Stuart Goldsmith

That time of year again

Accidentally controversial standup Stuart Goldsmith talks about 'Prick-gate', his background and his podcasts.

The £1,000 publicity stunt worthy of an award?

Stuart Goldsmith has got a bit closer to a potential Malcolm Hardee Cunning Stunt Award nomination by posting on YouTube a cleverly thought-out stunt.

Stuart Goldsmith interview

Stuart Goldsmith has an impressive resume. Over the past decade or so he has worked variously as a stand up, MC, street performer and actor (perhaps most notably playing the last human alive on CBBC's Mission 2110).

Stuart Goldsmith interview

It's hard knowing where to start when it comes to Stuart Goldsmith. He's a Jack of all trades.

Edinburgh Fringe censors title of Stuart Goldsmith show

Stuart Goldsmith has been told his show Prick must be called Pr!ck in all official publicity materials.

Ellie Taylor & Stuart Goldsmith leave Show Me The Funny

Ellie Taylor and Stuart Goldsmith became the latest comedians to be voted off Show Me The Funny last night (22.08.11), narrowly missing out on a place in the live final of the show to Dan Mitchell, Patrick Monahan and Tiffany Stevenson.

A small biplane circling King Kong

Stuart Goldsmith, you might know him from ITV's Show Me The Funny, is solo again this year. No Kiosk Of Champions or Unknown Stuntmen to collaborate with... which is just the way he likes it. Or is it?

With round one coming from Liverpool, it was only fitting that the empty chair be filled by Scouse royalty Jimmy Tarbuck.

Death by silence is a fate every stand-up must endure alone. And yet, paradoxically, the discomfort is shared by the audience, creating mutual embarrassment on a vast scale that makes for both an appalling spectacle and great TV.

Which leaves Show Me The Funny having its comedy cake and eating it. If a turn is funny - all well and good. If not - even better. My main complaint with the format is that they don't show us the funny soon enough.

It was a good 20 minutes before any of the comics took to the stage, having previously been sent onto the streets of Liverpool to meet the locals, collect material and perform designated pointless tasks. All of which was pure, unadulterated padding.

Come showtime, however, and the programme found its cold, clammy, nerve-wracked feet. The audience comprised 300 women who, we were led to believe, were capable of unspoken atrocities if offended. In truth, they emanated pure goodwill, which the first two acts did everything in their power to test attempting cod scouse accents.

However, third on the bill, Ellie Taylor, established an immediate rapport with her sisters out front and worked the room with a confidence that belied her novice status. Stuart Goldsmith's professionalism also set him apart and earned the praise of Tarby, no less. The rest were hard to judge, with most of their routines ending up on the cutting room floor. All except poor Ignacio Lopez, hung out to dry as an example of how not to do it.

Ignacio promised character comedy, but inexplicably dropped the character two sentences into his set without putting anything in its place. He was ignominiously booted out despite delivering by far the best opening line of the night: "Hello, I am Ignacio. Some of you may remember me as the barman you slept with in Magaluf two years ago".

ITV's new stand-up comedy competition Show Me The Funny is quite an odd beast. The idea of having comedians compete X Factor style is fair enough - and has been done before - but this Jason Manford-fronted show also involves the contestants doing tasks...

Manford: "I'm going to split you into pairs, and send you off with a list of things to find and people to see." What?! "And whoever wins will get to determine the running order for this big gig." Oh, I see! No, still what?! Bizarre. The notion is that helping out at a hair salon or setting up a blind date will help the comics get to know the people of the town they're gigging in, and in turn help them write some new material. We'll skip over the fact that lots of decent comedians actively avoid doing "town-specific" stuff as it's kinda cliche...

The tasks take up half of the programme, meaning Show Me The Funny is, in fact, what you find yourself shouting at the screen. There are certainly talented comedians involved - I've seen a couple of them live, and Stuart Goldsmith in particular is brilliant - but you don't get to see enough of their acts to make up your own mind.

Stuart Goldsmith's 'my first gig'

Prior to taking his excellent Reasonable Man show to Soho Theatre this weekend, Stuart Goldsmith recalls his first ever gig. It's Stratford-upon-Avon, 1994, and he's a teenage street performer ...