29 Sep
01:57
Build a comedy competition set that survives the five-minute rule
The line on the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year listing is not phrased as a suggestion. “All contestants must stick to 5…
Reporter
River Leanox
River Leanox edits Open Comedy's newsroom. Coverage runs across stand-up's full ecosystem: comics on the rise, club owners booking the rooms, festivals, specials, and the working-comic economics behind the laughs. Tips, corrections, and counter-arguments welcome at river@opencomedy.com.
The running order
29 Sep
01:55
Twenty-two names in the smaller type: how comedy festivals pay support acts
Twenty-two names in the smaller type: how comedy festivals pay support acts On Saturday 3 October, Ed Gamble headlines a warehouse complex in Peckham. Three…
28 Sep
10:34
The BBC Re-Edited a Katherine Ryan Joke Out of iPlayer Nearly a Year Later
“I don’t know that we are allowed to broadcast the C-word, but you did reference Victoria Beckham earlier and we’ll allow that.” Katherine Ryan said…
28 Sep
10:33
Leicester Comedy Festival liquidation: nil assets, £184,510 owed, and two rival February 2027 programmes
Nil in the assets column The statement of affairs filed at Companies House puts the assets of Big Difference Company at nil. The charity organised…
25 Sep
01:03
The £1 comedy ticket levy: what music’s grassroots scheme actually paid out
On 13 May 2025, Mark Davyd of Music Venue Trust sat in front of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. He did the sum out…
25 Sep
01:00
BBC Comedy and Liverpool Film Office Open Five Funded Sitcom Script Slots
Five funded slots, a Monday deadline in November, and a bouncer on the door. BBC Comedy and Liverpool Film Office want original 30-minute comedy concepts…
24 Sep
16:36
Richard Herring is ending RHLSTP, and the promo ladder loses a rung
“We’re no longer really earning enough from ads to pay everyone properly.” That line comes from Richard Herring’s own Substack. It’s the part of the…
24 Sep
16:35
Richard Osman’s final House of Games week is all comedians – and Michael Sheen takes over
The four chairs for Richard Osman’s last week of House of Games have gone to comedians. Chortle reported on 23 September that Miles Jupp, Cariad…
23 Sep
13:48
Channel 4 folds comedy into drama, and 340 jobs go with it
The brief is still up, and it still wants 2028 The Channel 4 comedy brief has sat on the broadcaster’s 4Producers site for months. It…
23 Sep
13:48
Leicester Comedy Festival: nil assets against £184,510 owed, and comedians on the creditors list
Kirsty Munro is down for £3,510. Alfie Moore’s company is listed at £2,886, Alexis Dubus’s at £2,034, Jason Neale at £1,808. Those four names sit…