Interviews, reviews and all sorts of news about comedy!
Cardinal Burns are a multi award-winning sketch and character duo consisting of Seb Cardinal and Dustin Demri-Burns. After the first series of their sketch show ‘Cardinal Burns’ aired on E4 in 2012, they received three British Comedy Awards nominations in 2012 – the most-ever for first-time nominees – eventually walking away with Best Sketch Show, whilst scooping two Broadcast Awards and a Loaded Lafta in the same year. In 2013 they were nominated for a BAFTA and the Rose d’Or award for comedy.
After meeting at film school in Edinburgh, Seb and Dustin established themselves as sketch writer / performers on the comedy circuit before really making their mark with their critically acclaimed self-titled show at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2009. They went on to achieve sell out runs at London’s Soho Theatre and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, as well appearances at Latitude, Leeds and Reading music festivals.
As well as their own series, they have appeared together in Steve Coogan’s ‘Saxondale’ (BBC Two), whilst individual credits include ‘Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa’ (StudioCanal), ‘I Give It a Year’ (Working Title), ‘Kill Your Friends’ (Altitude Films), ‘Psychobitches’ (Sky Arts), ‘Life’s Too Short’ (BBC Two), ‘Spy’ (Sky1) and ‘The Mimic’ (C4).
The second series of Cardinal Burns starts on Channel 4 on Wednesday 30th April at 10pm.
Cardinal Burns start their national tour in September, tickets are available from www.cardinalburns.com.
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Sara Shulman is the Founder and Editor of Comedy Blogedy, TEDxUCL Speaker on ‘The Power of Funny’, former Head of Comedy at UCLU Rare FM and produces the Comedy Blogedy podcast ‘Humour Me’. Sara is currently a student at the National Film & Television School and occasionally gigs on the comedy circuit.
www.comedyblogedy.com
www.twitter.com/comedyblog
TedxUCL Talk – ‘The Power of Funny’
CB: How long have you been gigging in comedy?
EM: Since Summer 2010 [Yolanda Be Cool and DCUP were number 1 with 'We no speak Americano'].
CB: How would you describe your comedy?
EM: Friendly fire. I’m also part of a sketch group called Making Faces and we love to satirise the big solutions to life’s problems, while exploring interesting characters. This carries over into my stand-up, which I mix with games, characters, spoken word and music.
CB: Which comedians influence your comedy?
EM: My favourite comedy writers are Armando Iannucci and Stewart Lee. Performers that I can’t get enough of are James Corden, Olivia Coleman and Robin Williams. On a personal level I find Rob Broderick of Abandoman one of the most warm and supportive guys. He’s kind and relaxed, and his attention to detail is really inspiring. Could say the same about a number of performers I’ve met too.
CB: Did you always want to go into comedy?
EM: I love making people laugh, so it’s a natural direction. I’ve always loved creativity, having performed in bands and written lots of stories. Comedy combines a lot of those things. I write a lot and comedy provides the most immediate feedback. You know when you’ve written something good because everyone goes “Hahaha” and they mean it.
CB: How do you go about writing your material?
EM: It depends on the material. Sometimes it’s an observation that you just come across – like the way you can tell my very British friend Abi grew up in America because she bounces her head side to side like one of the Brady bunch.
Other times I robustly research the background to an issue I see a lot in the news – for example, did you know that all the ministers behind HS2 have electric train sets in their attics and are using tax payers money in effect to fulfill boyhood fantasies? I know!
A lot of the time it’s just about words that sound funny next to each other – like spud hammer and welly tax.
CB: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
EM: It’s a part-time non-hobby. I take it too seriously and don’t enjoy it enough for it to be a hobby. My main job involves working to support young arts graduates, so I do see some cross-over in their work and mine. One artist I work with called Phil Elbourne employs a lot of bathos in his work and that’s something I see a lot in great comedians; Woody Allen is a particularly good manipulator of bathos. But he would be, with shirts like that.
CB: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
EM: I love being funny. I would love to be funnier. Simple as that
CB: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
EM: If you’re offering, large theatres rigged with spotlights that can pick out celebrities seated about the venue.
