Showing titles in Performing Arts

From 2011 up until his death at the end of 2016, the inimitable AA Gill reigned supreme as Uncle Dysfunctional, Esquire's resident advice columnist. In this raffish, hilarious, scathing yet often surprisingly humane collection, Gill applies his unmatched wit to the largest and smallest issues of our time. Whether you're struggling to satisfy your other half, having a crisis over your baldness, don't like your daughter's boyfriend or need the definitive rules on shorts, leather jackets and man-bags, AA Gill has all the answers - but you'd better brace yourself first.

Sandi Toksvig and her celebrity guests explore the Danish concept of 'hygge' One of the few Danish words that British people have become familiar with, 'hygge' is a specifically Scandinavian notion of snugness, comfort and contentment. It's all about enjoying the simple pleasures, like curling...

Stand-up fans rejoice—this cracking collection contains a whole seven series of top-drawer comedy, recorded live at London and Manchester's legendary Comedy Store and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Enjoy more than 11 hours of laughs from some of the biggest and best stand-ups on the circuit, hosted by three fantastically funny compères: Simon Bligh, Ross Noble and Adam Hills.

All 16 episodes of the BBC radio comedy about the dysfunctional Burbage siblings: Brothers Nigel and Michael share everything - home, work and acute neuroses. Several years ago, they gave up respectable careers to set up a website design company in Nigel's living room. That was their first mistake....

With its brilliant blend of the silly, the serious and the satirical, The News Quiz has been a must-listen for comedy fans since it started 46 years ago. Recorded in front of an audience, these three series see Andy Zaltzman presiding over a motley crew of comedians and journalists as they trawl through the biggest (and smallest) news stories of 2023 to provide comedy, commentary, irony and irreverence.

Public speaking can be terrifying. For David Nihill, the idea of standing in front of an audience was scarier than cliff jumping into a thorny pit of spiders and mothers-in-law. Without a parachute or advanced weaponry. Something had to change.

In what doesn't sound like the best plan ever, David decided to overcome his fears by pretending to be a comedian called "Irish Dave" for one full year, crashing as many comedy clubs, festivals, and shows as possible.

The brilliantly quirky David Sedaris returns with a book of acerbic and outrageously funny stories about animals who have unmistakably human failings.This collection of sharply observed animal-themed tales is a delight, told with David Sedaris’s trademark blend of hilarity and goodnaturedness. Though the characters may not be human, the situations in these stories bear an uncanny resemblance to the insanity of our own everyday interactions.

'Fascinating, frank and genuinely funny' Sophie Duker "Are you really the doctor?" As a black doctor working on the frontline of the NHS, Matt Hutchinson hears these words all too often. In this book, he offers a compelling glimpse into the unvarnished reality of working in healthcare as a...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER More than one million copies sold! A “brilliant” (Lupita Nyong’o, Time), “poignant” (Entertainment Weekly), “soul-nourishing” (USA Today) memoir about coming of age during the twilight of apartheid “Noah’s childhood stories are told with all the...

Jon Richardson’s new audiobook Nidiot takes the star of '8 Out Of Ten Cats’ and ‘Live at the Apollo’ to new levels of frustration. Recorded live in front of a sold out audience at the legendary Hammersmith Apollo we find that becoming happy hasn’t necessarily ruined his life.

If Audible was a bottle of milk, then the cream of comedy would rise to the top. In this series of live showcases, Audible puts the spotlight on some of the established stars and emerging newcomers of the stand up scene. Expect hilarious, unadulterated, stand up fun from the masters of laughter.

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.

Sue Perkins chairs these two scintillating series from 2025 The BBC’s longest-running radio panel game is back for twelve more episodes, as host Sue Perkins challenges contestants to extemporise for 60 seconds on any subject that comes up on the cards – without hesitation, deviation or...

The last ever episodes of the acclaimed quotations quiz, devised and introduced by Nigel Rees - including the historic 500th show Ever since 1976, Quote... Unquote chairman Nigel Rees has quizzed a host of well-known personalities on the origins of popular sayings, both familiar and obscure, and...

Award-winning stand-up Boothby Graffoe presents his individual brand of comedy in BBC radio’s The Big Booth and Boothby Graffoe In No Particular Order ‘A musical comedy act who is more musical than most musicians, and funnier than most comedians’ Stewart Lee The only British comedian named...

Brought to you by Penguin. A hilarious autobiography from one of Britain's funniest and most successful comedians. Born Chris Collins in 1957, Frank Skinner he grew up in the West Midlands where he inherited his father's passion for football - and alcohol. Expelled from school at 16, Frank had...

Based on the format of the American TV show Saturday Night Live, this home-grown comedy production was an enormous success and brought recognition and fame to a great many performers, many of whom are now household names. It was hosted by Ben Elton and Lenny Henry. In a series of sketches it introduced us to the talent and chemistry of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.

Welsh comedian Rhod Gilbert takes a trip to New York with his on off girlfriend for a make or break holiday. Told in hilarious style, and after a course in anger management Rhod claims to be a more mellow fellow!

Daniel Sloss' stand-up comedy engages, enrages, offends, unsettles, educates, comforts and gets audiences roaring with laughter - all at the same time. In his groundbreaking specials, seen on Netflix and HBO, he has brilliantly tackled everything from male toxicity and friendship to love, romance and marriage. Now, in his first book, he picks up where his specials left off, and goes after every conceivable kind of relationship.

This performance by Simon Evans is a master class in aloof, patrician observational stand up.To the delight of a packed audience, the star of Live at the Apollo and Stand Up for the Week brings a little polish to the Theatre Royal Brighton. Evans looks back at his life and times, from his early days in London to his family life by the seaside. Along the way, his reflections are as ever as dry and delicious as a good Sancerre, or perhaps a really good radish.