Comedy in a Nutshell

In this episode I spoke with stand-up comedian Adele Cliff, who talked about one-liners, working with a director, zoom gigs, writer's rooms, her new Edinburgh show and her forthcoming podcast. I was first charmed by Adele Cliff's wit and whimsy when I saw her show "Undershare" at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe, then I saw her at the 2020 Leicester Comedy Festival in the mixed bill "A Punchline Hour" and of course she won that year's UK Pun Championship. In the year that followed I was not deprived of her

In this episode I spoke to blogger, podcaster and comedy fan Richard Gill, who talked about his earliest comedy shows, the Edinburgh festival, making the comedian laugh, and saying positive things. I think I finally ran into Richard Gill at the Water Rats in North London in 2021, at one of Vix Leyton's excellent Comedy Arcade panel shows. Rich and I were well aware of each other's  comedy pedigree by then and despite being surrounded by Vix Leyton, Rich Wilson, Robin Ince and Robin Morgan, we spend

In this episode I spoke with stand-up comedian Vix Leyton, who talked about her first 100 gigs, learning while on stage, women in comedy, starting out in promoting, reverse auctions, and MC-ing for Women and Children First. By the time I first met the wonderful Vix Leyton in a field at the Cambridge Comedy Festival in July of 2021, we were aware of each other from our interactions on Instagram and her varied appearances on Zoom comedy shows. Since then I've had the pleasure of seeing Vix perform at

In this episode I spoke with stand-up comedian Aidan Goatley, who talked about Billy Connelly, his 5-star Edinburgh show 10 Films With My Dad, his 2022 Edinburgh show Tenacious, and being Nice. I saw "10 Films with My Dad" at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe and thoroughly enjoyed it, something I should've expected given that it had been a huge hit at the Fringe year after year since 2011. I met Aidan after he performed his show "Tenacious" at the 2022 Hastings Comedy Festival , and spent

In this episode I spoke with stand-up comedian Lorraine Hoodless, who talked about getting what you need from a work in progress, theme nights, her 2022 Edinburgh show "Bumpy", and being inclusive. During the Lockdown of 2020 and on into 2021, Lorraine Hoodless was a regular fixture on my household calendar with her Instagram shows "Cock-Tagi-Con", and later work in progress streams for "According to Everyone Else". I found her easy charm and ready wit engaging and her conversation in this episode

In this episode I spoke with rising stand-up comedian Alice-India, who talked about her approach to comedy, her stage persona, and also about her experiences with shady characters on the comedy circuit. I first became aware of Alice-India when she was a finalist at the 2021 2Northdown New Comedian of the Year, but it was at her 45 minute work in progress "Be Brave (or Whatever)" at the Caroline of Brunswick for the 2022 Brighton Fringe that I saw first hand her comedy prowess. In this show she was