Comedy news: Such Small Portions's news

Tweet

The darling of the modern political satirical shows, The Thick of It, is set to head Stateside after being snapped up by a major U.S. TV network.

The show, which is a parody of British politics, impressed a number of U.S. cable networks since its Oscar nomination earlier this year and is widely seen as a rival to The West Wing – which has reached cult status on both sides of the Atlantic.

However with a British election looming the show’s producers had been reluctant to admit U.S. interest until the fourth series – which was commissioned by the BBC earlier this week – had been confirmed.

Speaking to Hollywood sources The Thick Of It’s director Armando Iannucci said: “The Oscar nomination helped put The Thick Of It on the international map. Since then there has been a lot of interest from many areas in U.S. TV about whether what we have done in the British political scene could be reproduced in a new format.”

“It seemed only natural that we would cross the pond eventually, and being given the chance to take on The West Wing on their own turf was an opportunity we could not turn down.”

One of the plot themes which has been discussed involves Chris Addison reprising the role of a bumbling British diplomat who happens to stumble upon a renegade Republican 'Tea Party' which is planning to sabotage a mid-term election result, with dire consequences for the British government.

The new series is not expected to be aired until the Autumn at the earliest, when President Obama is set to head back to the polls for a contentious mid-term election campaign on the back of an unpopular health care bill.

Tweet

You may have not heard of them, but if you have ever enjoyed the late-night revellry of some of the best comedy tents across the UK festival scene such as Glastonbury and Bestial, then the fabulous line-up that you were treated to was down to the combined efforts of  Brett Vincent and Martyne Green.

Now the two promoters, who have worked at Underbelly Management for four years, are striking it out on their own with a new independent venture which Such Small Portions will have all the info about very soon.

The duo, who between them represent some of the brightest new stars of the comedy world including Pete Johansson and Carl Donnelly as well as UK representation for Glenn Wool and Jim Jeffries, are set to launch their new promotion company on April 1st. For more information visit www.brettvincent.com

Tweet

British comedy lovers still prefer the old great to the young pretenders according to a new list of the UK's top ten comedians.

Victoria Wood, Les Dawson and Jim Davidson all made it into a list which was topped by Scottish comedian Billy Connolly. The highest comedian who is currently on the circuit was Michael McIntyre, who came forth, followed by Jimmy Carr in sixth.

The survey by online search engine Ask Jeeves was compiled by adding together the search results on the question and answer-style search engine. It found that despite the growth of new styles of comedy over the past decade, the survey also found that people hold a dim view of the language used in modern comedy, with 55 per cent believing that comedians swear too much.

The findings may come as a surprise to Connolly, who earlier this year spoke out against what he says is a trend to censor comedy in the UK. The veteran comedian said that anyone who swore onstage was unfairly branded ‘vulgarian and foul mouthed’.

Only one in five think that comedians such as Frankie Boyle are as witty as those from previous generations.

Most worryingly, the search website also revealed that searches for 'why did the chicken cross the road' jokes were among the highest in the humour category on its pages.

Nadia Kelly, spokeswoman for Ask Jeeves, said: "From Billy Connolly to Tommy Cooper and knock, knock jokes to why did the chicken cross the road, the old ones still make us laugh. We are constantly surprised by the large numbers of people who go on to Ask Jeeves to search for jokes on certain subjects or to look up punchlines that they have forgotten."

1. Billy Connolly – 51 per cent

2. Victoria Wood – 47 per cent

3. Tommy Cooper – 45 per cent

4. Michael McIntyre – 44 per cent

5. Lee Evans – 42 per cent

6. Jimmy Carr – 41 per cent

7. Les Dawson – 40 per cent

8. Frank Skinner – 33 per cent

9. Jim Davidson – 33 per cent

10 = Ricky Gervais – 32 per cent equal with Bill Bailey – 32 per cent

Tweet

Prepare to get the pen and paper out as Latitude Festival have announced the second wave of acts who are set to appear at the festival this year. 

The new additions to the comedy stage include if.comedy winner David O’Doherty as well as Mark Watson, Josie Long, Angelos Epithemiou, Jimmy McGhie, Chris Ramsey, The Al Pitcher Picture Show, Colin Hoult: Carnival Of Monsters, Deborah Frances-White, and Richard Dedomenici.

