Comedian Of The Month

April: Comedian Of The Month #15, Gina Yashere

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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 one of the latest guests on Stuart Goldsmith’s Comedian Comedian Podcast, Gina Yashere was brought to my attention earlier this month, and the way she conducted herself on the show, as well as the hilarious and often shocking anecdotes she told, made me interested in learning more about her comedy.

Gina’s stand up career began in England, but in recent years she has dominated the American comedy scene, with her admirably confident stage presence teamed with personal accounts of her observations and experiences. And her flourishing comedy career is not only a wonderful thing for her as an individual: comedy in general really needs people like her at this point in time. Our comedy is changing and it truly is an exciting thing to witness.

I did not intend to write a post about the fact that Gina is a woman. Female comedians are not uncommon (and certainly not overlooked on this website). The Comedian of the Month feature I run here on MoodyComedy does not care for gender politics in comedy. But the thing is, Yashere, the comic in question, is fearlessly and triumphantly tackling the male-dominated comedy industry in a way that gives me great confidence that the situation is changing, evolving and that comedy is becoming a more welcoming art form to reside in. I suppose it might seem patronising if I wasn’t writing this as a seventeen-year-old girl who regularly feels under-confident, overshadowed and unmotivated due to the way society views gender.

Gina Yashere is a fantastic performer. She is refreshingly confident, fierce and relentless, with material that references her Nigerian heritage, her family and her experiences of international travel. I really enjoy hearing about the cultures of others through the means of comedy; I find that the humour adds a personal touch that isn’t simply the relaying of information. It’s interesting to see a comedian with so much direction from the very start of her career, which is something that is perhaps not so noticeable in many other artists, who may approach comedy in a less orderly or methodical way. Gina has goals and is open about it. She knows what she needs to do to reach the next level and wastes no time in getting there.

Follow Gina on Twitter or visit her website for more information.

MARCH COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

March: Comedian Of The Month #14, Sam Simmons

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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.

Sam Simmons is an uncompromisingly weird Australian stand up. He’s a one-man variety performance, with musical overlays, flip charts and dancing. If you embrace the weirdness, his comedy becomes something entirely unique. Simmons works hard for his laughs, and they pay off spectacularly, but he also brings elements of art to his stand up. The video below features a fantastic moment where he throws bread into the crowd only to demand everyone suddenly launch it back, as he tries to hit the pieces with table tennis bats of course. It is a remarkable sight.

Fans of Noel Fielding, Tony Law and Paul Foot will certainly appreciate the wackiness of Simmons, but there is an additional element of organisation that is uncommon, or perhaps unnoticed, in these ‘alternative’ or ‘whimsical’ comedians. Sam brings his own set of rules as well as timed voice overs that make it clear the comedy is not spontaneous. It is highly crafted, and I think the details in the planning and the effectiveness of the timing are what make each performance so hilarious.

Sam Simmons seems to be one of those performers that splits every crowd, and with statements like, “if you don’t like it, don’t look,” I think he sees it too. I know for sure that there must be people at every gig who have absolutely no idea what is going on, which makes me think of that time Tony Law upset a lady on the front row because she didn’t understand why everyone was laughing.

I am a fan of Simmons because he is confident in his strangeness and that is something I’d love to see more of in the world, and certainly in the UK. Maybe our comedy has become a little too conservative, and this comic is one of the few working hard to amend that.

Follow Sam on Twitter or visit his website for more information.

FEBRUARY COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

February: Comedian Of The Month #13, John Kearns

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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.

This month’s Comedian Of The Month is the strange character comic, John Kearns.

Winning Best Newcomer at the 2013 Foster’s Comedy Awards and following that up with the 2014 Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award saw Kearns make history and he has continued to blossom ever since. With tousled wig and oversized, crooked false teeth, this comedian really epitomises what might be considered “niche” in the comedy world, being, in his own words, “a joke that got out of hand”.

