BCG Daily Thursday 31st July 2014

Fringe: Look back at some of last year's highlights

Get in the mood for the start of the Festival Fringe by looking back at some of last year's best moments.

Phil Wang on Chinese people in US films

Hollywood only has two modes of East Asian character: Mr Miyagi or babbling madman. Why can't we be boring too?

Al Murray for Channel 5 Marston's Brewery documentary

Al Murray will narrate a new three-part series about Marston's Brewery.

KSI: what I learned from one of YouTube's biggest stars

Comedy Central boss Sam Delaney on why the gamer with more than 700m video views agreed to be 'roasted' for a new show.

Malcolm Hardee's first ever appearance at the Fringe

In this edited extract from I Stole Freddie Mercury's Birthday Cake, Malcolm talks about the first time he appeared with The Greatest Show On Legs at the Fringe.

'Right to parody' becomes law

The 'right to parody' has passed its final Parliamentary hurdle and will soon be enshrined in law. Peers in the House of Lords have voted in support of changes to regulations that give the right to change copyrighted work for 'caricature, parody and pastiche'.

Radio Times review

Right, so, roughly four of you are going to enjoy this, but those four will love it. The first series of Luxury Comedy was shown back in 2012 as a wonderful oddity: The Mighty Boosh star combining non-sequiturs and pop-art into a technicolour migraine that was inventive if not hysterically funny.

The second series moves to a coffee shop, which Noel admits would be "the location for a boring sitcom" if it weren't on the edge of a volcano and wasn't staffed by Andy Warhol and Nico of Velvet Underground fame. Self-consciously weird and self-consciously cool, Luxury Comedy is not so much niche as exclusive. Unfortunately, for many people, it will be as fun as standing in line for Studio 54.

James Acaster: 'Normal people perv solo'

An offhand comment on a night out about infidelity led me to this routine about apples, orchards and dismal nightclubs.

Luxury Comedy: making series 2 more accessable

The extreme reactions seem to be something that Fielding took on board when developing series two with co-writer and director Nigel Coan.

20 questions: Adam Riches

The former Edinburgh Comedy Award winner discusses breaking his leg on stage and the dark side of Sean Bean.

Keep Calm and Improv profile

Keep Calm and Improv are a spoof comedy double act created by Phil Hooks & Alastair Norgate.

Edinburgh Fringe interview 2014: Sarah Campbell

Following a stint as part of sketch group Christmas For Two, Sarah Campbell is making the leap to solo success at the Edinburgh Fringe.

My Edinburgh festival nightmare

Lucy Beaumont, Susan Calman, Carl Hutchinson and others survive humiliation in a homemade sandwich board, a hex involving the number two, and being upstaged by a giant rabbit in the audience.

A comic's guide to what makes different UK cities laugh

Cardiff loves a bodily function joke, Leeds prefers a storyteller and Manchester is half Liams and half Noels ... Nish Kumar reviews the differing sense of humour of cities across the UK.

Interview: Italian comedian Francesco de Carlo

'I aim to lose my tan, improve my English and inflate my belly with your beer'

Stephen Bailey: How to find love at the Fringe

I have a theory that you also need love in Edinburgh. I'm saying it and I'm owning it.

Inside No 9: a gutsy dark comedy of misery and mayhem

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, makers of The League of Gentlemen, return with a collection of unrelated tales of morality and mortality, and a legion of ghoulish mishaps.

Massive Dad publicise show that contains no tractors

Fresher than a baker's brioche, Massive Dad are a brand new sketch trio making a name for themselves. They took time away from their busy farming schedule to answer some questions about their debut show.

Comedy class: Mae Martin's Workshop

Rising Canadian comic Mae Martin talks Fringe shows and comedic growth.

Marcel Lucont: Love on the Fringe

Flâneur, raconteur and bon vivant Marcel Lucont offers some romantic advice for a lonely heart in August.

Jon Culshaw & Debra Stephenson on Dead Ringers' return

Britain's best-loved impressionist Jon Culshaw and partner-in-comedy-crime Debra Stephenson spoke to This Morning about their new series of Dead Ringers.

