He was the first comedian who actually sounded like my Jamaican father

Josephine Lacey picks her Perfect Playlist of comedy favourites

Edinburgh Fringe comedian Josephine Lacey picks her Perfect Playlist of comedy favourites...

O Brother, Where Art Thou

This Coen brothers' satirical comedy-drama movie made my list because it has one of my favourite comedy scenes in film. I've actually put the DVD on and forwarded it to the lead-up to this scene and watched only that section. I have done that many times over the years because I know I will laugh out loud!

It's said that the movie is loosely based on Homer's Greek poem The Odyssey. The main character is Ulysses, which is Roman for Odysseus with references to sirens and cyclops.

Starring George Clooney as Ulysses Everett McGill, John Turturro as Pete, and Tim Blake Nelson as Delmar. The three escape a chain gang in search of buried treasure. As escapees, they are being hunted by the sheriff and his men.

Just before this scene, the trio come across three women (the sirens) washing clothes by a stream. Everett, Pete and Delmar are plied with corn whiskey until they pass out. Once they come round, Pete is missing, and Delmar is sure that the 'sirens' had something to do with it. Tim Blake Nelson is a joy to watch in the scene.

Just for Laughs Montreal

I was a young teenager in the early 1980s when I first watched an episode of Just for Laughs Montreal, and I was immediately hooked. I had not seen a comedy show like it, as I had never been to a comedy club. I don't think I missed an episode.

A comedy show with several comedians in each episode, with an array of different comedy voices and styles of delivery. Some of the acts I knew, and some I had never seen before. If there was an act that didn't make me laugh much or at all, I knew another act was coming. What I loved was the number of female comedians who were equally as funny.

Some of my favourites throughout the series were: Emo Philips, Bill Hicks, Rich Hall, Dom Irrera, Steven Wright, Gilbert Gottfried, John Candy, Dave Chappelle, Rowan Atkinson and Chris Rock. Roseanne Barr, Ruby Wax, Rita Rudner, Jo Brand, Hatty Hayridge, Thea Vidale, Lily Tomlin and Margaret Cho… to name a few.

Dave Allen at Large

I was only two-and-a-half years old when Dave Allen at Large first aired on television in 1971. I obviously wasn't watching him at that age, but I remember his face being on the television and my parents laughing. I was about seven years old when I started to watch him. Although most of the jokes went over my head at that age, I loved the sketches and he would finish the show with a humorous story.

His half finger on his left had me intrigued and I remember once asking ‘What happened to his finger?’ To which I was told, he had gone too far up his nose when he was picking it! I watched the repeats every time they aired and when he moved over to ITV in the 1990s.

Oliver at Large

Oliver at Large stars Oliver Samuels. A Jamaican-born comedian and actor. I was 20 years old, raising a baby on my own when I was introduced to his comedic talent. A friend came to visit me and she brought some videos with her. We hung out for the day and we watched episode after episode after episode, crying tears of much-needed laughter at the antics of Oliver's alter ego, Olivius Adams and his sidekick Maffi.

It wasn't just the fact that he was hilarious that appealed to me. Oliver Samuels was the first Jamaican stand-up comedian/actor I had seen. Yes, I'd seen black comedians from the UK and America but none of them sounded like my Jamaican father or my friends parents who were from there also. It was delightfully refreshing. His ability to infuse humour into everyday situations with that speaky-spokey accent of his was relatable and endearing.

Are You Being Served?

For me this is one of the best British sitcoms ever made. It spanned my entire childhood running from 1972 to 1985. It's laugh-out-loud and great family viewing.

The shenanigans and mishaps of the staff at Grace Brothers department store was a constant theme. Mrs Slocombe and Mr Humphries were my favourite characters, played by the fabulous Mollie Sugden and John Inman. The sitcom had everything I loved about comedy. The characters, the set, the fact that everything happened within the department store. At times there were outrageous costumes. The banter, and the prolific use of double entendres.

Even at a young age, I understood sexual innuendo. I watched every episode just to hear Mrs Slocombe mention her ‘pussy’. The campness of Mr Humphries was over the top and tickled me pink. Along with the other characters played by the likes of Wendy Richard, Frank Thornton, Trevor Bannister, Nicholas Smith and the great Arthur English; Are You Being Served?, remains one of the best vintage sitcoms.

The Odd Couple

Written by Neil Simon, the movie version came out in 1968. The main characters are Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar, played by Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. I knew I was going to include Walter Matthau somehow in my Perfect Playlist. I just had to! I was undecided between The Odd Couple and Plaza Suite. I picked The Odd Couple simply because it was made the same year I was born.

When I was growing up, all Walter Matthau had to do was appear on screen and I would start laughing. He had that kind of face for me. This movie is no different.

When he offers up his home to his buddy Felix, after splitting from his wife and children, he soon realises how tightly wound-up Felix is. He tries his best to do the right thing and lift his friend’s spirits, but nothing seems to work. He even sets up a double date with two pretty neighbours, which goes disastrously wrong.

What also appeals to me about the film, is it's approach to topics like depression, anxiety and even suicide, but not in a heavy-handed way. It's one of those films that I can watch several times over.