Talking of John Kearns, Bruce Dessau (Beyond The Joke) recently said “this work is very much for people who see a lot of comedy and crave something with a stronger flavour,” so perhaps this explains why I am such a fan of Kearns’ surreal comedy, but I’m not quite sure that’s it. I can also see how he could potentially appeal to a much larger audience, spanning over all ages, as he can certainly be compared to the likes of Harry Hill and Reeves and Mortimer, who have charmed adults and children alike for decades.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSmPFjmq9Vk

The absurdity borders on tragic at times, which makes for truly interesting viewing, and this is balanced by relatively frequent and astute observations derived from the simplest of things, like “I saw a five-year-old wearing a watch,” which earns a laugh in itself but is then developed even further. With his childish mannerisms and lively delivery, John Kearns really puts the joy into stand up. It is a pleasure to see him on stage as he clearly has a lot of fun, as well as bringing an enthusiasm to his performances which can only be admired.

Follow John on Twitter.

JANUARY COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

January: Comedian Of The Month #12, Maeve Higgins

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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.

My first Comedian of the Month for the new year is the fantastically funny Irish star of The Alternative Comedy Experience, Maeve Higgins.

Opening with lines like: “I don’t know if you know my parents. Do you know my parents?” Maeve quickly sets the scene for her strange style of conversational comedy. She is one of the most likeable stand up comedians I think I’ve ever known, but she’s no pushover. I have no regrets in saying that this lady is absolutely adorable and very endearing; her material is silly and childlike, often being almost whimsical.

She likes to play with and manipulate the comfort levels of her audiences, often acting as though she’s just a sweet little lady who wants to try a bit of comedy, but by acting so out of her depth, it just shows us that she really isn’t. Her material can often warrant awkward pauses, but she is quick to assure her audiences that she is, in fact, in total control- the awkwardness is a part of the whole package. And in creating this false sense of fear or anxiety, she earns all the more laughter as a relief from the stress once viewers realise that everything is fine.

Presenting her home country of Ireland as some kind of mystical foreign land, Higgins effortlessly slips into an almost surreal form of comedy, with tagged-on lines like: “I can do both of those things at the same time. Simultaneously as they say in my country,” and references things like ‘marmalade season’. And while she performs, she appears to be almost ageless; her delivery can border on deadpan, but she’s also energetic and youthful in equal measure.

Maeve Higgins is a very exciting comedian, and I look forward to seeing what she creates in the future.

Follow Maeve on Twitter and for further information, visit her website.

DECEMBER COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

December: Comedian Of The Month #11, Nish Kumar

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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.

Nish Kumar is a comedian who I have known of for a while but hadn’t seen too much of his stuff until recently. He is a part of a particular group of my favourites who happen to be television regulars (though Nish himself is someone I would definitely like to see on the television more). As a “British, Asian gentleman”, Kumar has faced his fair share of daily aggravations from the moronic proportion of the British public, and he has turned it into something hilarious.

Kumar is a wonderful observational comic, picking out the humorous parts of both the strange, and relatively mundane, experiences he has, to great effect. Like all great comedians, he talks about what he knows, be that awkward encounters with his parents or talking to girls.

He has a particular piece of material that I like very much that regards the attitudes of people concerning what is comedy and completely shuts down people who stupidly suggest that if it’s not funny, it’s just not comedy anymore. I always find these little elements of frustrated truth to be the funniest, because it’s such a relief to laugh at these irritating things.

Nish’s style of comedy is very approachable, with him being both well-spoken yet subtly self-depreciating, which allows an audience to feel at ease with him, as if he is an old friend, which is a great trait for a performer to have. I certainly look forward to seeing more of Nish Kumar in the future as he is undeniably a very funny man (with beautiful eyes).

Follow Nish on Twitter and for further information, visit his website.

NOVEMBER COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

November: Comedian Of The Month #10, Rob Delaney

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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.

