Showing titles in Performing Arts

While other books give you tips on how to “write funny,” this book offers a paradigm shift in understanding the mechanics and art of comedy and the proven, practical tools that help writers translate that understanding into successful commercial scripts. The Hidden Tools of Comedy unlocks the unique secrets and techniques of writing comedy. Kaplan deconstructs sequences in popular films and TV that work and don’t work and explains what tools were used (or should have been used).

Brian Cox and Robin Ince return to take a witty, irreverent and unashamedly rational look at the mysteries of the universe in these four series. Joining them for some hot science and flagrant comic nerdery are a panel of eggheads and entertainers, all eager to take a deep dive into topics ranging from cosmic dust to coincidence.

Radio 4's longest-running panel show, in which contestants are challenged to speak on a on a given topic for 60 seconds without hesitation, deviation or repetition, returns with Sue Perkins at the helm for this complete collection of episodes from 2023. Featuring quickfire improvisation, inspired ad-libbing and spontaneous hilarity - as well as a live studio audience - join Sue Perkins and her guests as they battle for points, glory and the perfect, uninterrupted minute.

Aussie comedian Billy D'Arcy recounts his weekend and then rips on some celebrities. I'm not sure what more you want. Get around some of the best chat this side of the equator.

Noel Fielding seamlessly bridges the imagined worlds and counterculture references we have been led through courtesy of Mighty Boosh and Luxury Comedy. This is a live recording taken from his 2016 stand up tour of the UK, USA and Australia....

B.L.T features comedians Blake Pavey, Luke Kidgell and their carer Tyler Cahill.

Jo Brand is one of Britain's funniest and best-loved comedians. With a sharp eye for the absurd and in her own unique voice, she tells her story for the first time. What possessed her to become a professional comedian in the cut-throat world of stand-up comedy after 10 years as a psychiatric nurse? How did she deal with late-night drunken audiences? Raised in middle class comfort, Brand left home in her teens to live with someone entirely inappropriate.

The history books are full of heroes and villains… but what about all the idiots? Comedian and armchair historian Mikey Robins tells the astonishing story of human stupidity, one idiot at a time. Idiots, Follies and Misadventures shows that human stupidity has always been our constant companion. History tends to omit tales of human fallibility. We overlook the dubious and ridiculous contributions made by history’s tawdry parade of knuckleheads. But this book is a call to arms … Knuckleheads Assemble! And once assembled, prepare to be mocked.

Joe Lycett's Art Hole is brimming with surprises, including an astonishing array of British cultural titans, such as Harry Styles, Robert Peston, Nadine Dorries and Elaine Paige. Stunning, it is sure to delight, fascinate and perhaps even inspire you to pick up a paint brush, insert yourself at the heart of contemporary British public life, and do some absolutely wank paintings of celebs.

Born the same year as Radio 4 itself, Just a Minute is one of the BBC's longest-running and most popular panel games. In these five series from 2016-2018, collected together to mark the 55th birthday of the show, Nicholas Parsons presides over more hilarious linguistic shenanigans. Highlights include a festive edition, Just a Minute Does Panto!, which sees the players journeying through Panto-land in search of the missing Golden Whistle. Also featured is Just a Minute: 50 Years in 28 Minutes, which was specially compiled to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary.

The Merchant of Venom traces Don Rickles's career from his rise in the 1950s to a late-in-life resurgence thanks to the Toy Story franchise, his role in Martin Scorsese's Casino, and scores of TV appearances from Carson to Seth Meyers. In the intervening decades, Rickles conquered every medium he worked in, including film, television, and on stage. He was idolized by a generation of younger comedians including Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Jay Leno, and performed in the shadow of a shocking open secret: he was the nicest man in town.

Get this year’s comedy fix from the mighty Dara O Briain’s highly anticipated new tour, Dara O Briain: Craic Dealer. The host of Mock the Week (BBC ONE), The Apprentice You’re Fired! (BBC TWO) and star of Three Men in a Boat (BBC TWO) returns this year with his funniest Live show to date, proving why Dara is regarded as one of the comedy greats by audiences and fellow comedians alike.

Popular author of Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids turns his witty pen to the classic knock-knock joke, providing hours of entertainment for young and old.

Here's George Carlin's 11th comedy album, recorded at the Park Theater in Union City, New Jersey, for an HBO special.

Join professional comedy writer Joel Morris on a hilarious journey into the hidden world of shared laughter, where he reveals the mechanisms that make jokes work and what comedy can teach us about ourselves. Offering astute analysis of everything from stand-up to slapstick and sitcom to spoof, Morris examines comedic patterns, rhythms, and dynamics to uncover the algorithms that secretly underpin comedy.

It's the story of how he threw himself into the joyous and idealistic world of stand-up comedy, leading to a television career, but how echoes from the past, and the thought that everyone might prefer it if he disappeared, saw him repeatedly dismantle everything around him. With a cast of well-known comedians, actors, agents and producers, Alan awkwardly navigates his life from the camaraderie of the comedy circuit via life-changing fame as TV's Jonathan Creek, to the unwelcome realisation that most people know him from a bank advert and think he's had a perm.

Okay, you might want to remove children under the age of nine from the room before listening to this brilliant album. When they turn 10, you might want to reconsider. Kids are going to learn this language sooner or later, so why not from George? It's Carlin's 12th comedy album, and most of it comes from his seventh HBO special Doin' It Again.

A double helping of richly ironic humour from the queen of British stand up. Recorded over several live tours, this is Jo Brand at her best, doing her double best.

After nine years in production, the most rumored comedy album is finally hitting the streets. Macdonald has reimagined the sketch comedy record for a new generation and has brought Will Ferrell, Tim Meadows, Molly Shannon, and Artie Lange, among others, who lend their voices and insanity to this hilarious release. Produced by Brooks Arthur of Adam Sandler fame, Ridiculous contains 12 sketches and a bonus track of classic Norm standup for a total of almost 75 minutes of material.

Sandi Toksvig, 'probably the funniest person in the English-speaking world' (The Guardian), is our host for these 25 episodes of the perennially popular comedy news quiz, first broadcast between New Year's Eve 2010 and 4 November 2011. Joining her to poke fun at stories big and small are a panel of illustrious players including Roisin Conaty, Dominic Lawson, Richard Herring, Tom Wrigglesworth, Henning Wehn, Imran Yusuf, Julia Hartley-Brewer, Laura Solon, Sarah Millican and Paul Sinha.