I took a day off the fringe, what a chance to recuperate. I flew to London to do the last episode of Stranger Than Sci Fi with Dr Jen Gupta for BBC Radio 4 (and I wonder if I’ll ever get over saying that I do work for the BBC). Then I had a lovely dinner with my dad and twin, and we had Vietnamese soup and then exciting dessert. With some sense of vague health guilt. It was delicious though.
Then I stayed overnight at Tiff Stevenson’s house and patted and fed her very grumpy cat. <...
2019-08-15 18:46:23 +0000 UTC
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The Honourable Tom Houghton talks about living up to a high achieving father, the pathologies of British boarding school culture, masculinity, emotion and a bunch of other fun stuff.
Here you go: http://apple.co/2oyL7Vy
Non- itunes listeners can catch it here &...
2019-08-14 18:20:24 +0000 UTC
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Finally feeling a bit more confident in my show, and having taken the last of my antibiotics, I’ve decided to start to go out a bit, rather than sticking to “just the work, ma’am”.
Many people say the main work of Edinburgh is done in the late night bars, which is mildly stressful for me, given that I don’t feel that Late night bars are my natural environment. Few of them serve tea and people are usually shouting and hustling. I quite like dancing, but the business of late nig...
2019-08-11 22:39:54 +0000 UTC
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What a week! I truly thought I had written my last update like two days ago. Until my lovely friend and writing reminder, Sam sent me an email, I was all “don’t be compulsive about it, you totally wrote your last blog yesterday right?”. She reminded me that it’s been DAYS!
Time sort of blends into itself here, particularly as when you have any spare time you might try taking a nap. But luckily for you lovely people, someone’s decided to do some construction work outside my w...
2019-08-09 09:43:28 +0000 UTC
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I got home tonight coated in sweat, tears, rain and someone’s spilled Coca-Cola, also mildly dehydrated and pretty satisfied overall.
On Saturday I did Audience Warmup for Susan Calman’s Fringe Benefits Show for the BBC. The show was solid but hard work. I did a bunch of other spots that were fun as well.
Sunday looked like this:
Which was extremely busy an...
2019-08-05 00:06:22 +0000 UTC
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I had a chat over green tea with delightful host, interesting interlocutor, Japanese Translator, So You Think You're Funny competition semi-finalist and all round lovely human Helen Jenkins.
We talked about culture shock, personality, volume, interracial relationships, appropriation, free speech and making yourself be cute.
Here you go: http://apple.co/2oyL7Vy
Non- itunes listeners c...
2019-08-04 15:16:14 +0000 UTC
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Today was the official first day of the fringe. I did my best to sleep in, after doing the very fun Mr Thing show (like a late night show for kids but for adults, all colours and joy and silly jokes), and knowing I had another late show tonight.
I ate well, and was all prepared for the show, and then the wheels came off. Friday nights can be hard, because a lot of people are tired and drunk and coming out to see a show just for the sake of honouring the going-outness of the Friday nigh...
2019-08-02 23:37:19 +0000 UTC
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Today! Day one. Or pre-day one. Two days pre-day one!
Technically the fringe sort of hasn’t started yet but it totally has, with everyone doing tech runs and previews.
The streets are only starting to get rammed full of people, though, so it’s still possible to walk around at a human pace without having to leap over student theatre troupes. They often do a thing where they lie on the ground and offer you fliers, which is an admirable efficiency in energy usage and a bastard t...
2019-07-31 23:59:55 +0000 UTC
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They aired my special The Resistance on the ABC in Australia this week. (available to $5 and up patrons on my bio page). The previous time they aired The Resistance on ABC tv, I got an email from the son of Luis, on whom the character of Luis The Gardener in The Resistance is based. He had some lovely memories of his father and my grandmother to share.
This week, I got th...
2019-07-30 09:55:55 +0000 UTC
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It’s been an intense and interesting week. I remember talking earlier this year to my close people and saying that professionally this year feels easier. Like “suddenly weights have been taken off my ankles”.
