LIVE PODCAST THE GUILTY FEMINIST Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 29 May
Though podcasts are now a fixture on the comedy scene, few have quite reached the heights of The Guilty Feminist. Conceived in 2015 by Deborah Frances-White and Sofie Hagen as a platform to discuss the topics ‘all 21st-century feminists agree on’, while poking fun at the personal hypocrisies which undermine these ideals, the podcast has since racked up millions of downloads. While finding humour in abortion and the refugee crisis might seem counter-intuitive, Frances-White
points out that comedy is fundamental to feminism. ‘Feminists need spirit to change the world, resilience to keep going, and joy to draw others in. That’s why we want this show to be a hilarious, spirited call to arms that’ll leave everyone dancing out to change their patch of the world.’ And into her patch she will go, as Frances-White takes the show on the road for a UK tour.
Though the podcast is recorded in front of a live audience, she’s relishing the chance to do a big show with ‘lots more whistles and bells’, as well as work with local organisations at each stop. She’ll be joined by her usual roster of guest hosts, which in the past has included Lolly Adefope and Hari Kondabolu. Who would be her ultimate dream guest? ‘Tallulah Bankhead, the 20th-century actress and wit who once said, “my father warned me about men and alcohol, but never said a word about women and cocaine”. Sex positive. Egalitarian. A diva. The ultimate guilty feminist.’ (Deborah Chu)
MY COMEDY HERO KIERAN HODGSON The Stand, Edinburgh, Tue 16 Apr; The Stand, Glasgow, Wed 17 Apr
I’ve narrowed my comedy heroes down to two. As a character comedian I find The League of Gentlemen’s comic personas mesmerising. At a time when it seemed sketch comedy was becoming wholly a vehicle for catchphrases (and don’t get me wrong, The League had a few), their whole approach was beautifully different.
Each character had a reality, even in the most grotesque situations: you knew that Steve
Pemberton cared about Pauline, that she was real to him, in all her horror. And so when she suffered, we couldn’t help but feel for her. Their bleak-yet-beautiful visual sensibility, the cinematic scope of their writing, and the gloriously Northern world that they created all mean that the programme is still close to flawless, all the more so for occasionally being heartbreaking. Armando Iannucci’s CV of excellence and reinvention is sort-of unparalleled in comedy: On the
Hour, The Day Today, Alan Partridge, Time Trumpet, The Thick of It, In the Loop, The Death of Stalin, Veep. I just love his whole approach to comedy: supremely silly and tremendously well- researched, full of exquisite nouns and catastrophic escalations, bringing out the best in others while hitting satirical targets with compelling outrage. And he had a Radio 1 show. Unbelievable. See more of this My Comedy Hero at list.co.uk/comedy
COMEDY | PREVIEWS 74 THE LIST 1 Apr–31 May 2019