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.
Robin Ince on asking to be paid for what he does
30/09/2015 … Once Oliver Stone created Gordon Gekko and had him declare 'Greed is good', the audience took a look at themselves in the Odeon toilet mirror and said, Now I realise…
Comedian Geoff Norcott thinks the story can't be topped
24/09/2015 … As a stand-up and comedy writer, I've maintained a dignified silence over Pig-gate.
Imran A Khan on the power of laughter
18/09/2015 … 'Islam' and 'humour' are two consciously uncoupled words that rarely share the same sentence space.
09/09/2015 … I'm not a fan of guilds or unions.
Dave Twentyman on anxiety in stand-up
04/09/2015 … I've always been fascinated with the opinion expressed by many fellow comedians that fear and the resulting nerves are positive for performers.
Ben Morgan hopes for a revival of political comedy
02/09/2015 … He came out of nowhere, just scraping enough nominations to become a Labour leader candidate, and he now leads a competition that the public wouldn't normally pay…
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