CB: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
EM: The first ‘heckle’ experience I had was with Making Faces at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2010, where 3 drunk Edinburghians sat on the front row. They shouted out regularly through the first five minutes, pitching in their thoughts, which would have been fine, but we had to keep asking them what they’d actually said, because of their thick Scotch accents.
I don’t get heckled much. Most people are very kind and are simply pitching in suggestions for how the show could be improved.
CB: What advice would you give to new acts thinking of starting out in comedy?
EM: Love your audience. When you go on stage, think about how you can build them up and show them things about themselves that they would not have known otherwise.
Work towards perfection but don’t expect it.
Be the change you want to see.
Open up your heart.
More practically – the notepad ‘write it down immediately’ system is a must. I can’t tell you the number of times I thought of a great idea for a joke and didn’t write it down. (I can’t tell you, because I have no record of those times for some reason.)
CB: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
MG: Well I had my first taste in 2007 when I was 19. I performed at a few open-mic nights in & around the capital. But I started to take it seriously in 2009… so I’d say since 2009.
CB: How would you describe your comedy?
MG: My official blurb is: His charismatic style and stunning physicality has already earned him dedicated fans on both the mainstream and black comedy circuits. I try to offer a small window into my life and a little of my perspective on the world.
CB: Which comedians influence your comedy?
MG: I’m drawn to larger than life performers like Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy and Lee Evans. I’ve always felt they offer more than just comedy…they create a real sense of character in their stand-up.
CB: Did you always want to go into comedy?
MG: I wanted to be an actor originally, having studied Performing Arts & Theatre Production at University. I’ve had a small taste of acting recently having been cast on “The Johnny & Inel Show” for CBBC as “Mo” (what are the chances)! While training to act, friends always encouraged me to give comedy a try…
CB: How do you go about writing your material?
MG: My comedy comes from a very physical place, so I often write material in bullet points so that there’s room to improvise. Sometimes I feel it loses a little edge if I write too much down.
CB: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
MG: I pretty much gig full time now.
CB: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the comedy circuit?
MG: I love that I step on stage in front of complete strangers and have 10 minutes to win them over. Getting a stranger to laugh is a great feeling. The most frustrating part is getting to a place where I’m happy with my material – I’m very critical of myself.
CB: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
MG: I don’t have a preference really but as I’m 26 the 18-35 age group immediately relate to my material.
CB: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
MG: I haven’t been heckled yet. I find that my style doesn’t really allow much time for people to heckle me. Although at one gig – when playing to a rather ‘mature’ audience – someone did shout out “We can’t hear you”.
I replied “Well turn your hearing aid up luv”. That went down well.
CB: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
MG: Keep it original & be yourself as nobody can be you – but you. But most of all have fun with comedy – there is no limit to what people will laugh at.
CB: How long have you been gigging in comedy?
JP: I did my first gig about 3 years ago. It was an audition-like thing underground at the Students’ Union in front of about seven people, all of whom were acts. Needless to say laughter was in short supply throughout.
CB: How would you describe your comedy?
JP: I am not sure how I would describe it, it is mainly just me on stage talking about stuff, mainly myself.
CB: Which comedians influence your comedy?
JP: I didn’t really know much about comedy before I began. I was very much a product of the Mcintyre/panel show comedy boom and so I guess they influenced me inasmuch as they made me aware that it was a thing that people did. I still really like that side of comedy, but I am quite different in terms of style and content. I don’t really know who influences me to be honest, I think Simon Amstell is probably the comedian furrowing the ground closest to the ground I would like to furrow.
CB: Did you always want to go into comedy?
JP: Sort of. It was always something I thought would be fun, but it also felt like the sort of thing that other people did, like playing football or being a scientist. Then at freshers fair at university in a fit of excitement I signed up to loads of things and out of them comedy was the thing that stuck. Had it been otherwise, I would probably be bloody excellent at ultimate frisbee by now
CB: How do you go about writing your material?
JP: I tend to get an idea, write it down, say it to an audience, decide whether or not it is rubbish and then either rewrite it and make it better or wonder how I ever thought that stupid idea could be funny.