The Patreon (thanks to you lovely subscribers) has got to the point where I don’t have to say yes to scary gigs in the middle of nowhere, but instead could focus on work that feels fulfilling. It’s part of the work in the comedy industry to take a four or six ...
2019-07-28 08:21:31 +0000 UTC
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Weddings, funerals, ceremony and meaning.
Friend of the podcast, John Hastings is an excellent standup, wrestling commentator, podcaster and the only person I've seen face down large angry late night crowds by turning his back on them and examining the curtains.
Here you go: http://apple.co/2oyL7Vy
Non- itunes listeners can
2019-07-23 05:25:58 +0000 UTC
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Hallo!
Who would have thought all those hours of school I skipped to go read sci fi and fantasy in the school library like a giant nerd would pay off one day in an opportunity to host a show on the dream channel?
My new BBC radio show starts tomorrow in england and should be available via the website once it’s gone out. It’s about science and science fiction and Jen Gupta who is my cohost is an absolute delight to work with.
She is the scientist,...
2019-07-16 14:43:25 +0000 UTC
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I sit over tea with cupcakes that have cupcakes on them to talk to another Alice; Alice Gorman, aka Dr Space Junk aka my cousin, about the heritage of the moon, driving giant trucks, mining interests and space animals.
Here you go: http://apple.co/2oyL7Vy
Non- itunes listeners can catch it
2019-07-13 10:44:04 +0000 UTC
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I woke up too early today, and was pretty annoyed with myself. Sleep is important and I’ve gotten into a bad habit of trying to get more things done by waking up and charging into work because it’s that time of year where you can’t really do too much.
That said, yesterday was world fringe day, and my notifications popped this story into my life, which reminds me that the work I do can make a difference. Mostly it’s not providing people with a moment that helps them c...
2019-07-12 03:25:38 +0000 UTC
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Marathons, meetings and questions I can't answer.
Answering some of your questions from twitter and instagram.
Here is the episode on itunes: http://apple.co/2oyL7Vy
Non- itunes listeners can catch it here
2019-07-02 05:42:52 +0000 UTC
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I got asked to write something about British Australia Relations for a proper publication, and I figured you lovely beans might like a sneak preview of the first draft. X
I was in a backstage area last week, and heard some british comedians gossiping about how well Australian acts are represented in the nominations for British comedy festival awards. (Comedians have opinions about everything, and for many of them, cynical sniping is as much of a sacred calling as it ...
2019-07-02 04:47:38 +0000 UTC
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I sat with delightfully thoughtful polymath ex-banker, ex-semi-pro bollywood choreographer, Eshaan Akbar over coffee and blue tea to talk in a completely rambing way about what it is to be a man, lady-dancing, biology, parenthood, violence, death, muslim masculinity and handbag steaks.
Here you go: http://apple.co/2oyL7Vy
Non- itunes listeners can 2019-06-24 22:52:59 +0000 UTC
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On Tuesday, I came in to the BBC studios in White City to hang out with Tiff Stevenson and Larry Dean before their episode of Mock the Week this week, because I’d helped with some joke writing and figured I’d like to see the process. Also of course so that when they ask me on (heavy irony), I will know what to do.
It is a much fancier studio than the ones I’ve been in in Australia; for The Project, Tonightly and Whovians. The ceiling is massively high and the raked audience seati...
2019-06-20 12:34:06 +0000 UTC
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Tiff Stevenson returns to have tea with me and talk about medicine, bodies and as ever, a touch of consent.
Here you go: http://apple.co/2oyL7Vy
Non- itunes listeners can catch it here
Find Tiff at 2019-06-18 12:23:19 +0000 UTC
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Bonus clip asking Chris Mancini what we should turn our minds to today.
2019-06-16 13:11:18 +0000 UTC
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If you see a lot of live comedy you’ll know that when you think of a stand-up comedian’s clothes, what comes to mind is a dude wearing, either a T-shirt and jeans, slacks and a button-up shirt or (if it’s television) a shiny suit.
