Comedy
Inside the lurid, laugh-out-loud world of Alex Gamsu Jenkins
Garish, grotesque and riddled with dark humour, the 29-year-old’s illustrations and comics depict the millennial experience with twisted glee. For the Londoner, it’s about reclaiming the anxieties that young people face every single day.
Written by: Niall Flynn
British satire is fanning the flames of fascism
Cruel comedy — Satirical culture in the UK routinely protects the powerful and punches down. It’s time people stopped laughing along and took its threats seriously, writes Elia Cugini.
Written by: Elia Cugini
‘Shiva Baby‘ is a viscerally anxious coming-of-age film
Emma Seligman in conversation — The first-time director discusses her new high-octave panic of a movie about a young bisexual Jewish woman, portrayed by Rachel Sennott, who runs into her sugar daddy at a shiva.
Written by: Jack King
Stewart Lee on the post-punk band that shaped his career
King Rocker — The comedian discusses his new documentary about the relatively forgotten band, The Nightingales, and its renegade frontman, Robert Lloyd, which raises timely question around ideas of artistic success.
Written by: Fergal Kinney
‘I’m a warped guy, I don’t want my son to turn out like me’
Life according to Limmy — In his autobiography, the Scottish comedian writes candidly about his experiences with anxiety, alcoholism, suicidal thoughts and sex. But while others may find revealing such details daunting, Limmy isn’t too fazed. He’s always been a motormouth.
Written by: Niall Flynn
Remembering The Day Today, Britain’s sharpest satire
An oral history — A precursor to some of the country’s most-loved comedies, The Day Today revolutionised television satire. We speak to the show’s creators to find out how it came to be, and why it could never be made today.
Written by: Daniel Dylan Wray
Getting deep with Sharon Van Etten, pop's great polymath
Switching gears — After pressing pause on her blossoming music career, Sharon Van Etten took some time out to recalibrate. Now that she's back with her biggest album yet, the singer talks therapy, comedy and finding a different kind of love.
Written by: Cian Traynor
The comedic outsiders behind TV's funniest new show
This Country — After struggling for years in a nowhere town with nothing to do, Charlie and Daisy May Cooper have made a hit comedy series about just that. But as the big time beckons, they're determined to keep their outlier status intact.
Written by: Cian Traynor
Why nothing is off-limits for Britain’s most confrontational pranksters
A revolting pair — From standup to satire, jokes can be a saviour. But in the right hands, they can also trigger change. To help resist – with humour – we’re celebrating radical voices that rise above the rest. In this instalment, we learn why the in-your-face comedy of Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein spares no one – fearlessly satirising issues across the dial.
Written by: Michael Segalov
Comedian Josie Long on using humour as a force for change
Kings of Comedy — From standup to satire, jokes can be a saviour. But in the right hands, they can also trigger change. To help resist – with humour – we’re celebrating radical voices that rise above the rest. In this instalment, one-woman comedy phenom Josie Long lays out the importance of self-independence.
Written by: Michael Segalov
Aamer Rahman has nailed the art of activist comedy
Kings of comedy — From standup to satire, jokes can be a saviour. But in the right hands, they can also trigger change. To help resist – with humour – we’re celebrating radical voices that rise above the rest. In this instalment, Australian comic and activist Aamer Rahman explains why bad comedy can backfire… especially when it comes to the likes of Trump.
Written by: Iris Mansour
Lolly Adefope is stand-up's brightest shape-shifter
Kings of comedy — From standup to satire, jokes can trigger change. To help resist, through laughter, we’re celebrating radical voices that rise above the rest. In this instalment, 26-year-old Londoner Lolly Adefope takes us through her journey from open-mic contender to one-woman comedy cast.
Written by: Michael Segalov