CB: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
JP: Sort of inbetween a hobby and a job at the moment. Mostly it has just been a hobby but I then left university and realised that proper work seemed a bit rubbish so I have started taking it more seriously. In the last 3 months or so I have been gigging a lot more, which is nice.
CB: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
JP: The best bit is when a gig is going well and you think to yourself this is going well and then it continues to go well. The worst bit is when it doesn’t. Also public transport can be a bit rubbish.
CB: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
JP: I don’t know really. A lot of the best gigs I’ve had have happened unexpectedly at places I assumed where going to be terrible. Having said that out of everywhere I think The Stand is probably my favourite place to perform.
CB: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
JP: I haven’t really been heckled a lot no, I think heckling is a thing that people think happens more than it does. I used to be terrified of it but now I don’t really mind it, I feel like so long as the audience think you are in control then it is usually fine.
CB: What advice would you give to new acts thinking of starting out in comedy?
JP: I don’t know really, the blind leading the blind and all that. Having said that I do think editing stuff is key.
CB: How long have you been gigging in comedy?
GK: I’ve been gigging about 4 years, first year very little and then about two times per week for about three years.
CB: How would you describe your comedy?
GK: My comedy is simple, easy to understand.
CB: Which comedians influence your comedy?
GK: I really like Mr Bean, Chris Rock and Adam Sandler.
CB: Did you always want to go into comedy?
GK: I didn’t plan to. I took some acting lessons at City Lit School and then found out they have stand-up comedy course which I decided to take because it sounded like a lot of fun. I enjoyed watching my classmates perform so much that I took the same course one more time with the same teacher (Rob Hitchmough) but different classmates this time. At the course I learned that we are allowed to write down our jokes and improve on them over time. I honestly never knew that. I just thought that all the comedians go on stage and perform by improvising. I thought the course will teach me how to be funny but instead it taught me that can be achieved by working on my material and performing in front of real audiences.
CB: How do you go about writing your material?
GK: I write it on my phone whenever I think of something because I have my phone usually on me. And then later when I have time I work on it, write, rewrite and perform.
CB: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
GK: I have a day job different from comedy. It’s a hobby which I really like. My main job doesn’t influence my material much. I write more about things happening on train or bus or from my memories about the barn with animals we once had.
CB: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
GK: Enjoyable is meeting my comedy friends when I go and gig. Frustrating is that often they know all my material and if there’s not much other people then there’s not much laughter either.
CB: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
GK: People who like my jokes. Because my jokes are silly not always people like them. I’m guessing it’s probably mixed male and female audience between ages 11 and 105 who can relate to my jokes.
CB: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
GK: I’ve been heckled a few times. I don’t mind it if I can quickly think of something to respond with. Can’t think of a best heckle. But worst was when one time a guy shouted “Shut up!” and after a while he said “I notice you are still talking.” It was quite painful that night.
CB: What advice would you give to new acts thinking of starting out in comedy?
GK: Gig as much as you can. Take a comedy course if you think it might help you.
Johnny Cochrane and Inel Tomlinson are the stars of the RTS award-nominated children’s comedy show ‘The Johnny and Inel Show’ on CBBC. Johnny and Inel are both stand-up comedians who gig and MC all over the U.K.
The Johnny & Inel Show combines an interactive studio sitcom with punchy sketches to create a packed half hour of cool characters, music, catchphrases and comedy. The show was nominated for two RTS awards in 2013 for Best Comedy Show and Best Performance in a Comedy.
Celebrity guests in the second series include Conor Maynard, The Vamps, Doc Brown and The Saturdays.
Inel is also the founder of Kinetic Comedy, one of the best comedy clubs in London.
