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The Free Association
The Free Association, or The FA, is an improvised comedy theatre and school, based in London. It is currently the largest provider of improvisation training in the UK. History The Free Association was founded as a group in 2014 by Austentatious cast member Graham Dickson and sketch comedy duo Max and Ivan; alongside Nel Mooney, Jessica Ransom, Freya Parker and Joseph Morpurgo. The group grew to establish the FA as a theatre, school and corporate training. They host shows and classes at their main theatre above the De Beauvoir Arms in Haggerston, London and The FA Comedy Room above the Lord Stanley in Camden, London. They also brought their headline shows to Soho Theatre, Underbelly Boulevard and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Dickson served as Artistic Director of the theatre before stepping down in 2022, being succeeded by Naomi Petersen until 2024. Since 2025, the theatre has been run by the Artistic Committee, composed of Katharine Bennett-Fox, Sam Roulston and Briony Redma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Improvised Comedy
Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without use of an already prepared, written Play (theatre), script. Improvisational theatre exists in performance as a range of styles of improvisational comedy as well as some non-comedic theatrical performances. It is sometimes used in film and television, both to develop characters and scripts and occasionally as part of the final product. Improvisational techniques are often used extensively in drama programs to train actors for stage, film, and television and can be an important part of the rehearsal process. However, the skills and processes of improvisation are also used outside the conte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ania Magliano
Ania Magliano (born 17 February 1998) is a British comedian and writer based in London. Early life Magliano grew up in Buckinghamshire. She is of half-Polish and half-Italian descent; her mother is Polish and works as a doctor. Magliano attended Girton College, Cambridge, and was a member of the Cambridge Footlights. While at university, she founded Stockings Comedy, a female and non-binary comedy collective. Career Magliano was a finalist for the Funny Women award in 2020 and for the Chortle Student Comedy Award in 2018. Her debut comedy show, ''Absolutely No Worries If Not'', won the Best New Show award at the Leicester Comedy Festival in 2022. Her performance of the show at the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe received positive reviews in ''The Guardian'', ''The Times'', and ''Time Out''. She has opened for comedians Ed Gamble and Marc Maron. Magliano's 2023 Edinburgh Fringe show ''I Can't Believe You've Done This'' was nominated for Best Show at the festival. She retu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guz Khan
Ghulam Dastgir Khan (; born 24 January 1986), also known as Guz Khan, is a British comedian and actor. His TV appearances include '' Man Like Mobeen'', '' Taskmaster'' (series 12), '' Our Flag Means Death'' (series 1) and stand-up performances on '' Live at the Apollo''. Early life Khan was born on 24 January 1986 to a Pakistani Punjabi Muslim family of Khans in Coventry. He has two sisters who are ten and eleven years older than him. His father died when he was three. Khan grew up on a housing estate in Hillfields, Coventry, and attended Stoke Park School. He graduated from Coventry University, and went on to teach Humanities at Grace Academy. In Sindhu Vee's 2020 BBC comedy podcast ''Things My Mother Never Told Me (... About Lockdown)'', Khan talks about being raised in a South Asian community and his relationship to his mother. Career Breakthrough Khan uploaded his first video to Facebook in 2014; in June of that year, he first performed on stage, opening for Aamer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alice Snedden
Alice Snedden is a New Zealand stand-up comedian, television writer and actress. First working as a writer on New Zealand comedy shows such as '' Funny Girls'', ''Jono and Ben'' and '' 7 Days'', Snedden created the series ''Alice Snedden's Bad News'', a documentary-comedy series written by and starring herself. In 2021, she co-wrote the BBC comedy series '' Starstruck'' alongside Rose Matafeo, who co-wrote and starred in the production. Early life Snedden grew up in Auckland, the youngest of five children in a Catholic family. Her father Patrick Snedden ran a publishing company, and since has had positions including the chairman of The Big Idea, Housing New Zealand Corporation, Auckland District Health Board and director of the Ports of Auckland. Snedden comes from an extended family of professional cricket players, including Warwick Snedden, Nessie Snedden, Colin Snedden, Martin Snedden and Michael Snedden. Snedden attended the University of Otago, first studying phy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monica Heisey
Monica Heisey is a Canadian writer, screenwriter and comedian based in London. She has written for ''Schitt's Creek'', the Baroness von Sketch Show and Workin' Moms, and created the Sky Comedy series '' Smothered''. Her first novel Really Good, Actually was released in 2023. Early life and education Heisey was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. She has a twin sister and a younger sister; her father was a lawyer and her mother was a public servant. Heisey completed undergraduate studies at Queen's University in 2010. Following graduation she moved to London, England where she obtained an MA in early modern literature from King's College. Career Heisey has written for numerous television shows including ''Schitt's Creek'' and '' Workin' Moms''. Her first job screenwriting position was on the '' Baroness von Sketch Show'', for which she is a four-time Canadian Screen Award winner. Heisey's writing has appeared in '' Vogue'', ''Elle'', '' Glamour'', and ''The New Yorker ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lorna Rose Treen
Lorna Rose Treen (born 10 October 1994) is an English comedian and satirist. Early life Treen grew up in Redditch before moving to Edinburgh to study philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. Her mother was a prison governor and her father worked in TV as a tech engineer. Career Treen began performing improvisational comedy while studying at Edinburgh, joining the student group The Improverts. After completing her studies, she moved to France to study comedy under master clown Philippe Gaulier. In 2022, Treen won both the Funny Women Stage Award and Comedy Shorts Award. In 2023, she won Chortle's Best Newcomer Award, and was a finalist in the inaugural Sean Lock Comedy Award. At the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, she performed her debut character comedy show ''Skin Pigeon''. With this show, she won the Funniest Joke of the Fringe. In January 2024, the BBC announced that Treen alongside co-writer Jonathan Oldfield had been commissioned by BBC Radio 4 for '' Time of the Wee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lara Ricote