Traditionally, and still statistically, your average stand-up comedian is a man, and it seems like an odd thing to talk about what ‘average man’ is wearing. We’re used to men’s clothing choices being fairly invisible; not in an emperor’s-...
2019-06-14 16:53:49 +0000 UTC
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So I’m back in London after doing the Australian Festivals. Back to the grind of throwing ideas at various gatekeepers and seeing what sticks. It’s an odd feeling because the narrative gatekeeper/commissioner types seem to stick to is “what story are you passionate about telling?” Which is one of those nice sounding questions that seems to mean almost nothing.
I have ideas I’m passionate about, but it seems like a weird farming mentality to suggest every creative is just wand...
2019-06-10 11:07:39 +0000 UTC
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Chris Mancini has made a lot of things. Documentary, book, comedy, film and now comic book writer, we had a lovely chat over the magic of the internet about why he's a fan of tea, and how you go about getting things done.
Chris' new comic book is Long Ago and Far Away. Find it HERE
The Podcast is up on itunes here: 2019-06-06 11:31:36 +0000 UTC
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Daniel Townes is a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a comedian. I had a herbal tea with him in the house in Sydney that I was inhabiting while there for the Sydney Comedy Festival. We spoke about television, art , fear and reality.
Here you go: http://apple.co/2oyL7Vy
Non- itunes listeners can catch<...
2019-05-29 02:18:34 +0000 UTC
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I am so pleased a bunch of people have jumped onto this platform, presumably to grab the download of ETHOS. I’ve been spending my time post festival mainly indulging in family, loved ones, and putting my computer down for a moment. The picture above is me in the gym in Perth, literally the day before I had my first few days off after months of no days off work.
I love my work and it can feel very nourishing, fun, interesting, engaging, internally motivated which means it’s very poss...
2019-05-25 00:55:36 +0000 UTC
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I spoke with James Hoare about grief and masculinity while in Sydney recently. It was fascinating and moving.
Listen Here : http://apple.co/2oyL7Vy
Non- itunes listeners can catch it here
ETHOS is up in full for $5 subscribers here:
2019-05-20 02:03:06 +0000 UTC
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Hallo lovely Patreons! I have an edit of my standup show, ETHOS. I’ll be shopping it around to various platforms to see if any commercial venture is interested in weird existential loosely A.I. based comedy, so I won’t be putting it up for general download.
That said, I’ll be putting up an exclusive download link for you! For my $5 a month and upward subscribers it will go up tomorrow mid morning Australian time. Probably, much as I did with The Resistance, it’ll be with a passw...
2019-05-13 13:03:03 +0000 UTC
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So I’ve flown in to Perth from Sydney and opened my (very short) run of MYTHOS here. The two hour jetlag is a real thing, mainly in the form of misjudging mealtimes.
You think, cool, I’ll meet people for breakfast at 10.30, forgetting that actually that’s already lunchtime in your heart.
The upside is when you realise you missed dinner and are starving at what feels like midnight, food places are still open and victory is umami.
Because I’d had an early breakfast ...
2019-05-10 00:55:13 +0000 UTC
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Friend, comedian and reigning Australian champion of podcasting, Wil Anderson is on today's show.
We sit in his flat and have black tea and talk about coffee, habit management and addiction, audience management, the mindfulness of comedy, and how to talk about climate change.
Here you go: http://apple.co/2oyL7Vy
Non- itunes listeners can 2019-05-09 01:52:12 +0000 UTC
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David O'Doherty is a lovely conversationalist and co-bugle-cohost. We sat in a fancy tea shop in Melbourne next to some people who thought we were spied and talked about Supreme Tea, the new Irish politics, idealism, corruption, conversion, complexity, incompetence, architecture and National Identity.
Here you go: http://apple.co/2oyL7Vy
Non- itunes listeners can 2019-04-28 01:40:41 +0000 UTC
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