You can watch the show on weekends at 9:30am on CBBC and CBBCHD or on BBC iPlayer.
www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/the-johnny-and-inel-show
@JohnnyICochrane
@Inel
@JohnnyandInel
@KineticComedy
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Sara Shulman is the Founder and Editor of Comedy Blogedy, TEDxUCL Speaker on ‘The Power of Funny’, former Head of Comedy at UCLU Rare FM and produces the Comedy Blogedy podcast ‘Humour Me’. Sara is currently a student at the National Film & Television School and has written, produced and directed online sketches. Sara occasionally gigs on the comedy circuit.
www.comedyblogedy.com
www.twitter.com/comedyblog
TEDx talk on ‘The Power of Funny’
Caroline Quentin is an award-winning actress, who has performed in some of the most successful British comedies in recent years. These have included Men Behaving Badly, where Quentin played the part of Dorothy and in Jonathan Creek as the part of Maddie Magellan, starring alongside Alan Davies for three years.
Quentin has also appeared in various television and radio comedy shows, such as Have I Got News For You, Dead Boss, Room 101, Mr. Bean, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, BBC Radio 4′s improvisational comedy series ‘The Masterson Inheritance’ and many more.
In 2004, Quentin won the British Comedy Award for ‘Best Comedy Actress’ for her performance in ‘Von Trapped’.
Quentin has recently starred in the Comedy Central series Big Bad World, where she played the part of Jan, mother of the main character Ben (Blake Harrison).
www.twitter.com/quentyquestions
Image credit: Sheila Burnett
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Sara Shulman is the Founder and Editor of Comedy Blogedy, TEDxUCL Speaker on ‘The Power of Funny’, former Head of Comedy at UCLU Rare FM and produces the Comedy Blogedy podcast ‘Humour Me’. Sara is currently a student at the National Film & Television School and has written, produced and directed online sketches. Sara occasionally gigs on the comedy circuit.
www.comedyblogedy.com
www.twitter.com/comedyblog
tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxUCL-SA…HULMAN-The-power
A jam-packed night of all star comedy featuring award-winning comedians and sketch acts along with the brightest up and coming comedians on the circuit and headlined by the star of BBC3′s Uncle Nick Helm!
The gig is a fundraiser for an upcoming comedy short film ‘New Hat’ written by and starring David Elms, who will MC the evening, directed by Matt Holt and produced by Sara Shulman.
So come down, laugh yourself silly and help us pay for the sandwiches and stuff…
Tickets £8 in advance / £10 on the door http://
Line-up:
NICK HELM
Star of BBC3′s UNCLE
Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee 2011 & 2013
Best Breakthrough Act – Southbank Sky Arts Awards 2014
www.nickhelm.co.uk / @thenickhelm
MAX AND IVAN
Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees 2013 & panel prize winners 2011
Barry Award Nominees 2013 – Melbourne International Comedy Festival
www.maxandivan.com / @maxandivan
TOM ROSENTHAL
Star of ITV’s Plebs & Channel 4′s Friday Night Dinner
British Comedy Awards Best Breakthrough Act Nominee 2011
Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2011
www.tomrosenthal.net / @rosentweets
DAN SCHREIBER
Co-creator and co-producer of BBC Radio 4′s ‘Museum of Curiosity’ and QI Elf
@schreiberland
DAMIEN SLASH
Over 500,000 views on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/
www.youtube.com/user/
PATRICK TURPIN
“Slick, brilliantly acted, and original” – CHORTLE
“Accomplished stuff… one to watch” – SCOTSMAN
“Patrick Turpin only needs to stand on stage to provoke giggles from the audience” **** – BROADWAY BABY
@exporepatrick
ELLIE WHITE
BBC Radio 4′s Fresh From The Fringe
Live At The Electric
As featured in Channel 4 Comedy Blaps and BBC Feed MY Funny
@elliewhite5
ORRY GIBBENS
Part of the Youtube sensation ‘Don’t Drop The Egg’
http://www.youtube.com/
@orry_gibbens23
DAVID ELMS (MC)
BBC Three Presents
BBC 3 Edinburgh ‘Marathon Show’
Chortle Student Comedy Awards Finalist
Edinburgh University of the Year Winner
Doors 7:30pm / Start 8pm
Sara Shulman interviews John Kearns about winning the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award ‘Best Newcomer’ award 2013, writing material, gigging all around the UK and lots more!
Check out this interview with John recorded in July 2013 before he performed his award-winning show at the Edinburgh Festival!
