of the Month) and is a vibrant tribute to the singer Adele. And many comparisons can be drawn between the two performers, both refreshingly honest, uncomplicated and effortlessly funny. But beneath the colour and noise, Adams’ latest show is concerned with the fragility of confidence, whether that be onstage or within oneself.

Best Newcomer nominees at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2016 © Edinburgh Comedy Awards

And there are layers, parts of this comedian that we have to wait patiently to learn, and though there is a limited availability of these moments to view online, one only has to read an interview with Jayde to witness her willing vulnerability in opening up about her personal life. Her openness is what makes her likeable, whilst earlier behaviours may lead an audience to assume that this comedian does not feel the need to be liked. At the end of the day, Jayde Adams knows what she is good at, and ultimately that is making people laugh.

For more information, visit Jayde Adams’ website and follow her on Twitter.

JULY COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

TV Review: Fleabag, Series 1

August 27, 2016 by Becca Moody Leave a Comment

At first glance BBC Three’s new sitcom Fleabag may give the illusion of being like any other modern day sitcom. A young, attractive but troubled lead with a turbulent love life, an uptight sister and a struggling small business; what more could writer and ‘Fleabag’ Phoebe Waller-Bridge bring to the table? But within the first episode the narrative is already swept in an interesting direction, with the suggestion of darker aspects to this person’s life than one might previously have assumed.

Beginning life as a one-woman Edinburgh show in 2013, Fleabag is a confessional tale of a young woman trying to succeed in her relationships, business ventures and in herself, but desperately treading water. Waller-Bridge’s writing is rude and provocative but refreshingly open and self-deprecating. Yes it is dark, and heavy at times, but this sitcom is undoubtedly really funny. The production itself is artistically daring in places, with dream and flashback sequences packing particular punch. And the coy looks to camera are a welcome release of tension for viewers, with Waller-Bridge’s knowing eye drawing us in for personal in-jokes that teach us more about her character, rather than serve as cheap laughs.

And the cast is not to be scoffed at either, with W1A‘s Hugh Skinner playing Fleabag’s intermittent boyfriend as well as Hugh Dennis as unsupportive bank manager and Olivia Colman as somewhat self-entitled step-mum. The small group of core characters are diversely peculiar, with each of their stresses manifesting in traits such as a limitation to the fluidity of their social skills or an avoidance of adult responsibilities.

There are plenty of laugh out loud moments provided by our star, drawn from her highly socially inappropriate sense of humour and an apparently uncontrollable mouth. But the issue at the heart of this unsettling comedy is one of great personal loss; whether that be the ongoing pain of having her mother die when she was young or the recent shock of losing her best friend in a horrific incident, Fleabag is coming to terms with her status in the world, and within her own disjointed family.

Fleabag is almost a comedy of errors; it is a narrative of social nonconformity: a depiction of a young woman struggling to accept herself, apparently terrified of real affection. Our almost-tragic lead is the receiver of everyone’s sympathy but does not often receive any genuine care. Disjointed, snappy and vibrant, Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag establishes itself very quickly before evolving into something else entirely; there are numerous moments in this programme that are absolutely exquisite.

FLEABAG IS AVAILABLE TO WATCH ON BBC IPLAYER

July: Comedian Of The Month #30, Luke Heggie

August 20, 2016 by Becca Moody 1 Comment

Each Comedian of the Month on MoodyComedy is a comic who has never previously featured on the website. Reasons for selection can include various current projects the comedian is involved with, or perhaps recent appearances on television programmes or podcasts. There is no strict criteria however, as Comedian of the Month simply stands as a collection of recommendations, highlighting interesting and original aspects of certain comedians and their work.

In March of this year, I spoke briefly with comedian and podcaster Stuart Goldsmith (the brain behind potentially the king of all comedy podcasts, The Comedian’s Comedian). I asked Goldsmith if there were any episodes of his podcast that he wished more people would listen to; any particular comedians he had interviewed who he thinks deserve a listen from every comedy fan. The name he instantly put forward was that of Luke Heggie, and now, just four months later, it is my turn to recommend Heggie to you, just as Stu recommended him to me.