Rob Delaney is an American stand up comedian and writer, arguably most well-known for his brilliant Twitter presence. His comedy style is confident and self-assured yet openly, and charmingly, flawed. Rob has the stage presence of an every-man’s man; someone who speaks what the majority of us want to say, but don’t have the platform to do so. Quite often we see comedians that seem distant from their audience, superior even, but with Delaney it feels as though everyone is on the same level, in a similar way to the style of Tony Law, for example.

Rob is very open about negative past experiences in his life, including an event that he claims clearly separates his life into two parts: a horrendous car crash that occurred around thirteen years ago where he ended up breaking both of his arms and having “knees that were ripped open to the bone”.

Now I am merely a sixteen year old girl, and I admit I know a minuscule amount about the world, especially about the world of drugs and alcohol addiction Delaney talks about here, but even I can see that here we have someone that was able to turn his life around and create something from his struggles. And just to add another layer of pretentious analysis: surely that’s what art is.

With his often intentionally ambiguous material, it isn’t always clear as to what direction a joke or concept is heading, and this enables Delaney to shock and even unsettle his audiences. A brilliant example of this would be his short piece about homophobia, where he talks as if he is “one of them” but has been “cured”, which would obviously put your regular audience member on edge immediately. And he is well aware of this.

As soon as it becomes apparent that the comic is satirising a concept rather than condoning it, it suddenly feels as though everything is right with the world again. It seems to be that an audience can trust this man to lead them to safety, whilst still teetering on the edge of danger throughout.

I recommend you follow Rob on Twitter and for further information, visit his website.

OCTOBER COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

October: Comedian Of The Month #9, Luisa Omielan

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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.

This month’s Comedian Of The Month is the ever sweet and ever sassy Luisa Omielan, a woman who bravely talks of her life and relationships whilst also demonstrating great creative and observational skill.

Not only is Luisa’s material very funny, it also pushes boundaries and that is everything we should expect from such a great comic (think, Katherine Ryan’s sharp putdowns paired with Sarah Millican’s smut). I know I could say this for virtually every comedian on the circuit but I am going to say it here nevertheless because it’s become very apparent in the case of this particular comedian: Luisa Omielan takes great pride in the effort she has taken to get where she is in her career; she has a clear passion and care for the industry, and her place within that.

It is evident from the clip above that Luisa truly cares about her audience and wants to make them feel good about themselves and happy in general. She is very obviously using the platform of stand up comedy to achieve something, or to share a message, to a large number of people who are willing to listen, and that is what comedy is all about really.

My reading of Luisa Omielan’s comedy is one of feminism at it’s most positive and constructive: there is simply no bitterness or anger present on the stage whilst Luisa is on it, other than when it is truly justified. And in taking on this persona as a comedian who builds women up rather than put men down, a rather prominent gap in the industry that needed to be filled has been filled with ease and charm, and her audiences are left feeling liberated and empowered.

For information on live shows, Luisa’s website is here and you should follow her Twitter too.

SEPTEMBER COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

September: Comedian Of The Month #8, Tom Wrigglesworth

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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.

Tom Wrigglesworth could be from absolutely anywhere: a circus, the local park, or another world entirely. His image ranges from regular man with incredible hair, to insane circus ringmaster dressed in purple and blue and green. Tom is endearing and accessible yet obviously intelligent, whilst often hinting at teetering on the edge of controversy, though he is always in full control.

A particular favourite example of this would be Tom’s material about his neighbour, Fatima, who wears a burkha. The point is that she covers her face and body so nobody else can see her, yet also wears a pair of glasses that enable her to see everyone else, a paradox in itself. It’s ridiculous, but it’s funny too: apparently you can only have one, religion or science, let’s not be greedy.

Wrigglesworth is a comedian with lots of observational material. What makes him stand out, however, is that he truly understands what it is to observe. He sees the things that absolutely nobody else sees, he makes things up, he connects the dots in a way that most wouldn’t think to. This is where observational comedy becomes an art form to me, especially considering that many of the anecdotes are unlikely to have actually happened and therefore rely on imagination alone.

