Showing titles in Performing Arts

The Big Bang Natural Selection E = mc2 All pretty decent theories, that beg one question: why has no-one discovered a fully unified theory for what makes jokes funny? Well, comedy director Amanda Baker, comedy writer Abi Grant and stand-up comedian Jimmy Carr have done just that. In this book, in case that's not obvious. From how to identify the families of jokes, to decoding the building blocks of comedy, to the real - and brand new - secret to comic timing, On Jokes does for comedy what decoding the genome did for designer babies.

Self-help meets memoir in this deeply insightful, fascinating and entertaining audiobook about happiness by one of the country's most treasured comedians. *A memoir and self-help manual by one of the country's most treasured comedians - for anyone who feels stuck in a rut but doesn't have the...

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER & GUARDIAN AUDIOBOOK OF THE WEEK The beautifully written, moving and darkly funny memoir about alcohol addiction and the journey to sobriety. Narrated by the author, award-winning comedian John Robins. This audiobook includes two pieces of bonus material...

Dara Ó Briain invites two comedians to compete with their best stories of when their lives and time have been most wasted. From relationships that were never going anywhere, hours spent on call waiting, pointless DIY projects, failed attempts at self-improvement, to weird hobbies and misunderstood technology – strap in for a joyfully (and occasionally painfully) relatable celebration of our completely misspent lives.

Few can forget where they were in September 1993 when they first heard Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation. The show was an immediate smash-hit success, causing pubs to empty on a Saturday night, which was particularly astonishing since the show went out on Thursdays. Since that fateful first series, the show has gone on to win Sony awards, Writers Guild nominations and a Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Included here are all 10 series of Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation.

THE LONG-AWAITED FINAL NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING BRITISH COMEDY SERIES. In the past twenty-four hours, Tash has experienced more of the 1980s than most people managed in a decade. She believed their adventures were over. She should have known better. It’s July 1985. Dallas is unmissable, and everyone knows a Rik or a Vyvyan. Air Mail can change a life, while somebody has translated the year’s biggest UK chart hit into Spanish. A Smurf is going on holiday. A Wallace Arnold coach is on the wrong side of the road.

Excellent News – French and Saunders are back for more Titting About! Open your ears and hearts (not like that) as Dawn and Jen tit about in their much-loved comedy podcast series, exclusive to Audible. Across Series 7, these two comedy goddesses dive into six more important topics... and then tit about with them.

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Packed with hard-won wisdoms and gentle truths, this is Miranda’s honest exploration of the lessons she has learned on her journey from illness to recovery. Hello to you, I am with news. I have a new book: I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You. I know...

'A delight' Caitlin Moran 'A sharp, unbeatable, timeless wit' Jameela Jamil 'Hilarious, heartbreaking and inspiring' Sathnam Sanghera 'Dashed with magic' Richard E. Grant Meera Syal is one of Britain's best loved comedy legends. Now, for the first time, she tells her story. Meera recounts those...

All five series of the award-winning sketch show - plus standalone comedy Daydream Believers 'Fresh and full of invention' The Telegraph Welcome to the inside-out world of Mitchell and Webb, a strange and surreal place populated by misfits, eccentrics, talking animals and a few stray Radio 4...

To age, they say, is to decline. Yet some things actually improve as they get older: certain wines, His Majesty King Charles, certain cheeses and, most of all, the Alan Partridge podcast, now back for its fourth series. What will this series offer that the first three didn’t? Nothing, that’s not the point. Instead it will continue, just as before, to draw back the curtain, open the cupboard and provide full loft access to the life of one of the most fascinating men in north Norfolk (Alan Partridge).

Sketch trio The Penny Dreadfuls made a name for themselves with The Brothers Faversham, telling the stories of nine extraordinary siblings in the Victorian era. In these 10 comedy dramas, they step away from the 19th century to revisit famous stories from history and literature. Featuring unforgettable characters, from the face of British treason to the last of the Plantagenets, their fresh, funny reimaginings are full of suspense, rip-roaring entertainment and gags galore.

Miriam Margolyes, Alison Steadman and Nigel Planer star in Sue Limb's comedy parodying the arty and adulterous adventures of the Bloomsbury Group. A stellar cast, including Roger Lloyd-Pack, Morwenna Banks, Jonathan Coy and John Sessions, join in this affectionate send-up of the infamous Bloomsbury literary group, who dominated the English cultural scene in the early 20th century.

WINNER OF THE 2022 BRITISH BOOK AWARDS AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR: NON-FICTION The funny, frank and full autobiography of the nation's favourite comedian. 'It's the first time I've done this. Other people have written about me - or for me - but this time it's just my own life in my own words' In his...

All three series of the BBC Radio 4 comedy about love, marriage and despair, initially broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as 'Start/Stop'. Barney and Cathy. Evan and Fiona. David and Alice. Three couples who have beaten the odds and stayed married – but is that simply because they haven’t got around...

French & Saunders are back for more Titting About! Time to settle down - with an enormous range of snacks, naturally – and listen as comedy goddesses Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders do what they do best (tit about) in their award-winning podcast series, exclusive to Audible.

Why is every film or tv programme a sequel or a remake? Why are people so f***ing hung up about swearing? Why do the asterisks in that sentence make it okay? Why do so many people want to stop other people doing things, and how can they be stopped from stopping them? These and many other questions trouble David Mitchell. Join him on a tour of the absurdities of modern life - from Ryanair to Richard III, Downton Abbey to phone etiquette, UKIP to hot dogs made of cats.

Settle in as comedy goddesses Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders do what they do best in season two of their smash hit podcast, exclusive to Audible. The award-winning double-act take six more important subjects and - quite literally - tit about with them. From unconventional advice on looking after pets to getting chewing gum stuck in your pants, Dawn and Jennifer leave no stone unturned in this thorough quest to entertain, inform and properly tit about.

'My teenage years make the diaries of Adrian Mole look like the plot of Debbie Does Dallas. If you're here precisely because you always assumed I was a frigid and unlovable young scamp and want to enjoy the proof, then buckle up!' When Jon Richardson unearthed his teenage diaries among a stash...

BRITISH BOOK OF THE YEAR: AUDIOBOOK WINNER 2024 Fern Brady was told she couldn't be autistic because she's had loads of boyfriends and is good at eye contact. This is a story of how being female can get in the way of being autistic and how being autistic gets in the way of being the 'right kind'...