Heggie is a no-nonsense Aussie performer. A builder by day as well as being a husband and father, he’s a busy man and he clearly doesn’t spare much time for messing around. Perhaps this is the reason for his word and joke economy being so high, then, with his punchy, fast-paced delivery and an almost aggressive, subversive attitude making for an impassioned stand up experience.

Openly embracing cynicism, Luke has an angry energy about him, and this energy is consistent throughout each set, whether that be expressed through snappy one liners or longer-form anecdotes, which the comic himself confesses can “border on ranty sarcasm but I don’t really give a shit.” He has a powerful voice, and he refers to issues that, although specific and detailed, can be related to by audiences as we can each draw different things from his narratives.

And even though Heggie holds so much resentment for so many idiots he encounters in his own life, we can’t help but pray that we don’t fit the descriptions of the resented, because this comedian has a strange ability to make his audience wish he would accept us, rather than us accepting him. Luke Heggie has been working on the circuit for around six years now, but one could be forgiven for assuming he has many more years under his belt, with his slating character assassinations and acerbic stage presence effortlessly asserting him as the most powerful presence in a room. You can listen to Luke Heggie’s interview with Stuart Goldsmith here.

For more information, visit Luke Heggie’s website and follow him on Twitter.

JUNE COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

The Edinburgh Interviews: Seven Questions With… Tamar Broadbent

August 17, 2016 by Becca Moody Leave a Comment

Tamar Broadbent is a comedian and musician known for her work developing musicals and producing solo shows that consider the perils of modern day life and how we can learn to embrace the more difficult or ‘ugly’ things that face us each and every day. Tamar’s latest show Get Ugly is a musical exploration of those little niggles in life that we often don’t talk about, shining a beacon of positivity and good humour and tackling problems big and small that inevitably pop up from time to time.

I asked Tamar these seven questions to find out more…

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The Edinburgh Interviews: Seven Questions With… David Ephgrave

August 16, 2016 by Becca Moody Leave a Comment

One half of comedy duo Doggett and Ephgrave (can you guess which?), David Ephgrave is a comedian and musician who has been working on the circuit for over nine years. He is bringing his latest show Mostly David Ephgrave to this year’s Edinburgh Festival as well as blogging his experiences at the Fringe. Publishing a piece of writing every single day, as Ephgrave does with his blog, is surely a fantastic way to encourage creativity and avoid stagnancy.

To find out more about David, I asked him these seven questions…

1) What is your most prominent Edinburgh Festival memory?

The time I got stuck inside a pouffe at the bar at the Pleasance Dome. I was chatting with my double act partner Glyn and a couple of other comics, when the bit of the footstool I was sitting on fell through, meaning I fell through with it. I tried to style it out, which is a physical impossibility.

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The Edinburgh Interviews: Seven Questions With… Lazy Susan

August 15, 2016 by Becca Moody Leave a Comment

Lazy Susan are a sketch double act made of Freya Parker and Celeste Dring, who have been making waves in recent times with shows that get bigger and better each year. Their sketches are unpredictable, silly and surreal, no surprise, then, that they were nominated for the Foster’s Best Newcomer Award in 2014. Lazy Susan bring their latest show, Crazy Sexy Fool, to this year’s Edinburgh Festival, and it is one that everyone seems to be talking about.

I spoke to Lazy Susan’s Freya Parker to find out more about the double act…

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The Edinburgh Interviews: Seven Questions With… Mark Thomas

August 14, 2016 by Becca Moody 1 Comment

Summarised as “part theatre, part stand up, part journalism, part activism”, Mark Thomas’ latest show The Red Shed is the final instalment of a trilogy of critically acclaimed shows (Bravo Figaro, followed by Cuckooed), which sees him return to a labour club in Wakefield, a place Thomas credits for aiding him in developing his political conscience, as well as his public speaking skills. The satirical television show The Mark Thomas Product ran for six series, and is a prime example of the comic’s passion for influential socialist comedy that encourages action, thus showing the importance of comedy for social development.

To learn more about the man behind the satire, I asked Mark these seven questions…

1) Is it easier or harder to produce political comedy when the political landscape becomes so volatile?

If we were a half decent nation of comedy lovers we would erect a monument to all the topical gags that were cut down in their prime in the great post Brexit war.

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