Fringe Q&As: Lucie Pohl

In the fifth of our new series, Lucie Pohl tells us about her Fringe show and why she loves Cumbernauld.

'I'm better than ever' roars comedy gent Tom Allen

Sarah Millican's tour support and all-round good comedy egg Tom Allen is BACK in Edinburgh - with, he says, 'serene, formal show'

Fringe - Patrick Monahan's first night

Patrick Monahan: Adventures in Monahan Land at the Gilded Balloon Wine Bar last night did not entirely go to plan. Patrick has written his own version of events.

Abigoliah Schamaun: Love & Sex

Unapologetic comedy loudmouth and lightbulb munching bendy-person, Abigoliah Schamaun returns to the 2014 Fringe with her new solo show, It's Pronounced Abigoliah Shamaun.

The Misfits: anomalies at the Fringe

Some of the shows on the Fringe defy categorisation. We have a look at some of the misfit highlights.

Jason Manford: Gaza comments have been 'misrepresented'

Comedian Jason Manford has admitted he and his fans have been "confused" by the fighting in the Middle East and says his comments on Gaza have been "misrepresented".

Let's make feminism the biggest joke in town

Two weeks ago Caitlin Moran ordered me to stand on my chair and shout 'I AM A FEMINIST!' Gleefully, I climbed up alongside the rest of the 2000-strong audience. Grabbing each other for balance, we precariously boarded our theatre seats, everyone loving this chance to misbehave. Why? Because it was funny. And if there's one thing I'm bored of hearing when I ask to be treated equally to a man, it is 'you take yourself too seriously'.

Edinburgh festival Fringe - BattleActs

If you are travelling through Edinburgh Airport on Monday you might be forgiven for thinking you are already at the Fringe. BattleActs will be there to introduce passengers arriving on domestic flights in the morning to their comedy party.

Interview: Nick Helm and Tim Key

The comedians discuss the Fringe, larger room and post-film & TV success.

Edinburgh Fringe anxiety

The phrase for my new show came from a chance meeting with a famous chap at last year's fringe.

Dapper Laughs show: producers are giving up

Vine 'celebrity' Dapper Laughs has been given his own ITV2 show - but copy-and-pasting internet clips onto the small screen is almost always a terrible idea.

Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy: 'best watched driunk'

I like Noel Fielding's comedy so much that sometimes I am embarrassed by its periodic bathos - attempts at jokes that trip and fall flat. But the hit rate is pretty high. What is there to like? Principally the puppet-like masked disguises which produce a surreal other-worldliness against which the jokes are set. I also like the voices and daft songs.

John Oliver is home a new breed of political comedy

The Brit abroad has nailed issue-led satire that's hilarious, persuasive and a huge hit online.

Don't get angry over a word

Imaan Hadchiti says its attitude, not language, that's offensive.

I refuse to be an ethnic comedian

"And the award for funniest blind lesbian of the year goes to..."

Interview: theatremaker Gary McNair

McNair explores the dark side of comedy with Donald Robertson Is Not a Stand-Up Comedian.

Interview: Chelsea Manders - Dont tell my Dad

Pre-fringe interview with this slick, funny woman from Toronto.

Interview: Angry Young Women

Fast-paced, up to the minute comedy which unashamedly tells it as it is. Matt Morillo, playwright, tells us more.

Interview: Rob Newman - New Theory of Evolution

Whacky, dry and incredibly sharp Rob Newman and his one man sketch show are not to be missed this Fringe.

The Pin returns to the 2014 Fringe

Alexander Owen and Ben Ashden talk fruit, splurting butter and what to expect from this year's Fringe show. A comedy duo not to miss.

Interview: Tom Craine - Thoughts on Love

Quick witted and totally loveable Tom Craine talks whittling, three legged dogs and modern day dating.

Interview: Rubberbandits: Continental Fistfight

Everything you wouldn't expect from a musical comedy, the Rubberbandits are provocative, raucous and utterly unique.

Fringe Andrew Ryan

Bringing his Irish charm and sharp wit to the Edinburgh Fringe 2014, Andrew Ryan is one comedian to watch.