John Kearns (I)

The year the free show ceiling was truly smashed

Some of the free venues I went to, though not all, had better facilities, sight-lines and stages than paid shows, so the idea that the venues are rubbish and that all the chic venues have been snapped up for ticketed-only shows is nonsense.

Pleasant surprise of the week came in the form of BBC Three comedy Top Coppers which I thought would be another awful offering to match the woeful Crims. Instead this loving pastiche of 1970s and 1980s cop shows offered some big belly laughs and some wonderful observational gags on top. Writers Andy Kinnear and Cein McGillicuddy have employed a high gag ratio but at the same time haven't forsaken the plot of the episode over getting cheap laughs. Meanwhile the cast seemingly realise that the best way to pull off a successful spoof is to play it dead straight and that's what most of them have done. Top Coppers is centred round the Justice City Police Department and more specifically Detectives John Mahogany and Mitch Rust (Steen Raskopoulos and John Kearns). Mahogany and Rust have a strong bond which looks to be tested when the former wants to go out with the new girl in the office rather than enjoy movie night with his colleague. This decision leads Rust to go to some extreme lengths to compensate for his loss which includes trying to recreate certain scenes from the movie Speed. The best recurring gag in the first episode for me involved the fact that gangster Harry McCrane (Paul Ritter) had recently purchased an ice cream factory meaning that the employees now had to produce both ice cream and drugs. Although at times Top Coppers may have been a little silly, I felt that it was one of the more tightly-plotted TV comedies that I've recently seen. More than anything Top Coppers was just very funny and that's more than I can say for most of the British sitcoms I've watched during 2015. I'm just hoping that the enjoyment that I garnered from the opening instalment wasn't a one-off and that Top Coppers will go down as one of my favourite comedies of the year.

Freddie Flintoff to present Foster's Comedy Award

Cricketer Freddie Flintoff is to present the 2015 Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards alongside the 2014 Award winner, John Kearns.

John Kearns interview

The eccentric comic made his name at the Edinburgh fringe in a bad wig and rubber teeth - and he just wants to make people laugh. Starting with BBC Three slapstick sitcom Top Coppers.

Lolly Adefope climbs out of the Bearpit for Fringe show

Edinburgh intros #15: She's only been doing comedy for about five minutes, but Lolly Adefope has already made her name by being nominated for the Leicester New Comedian award and a part of cult hit The Bearpit Podcast Podcast with John Kearns. Her character comedy show Lolly is her Fringe debut...

Fringe 2015 - For Robin Williams: A Benefit Gig

Line-up confirmed so far includes: Nish Kumar (MC), Tony Law, Trygve Wakenshaw, Tiernan Douieb, Alex Edelman, Sofie Hagen, ACMS in the guise of Thom Tuck and John-Luke Roberts, and the Weirdos collective (whose 2012 Christmas shows saw them perform Spielberg's Hook live on stage, with the award-winning John Kearns in Williams' role of Peter Pan).

A new wave of broadcast comedy is shaking up the nation

John Kearns and Nick Helm are bringing their oddball humour to TV and radio, showing just how far those mediums have come in showcasing bold new talent.

John Kearns on his career in comedy

For John Kearns, the transition from day job to comedian was an abrupt one; one that he's used as fodder in his acclaimed live shows and one which he admits he hasn't been the best at dealing with.

John Kearns: Shtick in Melbourne

The audience, always leaning forward to figure out what is going on through the layered complexities of his soul-searching, are mostly won over, initial reservations dissolving as they buy into his unconventionally endearing wit.

Luisa Omielan and John Kearns up for Barry Award

Luisa Omielan and John Kearns have been nominated for the biggest prize in live comedy in Australia.