British actor, comedy writer and member of sketch group Cowards, Tom Basden will be making his way to the Cabaret Arena and is set to be joined there by the improvised musical Showstopper as well as surreal sketch trio The Pros from Dover.

Mighty Boosh fans will be pleased to know that the surrealism theme of the Cabaret tent is set to continue with comedian Rich Fulcher presenting his ‘An Evening with Eleanor: The Tour Whore’ show.

South London cabaret wonder Brigitte Aphrodite will be gracing the Poetry Arena with a one woman show entitled ‘Brigitte Aphrodite in Suburban Hell’ (which has been described as David-Bowie-meets-Tinkerbell hybrid).

The new additions add to an already strong line-up which offers a rich mix of both heavyweight performers and up-and-coming artists. Among the old guard are Rich Hall, Robin Ince, Marcus Brigstocke - and the Early Edition, Arthur Smith and Richard Herring, however this year's line-up also includes a fair amount of new talent including Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees Idiots of Ants and Sara Pascoe.

Among the other notable announcements is the musical headliners; Florence and The Machine, Belle and Sebastian and Vampire Weekend.

This year also sees the introduction of a new area to the Latitude arena, The Faraway Forest, which is set to add to the darker underside of the festival with a Bacchanalian Ball.

Programmer of the Arts Arenas Tania Harrison said: "This year we have extended our imagination into the Faraway Forest and the Royal Opera House will be staging a very special show deep in the heart of it.

"I am very excited about the Masked Ball and a Bacchanalian party that we have planned there, plus I have quite a few more surprises that I am working on for the arts arenas"

For previous Latitude announcements click here

Tweet

Argumental and Early Edition star Marcus Brigstocke is set to pick up his coconuts and clop his way into the realm of musical theatre after being picked to play the role of King Arthur in the Monty Python musical Spamalot.

Brigstocke is set to travel all across the wilds of Mercia and beyond as the tour, which starts on May 29th, takes in Cardiff, Nottingham, Glasgow, Brighton, Bromley, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Southampton, Stoke, Liverpool, Aberdeen, Cardiff, Woking, Sunderland, Oxford, Torquary, York, Milton Keynes, before winding up in Birmingham on 1 January 2011.

Brigstocke will play King Arthur until mid-August when the tour is set to reach Liverpool. More casting and tour dates are set to be announced.

Spamalot is the latest step for Brigstocke, who is establishing himself as one of the UK’s leading comedians with regular slots on The Now Show as well as being a team captain on comedy panel show Argumental,

The tour also marks the continued success of the Spamalot musical, which was adapted  (or lovingly ripped-off) from the original Monty Python film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Previous incarnations of Arthur onstage include Tim Curry, Simon Russell Beale, Peter Davison, Alan Dale and Sanjeev Bhaskar.

Tweet

A Canadian comic has been embroiled in a human right row after being accused of being homophobic by a heckler.

Vancouver-based comic Guy Earle is set to appear in a Human Rights Tribunal on Monday after being accused of subjecting lesbian heckler Lorna Pardy to a tirade of homophobic and sexist comments during a show in May 2007.

In a case which could have ramifications across the Canadian comedy world, Pardy is accusing Earle of violating section 8 of the Human Rights Code, which is designed to address discrimination in the provision of a service

According to the The Vancouver Herald Devyn Cousineau, Pardy’s lawyer, is seeking $20,000 in damages after her client was the victim of discriminatory digs and sexually graphic language. 

"This isn’t the case of a comedian standing on stage and saying ‘two lesbians walk into a bar.’ It’s the case of individuals in the audience being targeted and being subjected to slurs about their sex and sexual orientation," Cousineau said.

Earle has denied the charges – stating that he was responding to heckling and disruptive behaviour - though he has admitted that the exchanges were of a heated nature.

Tweet

Johnny Vegas is set to make a move from comedy into the menswear world after being picked by specialist clothes rage Jacamo to head their new ad campaign.

Vegas, who is best known for his crude style of comedy, is set to appear as the voiceover for the campaign which will also star the character ‘Phil’ as the model. 

According to the specialist clothing company Vegas “brings the ideal fun and vibrancy to the adverts'' for the range which caters for bigger men and includes a size-66 chest size and an XXXXXL waists. 