About The Show
“‘Sight Gags for Perverts’, is how one critic described Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove upon its release. Stan cherished this, writing it down on a list headed ‘Titles in Search of a Script’. It was never made, this won’t be either.
I wear a little wig and some false teeth. It’s a disguise you see. I talk about holidaying on your own, the state of comedy as we know it and how we all just want to bloody feel something for gods sake. There is a sing-a-long at the beginning and support is provided by Yogi Baby. You’ll know when the show has ended, as I’ll be in a dress, sporting heels and singing ‘Wrecking Ball’ by Bruce Springsteen. People have told me to take the wig off, some say I don’t need the teeth, others wonder what the voice is, what they’re laughing at, what’s true and what’s made up. There’s one bit that can go either way depending on the audience. Not me.”
‘Now THIS is how you do absurd comedy… a bold, hilarious debut… he has forged comedy gold.’ ★★★★★ Chortle
‘A true comedy original.’ ★★★★ Time Out
‘Extremely funny.’ ★★★★ Scotsman
‘Spike Milligan, Vic & Bob, John Kearns. Say hello to comedy’s latest lunatic.’ ★★★★ Beyond the Joke
‘Perhaps his finest achievement is that in the course of the whole show, there’s nothing you can actually identify as a joke.’ Guardian
‘One of the most bizarre and brilliant hours of comedy I’ve ever witnessed…there is so much going on in his performance at any one moment, that I’m really finding it quite difficult to sum it up in easily digestible English sentences.” - Leicestercomedyscene.co.uk
“Tremendous originality… a jumpy and unpredictable raconteur… a shot of nervous energy, an elastic band about to snap… I can’t see him waiting in reserve for long.” - Broadway Baby
‘Original, dark, bold… won’t be for everyone’- London Is Funny
‘Spectacular Style… keeps the audience riveted and delivers the laughs.’ -British Comedy Guide
‘Highly imaginative… excellent, surrealist ranter.’ – Spoonfed
Image credit Darren Russell (SoundCloud)
www.thatjohnkearns.co.uk
www.twitter.com/johnsfurcoat
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Sara Shulman is the Founder and Editor of Comedy Blogedy, TEDxUCL Speaker on ‘The Power of Funny’, former Head of Comedy at UCLU Rare FM and produces the Comedy Blogedy podcast ‘Humour Me’. Sara has been a scout for the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards and has written, produced and directed online sketches. Sara occasionally gigs on the comedy circuit.
www.comedyblogedy.com
www.twitter.com/comedyblog
http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxUCL-SARA-SHULMAN-The-power;search%3Asara%20shulman
Adam Larter is a comedian, writer and founder of Weirdos Comedy Club. Adam started performing comedy whilst a student of Creative Writing at Kingston University and has since performed four shows at the Edinburgh Festival whilst also growing a critically acclaimed and award nominated Comedy Club that showcases some of the best acts in the alternative comedy scene.
Adam directed the Weirdos production of ‘Hook’ in 2012 at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club which raised over £4000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital. The production also received a nomination in 2013 for the Chortle Award for Innovation.
Adam has co-written and co-directed another anarchic comedy pantomime with Matthew Highton called ‘The Colonel’. The story explores how a poor boy from Kentucky becomes a face seen on every high street. Featuring some of the best alternative and award-winning comedians including John Kearns, Ben Target, Pat Cahill, Beth Vyse, Joz Norris, Marny Godden, Karl Schultz and Ali Brice.
The show runs for 4 days in December at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club:
Monday 16th December
Tuesday 17th December
Wednesday 18th December
Friday 20th December
All money raised goes to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
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Sara Shulman is the Founder and Editor of Comedy Blogedy, TEDxUCL speaker on ‘The Power of Funny’, former Head of Comedy at UCLU Rare FM and produces the Humour Me Comedy Podcast. Sara is also a recent graduate of Classics at UCL and occasionally gigs on the comedy circuit.
www.comedyblogedy.com
www.twitter.com/comedyblog
tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxUCL-SA…HULMAN-The-power
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