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.
Alistair Barrie on 'you can’t say anything these days' and more
07/06/2024 … When a student working on a dissertation asked stand-up Alistair Barrie his opinions on political comedy, he got carried away with his answer, and produced…
Alistair Barrie on how the divisive issue of Brexit affected his work
06/06/2024 … When stand-up Alistair Barrie – the self-professed idiot of the headline – was asked his opinions on political comedy, he got carried away with…
Lizzy Lenco on the pros and pitfalls of mining true life for art
14/05/2024 … One of the few things I remember about waking up in a hospital bed after my road traffic collision was a fellow comedian telling me, ‘well, at least now you’ve…
Becky Fury celebrates their vulgarity
14/05/2024 … To contemporary observers, the humour of saucy seaside postcards is almost as unfathomable as the desire to go on the type of donkey-riding, pier-promenading, rock-sucking,…
09/05/2024 … Two seismic events in the world of UK stand-up this week: Joe Pasquale is out on the second leg of his extended The New Normal - 40 Years Of Cack! tour, and my NextUp…
© Netflix 07/05/2024 … Comedy is opening up spaces for silences to be broken and trauma stories to be told.
Comic Dylan Dodds on the Arj Barker controversy
26/04/2024 … As a comedian, I am a professional fence-sitter.
Ashley Freize on whether it's cheating – or even ethical – to use the technology
22/04/2024 … So I just released an album of comedy songs co-written with an AI.
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