Comedy Store (Stand-Up)
Comedy (Stand-Up)
A stand-up comedian is someone that performs in comedy clubs, usually reciting a fast paced succession of amusing stories, short jokes and one-liners, typically called a monologue. Some stand-up comedians use props, music, or magic tricks in their acts.
Stand-up comedy is perhaps the easiest field of entertainment for new talent to enter, because many smaller venues hold "open mic" events where the inexperienced can perform comedy before a live audience. However, perhaps more than any other performer, the stand-up comedian is at the mercy of the audience, which is an integral element of the act. A truly adept stand-up comedian must nimbly play off the mood and tastes of any particular audience, and adjust his or her routine accordingly. The test of a master stand-up comedian is the ability to not only face down a "heckler," but win over and entertain the rest of the crowd with a retort. Many of the all-time greats are featured below.
Right: Steven Wright
Ed Byrne: Pedantic and Whimsical (2006)
8.3/10
Director: Helen Downing
Starring: Ed Byrne
Capturing all of the Irish comedian's best live bits, and showing how he worked his way up from local comedy circuits to becoming the biggest-selling... Read more
American: The Bill Hicks Story (2009)
7.8/10
Director: Matt Harlock
Starring: Bill Hicks
The life and humor of stand-up iconoclast Bill Hicks is saluted in this documentary. Interviews with family and friends are mixed with "photo-animated... Read more
Bill Bailey: Bewilderness (2001)
8.1/10
Starring: Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey's 2001 routine finds our long-haired hero at the height of his comedic powers in Swansea, with a rapt audience of Welsh folk and some blok... Read more
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)
7.4/10
Director: Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg
Starring: Joan Rivers
Can we talk? Joan Rivers sure can, as evidenced by this critically acclaimed documentary that chronicles a year in the life of the controversial comed... Read more
Bill Bailey: Tinselworm (2008)
7.3/10
Starring: Bill Bailey
Filmed at Wembley Arena at the end of a sell-out tour of the UK, it's everything you expect from Bill and more. Using huge screens, films and animatio... Read more
Billy Connolly Live: The Greatest Hits (2001)
7.4/10
Director: Various
Starring: Billy Connolly
Here it is! At last, the best of Billy Connolly's live comedy routines collected together on one hilarious compilation! Over 2 hours of the greatest m... Read more
Ricky Gervais - Live 3: Fame (2007)
7.8/10
Starring: Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais targets the industry of fame in his 3rd live show, lampooning the abrupt rise of his own star, and pulling no punches when it comes to s... Read more
Bill Bailey: Dandelion Mind (2010)
7.7/10
Starring: Bill Bailey
Featuring Bill's trademark musical interludes, observations and stories of the road, 'Dandelion Mind' will be based loosely on the theme of doubt (or... Read more
Eddie Murphy: Raw (1987)
7.6/10
Director: Robert Townsend
Starring: Eddie Murphy
Filmed live at New York's Felt Forum, Eddie Murphy delights, shocks and entertains with dead-on celebrity impersonations, observations on 80s love, se... Read more
Secret Policeman's Ball: Kings of UK Comedy (2005)
6.9/10
Starring: John Cleese, Michael Palin, Peter Cook, Rowan Atkinson, The Goodies, Barry Humph...
Enjoy some of the most hilarious moments in comedy history as Britain's finest funnymen - John Cleese, Michael Palin, Peter Cook, Rowan Atkinson, The... Read more