Progressives put me in a box – then asked me to celebrate the box
Iranian comedian Sepideh Kaav on doing a Fringe show on her terms
08/08/2026 … Post-revolution Iran is the only Iran I’ve ever known.
Latest Opinions
Chortle's Opinions section is an arena for fans to share their views on any aspect of comedy.
We invite general comment pieces about particular aspects of the comedy scene (although reviews of individual shows or performers tend not to be suited to this section except in very rare circumstances). Contributions should be at least 500 words in length, in a similar tone to something you might read in a broadsheet newspaper, and emailed to steve@chortle.co.uk
We reserve the right to edit pieces – although we will be careful not to change the meaning of anything – or not to use them at all. By submitting an article you grant Chortle indefinite licence to use it freely; though you retain the copyright on it to use it elsewhere.
Sat 08 August 2026
© Ezzthetic Photography Getting this show to the Fringe was so stressful, I ended up sectioned
Comedian Struan Logan on being bipolar, and reacting badly to setbacks
08/08/2026 … My Edinburgh show, Chaotic Good, is essentially a reintroduction to me as a stand-up.
Fri 07 August 2026
Genres were meant to be broken – especially by queer artists
Refusing categorisation is the whole damn point, says Michael John Ciszewski
07/08/2026 … 'Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? In theory, they have a simple definition that's easy to understand,’ says legendary Black American…
I thought I had to mine my life for comedy. Big mistake
Vix Leyton on giving up confessional stand-up, and finding a renewed joy in her work
07/08/2026 … For a long time, I was locked to a fairly traditional idea of what my stand-up should look like: personal, self-deprecating and built around mining my own…
Thu 06 August 2026
Are clowns the most serious people in comedy?
By Edinburgh Fringe performer Camilla Borges
06/08/2026 … Before I go on any further I have a confession; a few years ago I did spend three months at the acclaimed Ecole Philippe Gaulier clown school, studying the art of…
© Todd Estrin I was locked in a psych ward against my will – it was hilarious
Comedian Jamie Wolf on his encounters with the US healthcare system
06/08/2026 … I firmly believe that comedy is the second-best medicine, just behind actual medicine.
Wed 05 August 2026
© Monica Pronk I want comedians to go deeper than the ultra-processed infoslop of internet opinion
Alice Fraser urges fellow stand-ups not to all descend on the same ideas
05/08/2026 … I have developed a suspicion, and it’s growing, that I can identify what podcasts a comedian is listening to within the first five minutes of watching their…
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.