My live sketch comedy course in Stroud, starting September 2026. Info & Booking. In a live comedy sketch show, whole scenes and situations can be conjured up out of thin air with perhaps just a few chairs, minimal costume and mimed props. And like a stand-up performance, you can break the fourth wall and talk to the audience. To get a flavour of the style, check out the video above of the brilliant lo-fi sketch double-act Two Episodes of Mash, with Joe Wilkinson and Diane Morgan (before they...

All stand-up storytelling involves exaggerating and editing, merging characters, changing details etc. You can also tell a quick lie as you build up the story and withdraw it again. This approach came up in the session I did with a German comic I coached this week on Zoom. (More info on Zoom coaching here). She had a gag that I don’t want to give away, but to give you a flavour of the idea let’s say it was about her not saying a word to her mother from the age of 5 to 15. Her problem was (her...

Cassius Green having got the telemarketing job (and NOT an image of a slug destroying the planet - see the blog if that statement is puzzling you!) Recently, in the Guardian Weekend supplement, the actor Indira Varma was asked about her greatest fear, and she replied: “Slugs. And planetary annihilation”. This is a dramatic leap from a small to a gigantic fear. (I was tempted to illustrate this blog with an image of a snail annihilating the planet - but decided not to add to the AI slop)....