A spokesman for Jamaco said: "We've chosen Johnny Vegas to take part in our advert because we love his sense of fun, the fact that he's a down to earth, real bloke and his distinctive voice.

Tweet

Bill Hicks may have made his final bow on the stage of life some years ago now but his comic genius is set carry on this month with the airing of a previously unheard interview. 

The comedy podcast Doubling Up presented by Nick Doody and Rob Heeney is set to release an interview with the legendary American comic this coming Monday that was recorded less than a year before his death.

Doubling Up co-presenter Nick Doody had the chance to interview his comedy hero whilst he was a student and Hicks played the Oxford Playhouse. Not only did Nick interview him over the phone, but (as is revealed in the interview) he was invited to be the support act for the show.

Doody’s intro of Hicks in that very show can be heard at the start of his album, Salvation 

Of the interview Doody explains: “I've had this interview on an old C-90 cassette tape since 1992, and, with a few exceptions, have been too excruciated at hearing myself aged 19, talking to what I suppose I'd have thought of then as a 'proper comedian', to play it to anyone else.

“One of the parts that makes me cringe is my managing to give Bill the impression that I'm a stand-up comic with two years' experience, which may have been true in a technical sense but is incredibly misleading.

“At the time I'd done perhaps 12 gigs, all to my student peers, and I don't think it had yet properly dawned on me that this was what I wanted to do as a career.

“I still find listening back to it toe-gnawingly embarrassing, but it goes somewhere I certainly never imagined.”

The new exclusive interview follows the recent unveiling of a Bill Hicks documentary at the South By Southwest music festival in Austin Texas earlier this month.

The Doubling Up podcast can be downloaded from iTunes - just follow this link…

Tweet

Political satire The Thick of It scooped three awards at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, voted for by those who write about TV and radio.

The BBC 2 comedy, which takes a wry look at the inner workings of modern British government, took the prize for Best Comedy/Entertainment show, while Peter Capaldi, who plays the foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker, won Best Actor for his performance.

The Writer’s Award was given to the writing team, which includes Armando Iannucci, who is well-known for his work on TV shows The Day Today and Saturday Night Armistice, and comedian Will Smith.
The improvisation of the cast members was also acknowledged by the Writer’s Award.
Peter Capaldi told the BBC that only 80% of the final cut is the original script as cast members, including Chris Langham, Rebecca Front, Chris Addison, James Smith and Joanna Scanlan, improvise many of their lines. “The improvisation just makes it feel more real and not written.”

Previous awards won by the show include Best New Comedy and Best Comedy Performer for Chris Langham at the 2005 British Comedy Awards, and Best Situation Comedy and Best Comedy Performance, also for Langham (although Peter Capaldi was also nominated), at the 2006 BAFTAs.

Armando Iannucci and Jesse Armstrong received Oscar nominations this year for the show’s film adaptation In The Loop.

Tweet

A deep rift has emerged between some of the biggest comedy promoters in London after a rival chain managed to take over the running one of central London’s most popular comedy nights.

Jongleurs, the comedy club chain which recently returned to its former owner Maria Kempinska, has been accused of aggressively trying to poach venues from rival promoters as she tries to re-establish the Jongleurs brand.

According to comedy website Chortle, the London company Big Night Out has been victim of a policy of encroachment by the Jongleurs brand after being ‘turfed out’ of one of the their London venues.

The promoters will cease to operate from the Sway Bar after the sites owners signed a new deal with the larger comedy chain. Insiders have said that the move could damage the live comedy circuit.

Jongleurs owner Kempinska said “It’s the nature of the business.”

“It’s not my intention to upset other people’s applecarts – bit also I don’t know their business and the contracts they have. I had no idea Big Night Out had a night in Sway. We were dealing with Nexus on a much higher level.’

In an email to the comedy industry Big Night Out said: “We brought comedy to Sway nearly three years ago. Through hard work, promotion and a genuine care for what we do, we created one of the most popular venues in London.

“The work we put in meant that both acts and audience enjoyed their time and in turn meant we consistently ran sellout shows.”

Jongleurs reverted back to Kempinska’s control after it’s parent company, Regents Inns went into administration last December.

Most former Jongleurs clubs were sold off to entertainment company Intertain and renamed Highlight while Maria Kempinska and John Davy immediately set about rebuilding a chain of Jongleurs Clubs.

Read the full story on the Chortle website here