I know I often compare comics to Paul Foot (aspects of them, of course, as it would be impossible to be anything like him as a comedian in his entirety due to his extreme quirkiness), but I will yet again draw a comparison. Tom reminds me of a slightly more put-together subtype of Paul, and that leads to almost sinister viewing (considering his style choice in the clip above).

Tom Wrigglesworth is a comedian who is interesting and interested, and there isn’t really a lot more you could ask of a performer.

For more information, visit Tom Wrigglesworth’s website and follow him on Twitter.

AUGUST COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

August: Comedian Of The Month #7, Gavin Webster

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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.

With August being the month of the Edinburgh Festival, even those of us stuck at home have been introduced to many new comedians through various television and radio shows covering events there. This month’s favourite comedian discovery, Gavin Webster, was one of those who was lucky enough to be able to perform on the TV show, Edinburgh Nights with Sue Perkins, and he did a very good job of it too.

What I liked about watching Gavin Webster’s short set on this Edinburgh variety-style show was the way it had elements to suggest imminent derailment. Webster showed an interesting blend of comfort and mild danger, with a deceptively nonchalant delivery and carefree nature.

In this way, his style is similar to that of Tony Law: he gives the appearance of chaos whilst remaining entirely in control. The audience is lead to believe that he has run out of ideas or that the show hasn’t gone to plan. A mere few minutes into his Edinburgh Nights set, he announced: “I’m beginning to run out of material now,” which is the kind of thing that gets a big laugh but leaves an intriguing sense of anxiety in the air.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGEngpLiQ6g

Webster is automatically likeable; he is a Geordie man of the people. His accent is wonderful (his own, and his impersonations) and he seems like a genuinely nice guy on stage: relatable and approachable.

Coincidentally, upon deciding that Gavin Webster was to be this month’s Comedian of the Month, my copy of the first edition of Stand & Deliver Mag (a post about of that will be up in the coming weeks) arrived with an article written by him within it. He wrote a brilliant piece about the roles within stand up comedy in today’s society and talked with true passion about a subject close to many of our hearts: genuine, clever comedy. Here, in 2014, we are surrounded by countless comedians: on television, in pubs, at art centres. Some, we follow on Twitter and others we pass in the street. They are everywhere and that is a fantastic thing but it is important that the passion and care for comedy by performers and audiences alike is kept alive.

For more information, visit Gavin Webster’s website and follow him on Twitter.

JULY COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

July: Comedian Of The Month #6, Noel James

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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.

The stand out comedian for me this month is Welsh funny man: Noel James. I heard of him through a recent episode of Stuart Goldsmith’s Comedian’s Comedian Podcast in which Noel presented himself as a very thoughtful and self aware individual, and one that I was interested to find out some more about.

Throughout the episode, Noel discussed his use of wordplay and metaphors amongst many surreal one-liners. These often tie together to form mad little stories and frequently feature songs too: his comedy is clearly something of a variety act within a one-man show. He’s obviously a very intelligent guy, which is made even more clear when we hear that he can speak (and perform in) Welsh as well as English and in the words of the man himself: “I heard ‘sorry’ is the hardest word, but not compared to Welsh, I heard”.

What I like most about Noel is the way his natural sense of humour really comes through while he is performing. He is able to ad-lib, or appear to be ad-libbing, without hesitation and that is a very important factor in a live comedy experience for me because it makes the show feel unique and tailored to an audience. And it’s clear that Noel’s audiences do adore him; when watching clips of his stand up on YouTube, the laughs are constant and genuine and this is down to his wonderfully confident delivery and hints of absolute insanity.

Watching Noel James’ material and listening to him analyse it on Goldsmith’s podcast was a real breath of comedy fresh air for me (and not only due to his soothing Welsh accent). He brings an honesty to his work but also carries that hint of mystery that comes with surrealist comedy and I think that makes a lovely combination.

You can listen to Episode 86 of The Comedian’s Comedian Podcast at a price of your choosing here or download it from iTunes.

JUNE COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH