Who needs the gatekeepers?
Comic Max Dickins on publishing with Unbound
02/06/2016 … The gatekeepers are losing their grip.
Latest Opinions
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.
Thu 02 June 2016
Tue 31 May 2016
Circus got sexy... but at what cost?
Mat Ricardo's monthly dispatch from the variety circuit
31/05/2016 … When I was a quite young child, maybe six or seven, my parents took me to a circus.
Chris Rock changed my life
Lorcan Mullan on Bring The Pain, 20 years on
31/05/2016 … I think when most people discover their life's passions it is born from when they witness a work, or a moment in time, in their formative years that forever…
Sun 22 May 2016
BBC Scotland has contempt for its comedy audience
Colin Edwards attacks condescending and narrow-minded commissioners
22/05/2016 … It was a few years ago and after producing The Franz Kafka Big Band for BBC Radio Scotland and The Atrocity Machine for Channel 4 Radio, I was asked by BBC Scotland’s…
Tue 10 May 2016
© BBC/Colin Hutton These Upstart Crow critics shouldn't be given credibility
Steve Bennett on the reaction to Ben Elton's sitcom
10/05/2016 … The BBC launched a major new sitcom last night… let’s see what the newspapers verdict was.
Thu 05 May 2016
Is this routine lazy?
Ariane Sherine's continuing adventures in stand-up
05/05/2016 … This week, I wrote a short routine which I was really happy with.
Wed 04 May 2016
Variety isn't dead. It's on YouTube
Mat Ricardo's monthly dispatch from the variety circuit
04/05/2016 … This month brought the return of Britain's Got Talent, which, as we all know, is a shiny-floored, over-lit sausage machine that transforms the fame-hungry into the…
Sun 24 April 2016
© Bryony Jameson How we did the Business on the Fringe
Joe Hollingworth on a unique festival experience
24/04/2016 … ‘Business business business business business business business business business business business business business business business business business business…