The Cambridge Companion to Stand-Up Comedy

Stand-up comedy is one of the simplest theatre forms in existence. The comedian stands on a (usually) bare stage, talking straight to the audience in the hope of getting laughs. Yet it has never been more popular, with national scenes developing across every continent except Antarctica. In this insightful and accessibly written volume, diverse chapters explore the subject from many angles, ranging from national scenes, live venues, and recordings to politics, race, sexuality, and the question of offensiveness. Chapters also consider the performance dynamics of stand-up in detail, examining audience, persona, and trauma. Interspersed throughout the chapters are a series of originally commissioned interviews with comedians from nine different countries, including Maria Bamford, Jo Brand, Aditi Mittal, and Rod Quantock, providing rare insights into their craft.

• Explores the subject from a range of angles, considering history, interpretation, and performance dynamics in non-specialist language and through varied examples
• Incorporates academics from different subject areas, including theatre, media, communications, folklore, English literature, anthropology, sociology, and linguistics
• Illuminates how stand-up has developed as a global form, introducing readers to comedians from beyond their own country's stand-up scene