On the Pope

From his 2011 DVD

More Chris Addison videos

Chris Addison started his comedy career by winning Manchester’s City Life Comedian of the Year Award in 1995.

Three years later, he performed his first solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe, which earned him a nomination for Perrier best newcomer. He was shortlisted for the main award twice more: for 2004's Civilisation – which also won him a Barry Award nomination at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and was later made into a Radio 4 series – and 2005's Atomicity.

He won the Chortle Award for best compere in 2003 and was nominated for best headliner in 2005.

In 2000 , he co-hosted Channel 4's short-lived Dotcomedy with Gail Porter, featuring gags taken from the internet. He is now best known for starring in BBC Two's political comedy The Thick Of It, and its 2009 movie spin-off In The Loop, playing an out-of-his-depth spin doctor. And he alsoo starred in his own BBC Two sitcom Lab Rats, a surreal, gaggy venture which received a lukewarm critical reception.

Addison also co-wrote and co-starred in Radio 4's political satire The Department, along with John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman, which ran for 14 episodes between 2004 aand 2006.

He has alwo written two novels: Cautionary Tales For Grown-Ups in 2006 and It Wasn't Me: Why Everybody Is To Blame And You're Not in 2008.

Original Review:

His core appeal may be to middle-class people, like himself, who are smugly proud of their education, but he’s first to mock his own self-satisfaction. If You Like QI, you’ll love Chris Addison.

Alongside the clever stuff subject matter, the meat of his set his sometimes silly, sometimes surreal, sometimes passionate and insightful; there really is something here for everyone.

Addison’s usual trick is to take an obscure, over-intellectual theme then hang all manor of observational routines on to it, covering anything from dinosaurs to Masai warriors. It’s sharply written and performed with an impressively physical vigour, even if sometimes his exaggerated tomfoolery seems more to his benefit than ours. But he’s never less than entertaining.

Skip to page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

This man needs his own special. I, too, saw him on Comedy Central in the States, and found him an hysterical breath of fresh air (although wouldn't that be more of a stifled gasp?). Kudos, and please, more!

Adam Wade, July 2003

Just seen The Ape That Got Lucky at The Jersey Arts Centre, and while in parts I felt mildly offended, worryingly uneducated, it was easily the best theatre I have seen in a long long time by a long long way. The best possible attributes of a young Jasper Carrot meeting Stephen Fry. Wonderful.

Katy Jane, June 2003

One of the funniest men I have ever listened to.

Rhianne Klease, May 2003

Quite funny if a bit sterotypical. Reading other reviews, perhaps I saw him on an off night. I've nothing against being skinny and looking like a student - but it makes his man-of-the-world student-mocking a bit unbelievable.

Ian, March 2003

Just saw Chris on Comedy Central... you know he's a great comic when you bother to double check his name and Google-search him. I'm 40-something and my daughter's 13 and we both love him. He needs to be on TV regularly

Karen Wagner, February 2003

A wealth of material, intelligently thought through and presented by someone who respected his audience and looked as though he was having as good a time as we were. I didn't stop laughing the whole time.

Brian Baker

Skip to page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4