Matu Ngaropo and Ahunim Abebe in Bell Shakespeare s A Midsummer Nights Dream. Photo by Brett Boardman.
I took my young son Heathcliff to the show, and his perspective helped me see it through a kid’s eyes.
Comedian Chuck Nice and his daughter crack jokes in a video about a serious topic: climate change.
Inside the Greenhouse/University of Colorado-Boulder
Jokes can be a healing contagion as they expose hypocrisy, spark laughter and open minds.
Mark Maslin and Jo Brand Climate Science Translated.
Climate Science Breakthrough
Climate scientist Mark Maslin pairs up with comedian Jo Brand to explain the urgency of the climate crisis. Together, they find that humour cuts through in ways that plain facts just can’t.
Lorne Michaels holding one of his Emmy Awards in 2022.
Danny Moloshok/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images
The show has served as the nation’s laugh track for decades. Who will take over when he retires?
Mathieu Bitton/Netflix
In The Dreamer, Chapelle laughs at disability, bisexuality and gay men. But his jokes continue to come back to one target: the transgender community.
Rich Fury/AP/AAP
The death of Matthew Perry has seen old and new fans reflect on the legacy of a television classic.
Mark Senior
Written by comedian Harry Hill, it’s a hectic hour-and-a-half of high-energy songs and skits.
Showing sexism the red card.
David Canales/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The jokes, memes and skits came thick and fast – but behind the humor were serious points.
Wikimedia
The court would laugh at rather than with the fool.
WENN Rights Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo
I’ve researched women’s experience of the UK comedy circuit for ten years – this is what I’ve learned.
Anders Hayward and Conleth Hill in Adults.
Mihaela Bodlovic / Traverse Theatre
Kieran Hurley’s new play treads the familiar debate of millennial precarity versus boomer affluence with verve and insight.
Baldrick (left) and Blackadder (right) plotting and scheming in the Elizabethan age.
Allstar Picture Library Limited/Alamy
The first series had the characters’ roles all the wrong way round. Blackadder was dim, Baldrick clever and the queen was dull. Thankfully they got a second try.
Jan Kranendonk / Shutterstock
There will be almost 3,000 shows playing at this year’s Fringe, which can feel a little daunting, especially for the first timer. Here’s how to get it right.
Sony Pictures
A sex comedy that’s more like a buddy film than a romance
Prime Video
Deadloch is a potty-mouthed satire that is also a feisty feminist take on the more usual gender politics of the Nordic Noir crime drama.
Former President Donald Trump’s many missteps made him an easy target for amateur jokesters.
Ron Adar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
While derision and mockery permeate airwaves and social media feeds, satire holds the key to creating a more informed, engaged electorate.
The cast of Seinfeld (from left to right): Michael Richards, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Jerry Seinfeld.
National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
The 90s sitcom featuring Jerry Seinfeld influenced the type of cinematic television we are so familiar with nowadays.
The National Youth Theatre’s production of Much Ado About Nothing.
Helen Murray/National Youth Theatre
Shakespeare’s Conrad is now an ambitious ‘story producer’. With an eye over all the ‘Nothing Island’ action, he seeds rumours that bloom into reality TV gold.
Basil Falwty is back but might he be more serious?
Moviestore Collection Ltd/Alamy
Lies that spiral out of control feature in both farce and ‘dramedy’ - but the latter deals with more serious issues.
Deepfakes of Nicki Minaj and Tom Holland in Deep Fake Neighbour Wars.
Tiger Aspect Productions
Deepfakes have found their perfect vehicle in comedy – which allows them to be enjoyed without fear of deception.