Bruce Dessau

Jeremy Corbyn: good for politics & good for comedy too?

It is still too early to say whether Jeremy Corbyn's landslide victory will be good for the country but one thing is certain. It will be good for comedy. If there were not enough jokes already hurtling around the Twitterverse following his election, we can expect plenty more in the weeks and years to come.

Rarely Asked Questions - John Robins

If you don't know who John Robins is, then it is about time you remedied the situation.

Comedian explains how his Fringe show was axed

Comedian Stephen Carlin has written on his blog about being axed from Peter Buckley Hill's Free Fringe on Monday August 24, towards the end of this year's Edinburgh Festival. Carlin fell foul of the Free Fringe ethos of not being able to do runs on PBH's Free Fringe if also doing a full run at certain other venues.

Josh Widdicombe gig cancelled due to power cut

Josh Widdicombe was forced to cancel the opening night of his 'What Do I Do Now...' tour last night after a powercut hit the Playhouse Theatre in Oxford.

Variety accidentally runs Terry Gilliam obituary

American website and magazine Variety has accidentally run a story that Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame had died. Gilliam, 74, is alive and well.

Opinion: the inconvenience of the toilet trip

Frankie Boyle made news this weekend when it was reported that fans were not let back into his gig after they left to go to the toilet. Boyle says that this is not supposed to be the case and that his post-piss policy since 2010 is actually that fans in the stalls are relocated at the back or in the balcony to keep disruption to a minimum.

The Glaswegian comic has a point. There are some things more infuriating than people leaving to go to the toilet - ie people using their phone, but that's another blog - but the toilet issue has been going on for a long time so it's great to see a performer take a stand.

Magners new act finalists confirmed

They are Lolly Adefope, George Rigden and Ingrid Dahle, who qualifed via the final qualifying heat in Bristol. They are now joined by three more acts who qualified via a public online vote after their clips were posted on YouTube. They are Sophie Willan, Chris Washington and Benji Waterstones.

Review: Richard Herring's Leicester Square Podcast

Richard Herring's latest podcast comes complete with an elephant in the room. Unless I missed it his interview with Bridget Christie doesn't contain any mention of her "fictional husband", aka Herring's comedy partner Stewart Lee.

David Walliams previews new sketch show

David Walliams tried out material for his new sketch show last night.

Sarah Millican to host special Deal Or No Deal

Deal Or No Deal is to celebrate its tenth birthday on Channel 4 with a surprise twist for host Noel Edmonds - he will be playing the game while Sarah Millican is to be the guest host.