Lara Ricote is a Mexican-American comedian based in the Netherlands. Early life Ricote is the daughter of actress and photographer Luis Francisco Ricote. She grew up in Miami before moving to the Netherlands to study politics at the University of Amsterdam. Career Ricote began performing improv and stand-up comedy while studying in Amsterdam. She has performed in both English and Spanish. In 2021, Ricote won the Funny Women Stage Award. At the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, she performed her debut solo show ''GRL/LATNX/DEF'' and won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer. In May 2022, Ricote featured in ''Rosie Jones's Disability Comedy Extravaganza,'' a comedy special broadcast on Dave. In October the same year, she appeared on the panel shows ''Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable'' and ''Question Team,'' both also broadcast on Dave. In February 2024, Ricote appeared on series U of BBC Two's '' QI'' as a guest panelist. She appeared again the following year, on series V. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sophie Duker
Sophie Duker (born 1989/1990) is a British stand-up comedian and writer. Early life Duker was born in London to first-generation immigrants from West Africa. Her mother is from Cameroon and her father is from Ghana. She attended North London Collegiate School until 2008 before studying French and English at Wadham College, Oxford. She joined the Oxford Imps in her first year at university. Career An alumna of the Pleasance Comedy Reserve, Duker was shortlisted for the Funny Women award in 2015. She founded and hosted the "Manic Pixie Dream Girls" show as part of Edinburgh's Free Festival in 2016 and 2017. She has written for the ''Huffington Post'' and she was an assistant producer for '' Frankie Boyle's New World Order'' and a researcher for ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown''. In 2019, she appeared on ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', '' Frankie Boyle's New World Order'', '' Dave Gorman: Terms and Conditions Apply'', and ''Mock the Week'', and in 2020 in ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steen Raskopoulos
Steen Raskopoulos (born 3 July 1987) is an Australian comedian, actor and improviser. He is best known for his live character solo sketch shows, playing Nick Fletcher in ''The Office'' (Australia), playing Dr. Evan in '' The Duchess'' (Netflix), Pete Lewis in '' Feel Good'' (Netflix), John Mahogany in BBC Three's '' Top Coppers'', '' Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia'' and as one half of the award-winning improvisation duo The Bear Pack. Early life and education Raskopoulos was born in Sydney. His father is FFA Hall of Fame footballer Peter Raskopoulos and his sister is comedian and singer Jordan Raskopoulos. He studied at the University of Sydney where he first started improvising and performed Theatresports at Manning Bar. He is the co-founder of Improv Theatre Sydney. Live comedy career Raskopoulos debuted his first solo sketch show ''Bruce springSTEEN LIVE IN CONCERT'' at the 2013 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. He was nominated for Best Newcomer, and won t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jessica Knappett
Jessica Amy Knappett (born 9 April 1984) is an English comedian, actress, and writer. She is the creator, writer, executive producer, and star of the E4 sitcom '' Drifters'', and appeared as Lisa in ''The Inbetweeners Movie''. She was also one of the writers on the BBC1 sitcom '' Avoidance'', in which she co-stars. Early life Jessica Amy Knappett was born in Bingley, West Yorkshire. She attended Woodhouse Grove School in nearby Apperley Bridge before studying Drama and English at the University of Manchester. She was a co-founder of Lady Garden, a sketch comedy group formed in Manchester in 2005. The group performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2008, 2009, and 2010. They also toured throughout England, performing at comedy festivals in Sheffield, Manchester, and Brighton in 2008. They were Hackney New Act & Laughing Horse finalists in 2009. Career Knappett was the creator, writer, executive producer, and star of the E4 sitcom '' Drifters'', in which she played Meg. She ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phil Wang
Philip Nathaniel Wang Sin Goi (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Vòng Hîn-kùi''; born 22 January 1990) is a British-Malaysian stand-up comedian and comedy writer who is a member of the sketch comedy group Daphne, and co-creator of their BBC Radio 4 series, '' Daphne Sounds Expensive''. He currently hosts the comedy podcast ‘BudPod’ with fellow comedian and Footlights alumnus Pierre Novellie. Early life Wang was born in Stoke-on-Trent to an English mother and a Chinese-Malaysian father of Hakka descent.Wang P (2019Phil Wang: Wangsplaining BBC Studios. A few weeks after his birth, his family returned to the city of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia where his parents had first met in 1982. Wang was raised in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia and educated in Malay, Mandarin, and English. He later studied at Jerudong International School in Brunei before moving to Bath in the UK at 16. Wang attended Kingswood School and then completed a four-year engineering degree at King's College, Cambridg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Gorton
The second series of ''The Traitors'' premiered on BBC One on 3 January 2024. Claudia Winkleman reprised her role as the show's presenter from the previous series. The series was also accompanied by a spin-off show ''The Traitors: Uncloaked'', presented by Ed Gamble. Production In February 2023, it was announced that ''The Traitors'' had been renewed for a second series following the success of the first. Claudia Winkleman was confirmed as the host. The series also saw the debut of a spin-off show ''The Traitors: Uncloaked'', which included interviews with banished and murdered contestants, as well as bonus unseen footage where the contestants learned the identity of the Traitors for the very first time. The first teaser trailer for the series aired in October 2023; further trailers promoting the series were released by the BBC in the lead up to the series premiere. Ahead of the release of series 2, the BBC announced the show had been renewed for a third series. Contestants ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
