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.
Alan Varley fears gags falling into the wrong hands
18/10/2013 … As is now common knowledge, at half-time during Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier against Poland, England manager Roy Hodgson told his players a joke about an astronaut…
Matt Gardner on unfashionable double acts
17/10/2013 … British comedians are now well-known for providing some of the greatest laughs in the world of modern entertainment, though had it not been for a breakthrough back…
Chris Hallam on the 25th anniversary of a blue-collar sitcom
14/10/2013 … Let’s face it: Americans do not like losers.
Tom Crawshaw on homosexuality in comedy
11/10/2013 … In 1972, during an impromptu TV appearance with jazz singer George Melly, Monty Python star Graham Chapman, rather drunkenly, came out as the first publicly gay…
Jack Grant venues beyond the M25
03/10/2013 … A lot of good comedy stories invoke the mystical mythical ‘out-of-town’ gig.
26/09/2013 … I’ve performed at some lovely, excellent comedy nights (Up The Creek, Pull The Other One, Eclectic and Comedy Trumpet to name a few particularly welcoming nights)…
Anthony Miller on how comics can fall foul of the litigious
19/09/2013 … After comedian Matt Price received legal threats over his Edinburgh show about an ill-fated tour of Turkey, I thought I’d share my own libel experiences.
© Steve Ullathorne The Noise Next Door call for a rule change
18/09/2013 … As the dust has finally settled after another Edinburgh Fringe, there’s an issue we think needs to be addressed before the merry-go-round begins again in 2014.
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