No plot, no dignity, just badly-dubbed carnage
Cecily Hitchcock picks her Perfect Playlist of comedy favourites
05/08/2026 … I have never once loved something the ‘correct’ amount.
2026 Archives
Wed 05 August 2026
Sharing a rediscovered love of classical music connected me to audiences more than any personal stories
05/08/2026 … When I was 17, I auditioned for classical piano at Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium for Music.
© NotFromUtrecht/CC BY-SA 3.0 Leicester Comedy Festival firm goes bust
Insolvent Big Difference Company ceases trading
05/08/2026 … The company that runs the Leicester Comedy Festival has gone bust – meaning the hundreds of comedians owed money for performing there are likely to go unpaid.
Hannah Byczkowski on hating tattoos
Extract from her Edinburgh debut
05/08/2026 … Here's stand-up comedian Hannah Byczkowski talks about disliking tattoos in this extract from her 2026 Edinburgh Fringe show, Killer.
Wellington Paranormal rises from the dead
Surprise fifth season for NZ mockumentary
05/08/2026 … New Zealand mockumentary Wellington Paranormal is to return after a five-year absence, Chortle can reveal.
Tue 04 August 2026
Meet Chortle's Edinburgh Fringe Hotshots
Five acts we tip for big things...
04/08/2026 … Meet this year’s Chortle Hotshots – Edinburgh Fringe debutants this website picked for big things (and a little financial help) following a series of…
© Rebecca Need-Menear Our Edinburgh whinge? Old people
Sketch trio Crybabies on the best and worst of the festival
04/08/2026 … As they return to Edinburgh with their new show The Scaring, comedy sketch trio Crybabies – Michael Clarke, James Gault and Ed Jones – talk about…
© Jennie Scott SNL UK is great for sketch comedy... but everywhere else we're being squeezed
Newsrevue producer Emma Taylor on the crisis in the ecosystem
04/08/2026 … As the long-running topical comedy sketch show NewsRevue returns to the Edinburgh Fringe, its producer offers a troubling state-of-the-industry assessment.