'Without Lena Dunham, I don’t think I’d have done stand-up'

Edinburgh Fringe comedian Chelsea Birkby picks her comedy favourites

There are perfect jokes: Jamie D’Souza’s ‘My friend says I'm sexually frustrated just because I’m always peeling the label off the bottle… of lube I carry with me everywhere I go.’ There are perfect shows: Pierre Novellie’s You Sit There, I’ll Stand Here. There are perfect personas: Helen Bauer, who can make any room feel like we’re all back at hers after school. And there are perfect MCs: Alex Farrow, who makes magic by playing with whatever comes up with that exact collection of people at that specific time, somehow landing us where it feels like we were always supposed to be going.*

(*Yes he’s my boyfriend, I don’t think he’s funny because I fancy him, I fancy him because he’s funny.)

But all of that is best experienced IRL and no good here. So here’s a perfect playlist of things URL.

I Think You Should Leave

This show has several perfect sketches (Baby of the Year, Dan Flashes) but the pathos of Prank Show might make it my favourite of all. Any time lowbrow (like 2000s hidden cam shows) comes together with highbrow (weighty concepts like ‘the greater good’), I’m in. Same for silliness plus despair. Also violence in a fun way.

I Think You Should Leave delivers again and again. Sure, there's a formula to many of Tim Robinson’s sketches (he’s abnormal and he gets louder) but goddamit it works for me!

Kurtis Conner Goblin commentary

Kurtis Conner is a commentary and comedy YouTuber and his finest work is this reaction to the low-budget horror comedy Goblin.

Okay, the source material gives him a lot, but his analysis and sketches turbo it and it’s perfect for the format. Say what you like about fast-cut edits, he holds an online audience’s attention for 27 minutes – that makes this practically The Godfather Part II. I’ve not seen that, but I have seen this, many times. I rewatch it whenever I’m feeling low (it’s got 7.3million views).

Ken Cheng Kills Two Bird With One Stone

This six-and-a-half minutes is the perfect five. There’s nothing to cut, it’s Just Jokes on jokes. No time even really for persona, which shines through anyway. And when people clock that it’s all gonna be the one topic, you can hear the delight.

I tend to love deeply personal stand-up from acts who feel like they’re hosting a party, but here’s Ken Cheng delivering it so straight down the barrel that it’s almost rap battle style.

To do it justice, this clip needs a video essay by the Nerdwriter or Comedy Without Errors, which simply must include how it’s the best recorded use of ‘ricochet’.

Nikki Glaser’s opening speech for Women In Entertainment

Nikki Glaser is one of those comics whose overnight success was decades in the making. Long before the roast of Tom Brady, she’d been loved by comedians, writing non-stop and wearing incredible outfits. I think she’s mastered set pieces about pop culture and sex.

In this speech, her precision punchlines are paired with a confession about how difficult it can be to support female peers – not what people were expecting at the Women In Entertainment breakfast. Yes breakfast.

That’s a tough gig, but you can feel her wake it up, bring it to life! It’s why she’s the perfect choice to host the Golden Globes. Her balancing act between bite, empathy, silliness and cold hard gags is electric, it’s like she’s always walking a tightrope… in heels.

Bin Laden Finest Girl (Bin Laden Song)

I think this is doing something very sophisticated. Elaborate on that? No.

HBO’s Girls

How could Girls not be in here? When it’s good, it's the best. Like: ‘Oh, so now I’m not supposed to show my vagina to anyone but you, Fran? It’s about to be summer!’

And to double down on things haters love to dismiss, Girls perfectly captures what Taylor Swift sings about in 22: ‘We’re happy, free confused and lonely in the best way. It’s miserable and magical, oh yeah.’

Without Lena Dunham, I don’t think I’d have done stand-up or worn a crop top as an adult. And then who would I be?