Cancer comedy special! Richard Herring, Mark Steel, Miles Jupp - Mark Muldoon's Comedy Diary

Written by: Mark Muldoon
Published: Wednesday 19th March 2025

If you live in the south east of England, it was possible to go see three comedy shows about cancer last week (not sure why. Might be Thames Water's fault?).

In fact, for two of them you didn't even have to leave Leicester Square Theatre.

One such show was Miles Jupp, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour (which, to be clear, turned out to be benign) back in 2021. If you previously found yourself unable to warm to Jupp whenever he pops up on TV, you'll find it much harder to argue with the borderline-relentless quantity - as well as admirable quality - of the humour on offer here, despite the odd cultural reference going over the head of even this geriatric millennial. He has near-unmatched skill for comedic turns of phrase. On I Bang does feature a pretty typical number of recurring jokes, although you'd have to question whether they're good enough to carry as much of the show's weight as they do. Otherwise, you can't help but be impressed by Jupp's seeming ability to find the humour in every small incremental aspect of his medical process. There's just a few tour dates left if you want to catch him.

Three nights later in Hertford, Mark Steel (throat cancer, 2023, tour extended until November) shows little sign of being held back by his medical crisis, despite it all taking place in much more recent history. In fact, you'd go as far as to say he bounds on stage with rock star energy.

And what a time of it he's had: radiotherapy then chemotherapy, alongside five months of not being able to eat or drink properly. Truth be told, you'd maybe want to cut about half an hour off his near 2hr 30m stage time - he's prone to diversions that aren't always good enough to justify the detour, in a show that's hardly in need of additional bulking out. Having recently been put off by the anti-woke rantings of certain other older comedians, his equivalent is more convincing, highlighting the liberals that moan and whinge, then wonder why nobody likes them. He's also great on the evergreen topicality of the Duchess of Sussex.

Both Jupp and Steel lean towards a certain Radio 4 style of comedy, so by this stage Richard Herring's (testicular cancer, 2021, touring until May) traditionally more childish style of humour counts as something of a welcome change of pace. It's also a style of humour that probably suits the subject matter better, as puerile gags neatly counterbalance the seriousness of the subject matter, leading to a more satisfying final show. Plus, you've got to admit: testicles are just innately funny. Amongst the huge amount of horror and fear you'd experience going through this ordeal, a professional comedian might hopefully find a shred of solace in that fact (plus testicular cancer has one of the highest survival rates. Sorry female comedians). It's a more puerile show, then, if also, surprisingly, more sentimental and, on occasion, more like a sermon than you'd expect.

His opening line is the finest I've heard in years (despite largely confusing the Leicester Square Theatre audience): "I always had trouble keeping double acts together". It should also be a source of substantial pride that he both ran a half marathon and won Taskmaster Champion of Champions so soon after having had testicular cancer, although I suspect most comedians would resist the temptation to flash up their half marathon time on screen, or a picture of them with their Taskmaster trophy.

Both Jupp and Herring are nearing the end of their tours now, so maybe it makes sense that their shows are the two more tightly honed. There's also one gag that all three gentlemen make some version of: "do I survive? You'll have to come back after the interval to find out!", and fair play really: good joke, right there for the taking.

But what grand lessons are to be learnt from watching 5½ hours of cancer comedy in one week? All three remember they're in the comedy business, not theatre, so it's not been the emotionally draining exercise you might expect. Quite the opposite: I leave with renewed appreciation for comedy's ability to be big, beautiful, a force for good in the world. For the worth in finding the humour during difficult times. In terms of practical advice on offer, if you're concerned about something, be proactive. Perhaps doggedly so. You probably won't drastically change your life after a near death experience, and that's fine. Do expect a change in outlook though: greater life appreciation, less whining, less 'sweating the small stuff'.

And that's not even the full extent of cancer comedy shows touring at the moment. This column has already discussed Rhod Gilbert's enormous tour (head and neck cancer, 2022, shows continue until November) as well as Matt Forde (spinal cancer, 2023, touring until June), who has a very funny text exchange feature in Steel's show.

Across all five shows, audiences skew older. Even Herring's typically pretty millennial-ish audience seem largely absent on this occasion. People under 45, it seems, have little interest in comedy about cancer. But perhaps one of the most striking lessons is how often people see the experience as a net positive, in terms of gifting them a new faith in humanity/family/healthcare workers. Amongst this sample group of white male comedian survivors, anyway. It's also clear that cancer treatment has got a lot better in recent years as well, and continues to do so. In the meantime, any of these five shows are well worth seeing if you get the chance. Let us know if you manage to see four in a week.

Read previous editions of this column, featuring Inside No. 9: Stage/Fright, Ben Elton, Rachel Fairburn and the Top 50 Live Comedy Shows of 2024.

Mark Muldoon is also available on Instagram, Threads and Bluesky. You can donate to the hospice that cared for Janey Godley via princeandprincessofwaleshospice.org.uk