Please see below a round-up of new and ongoing online comedy that Avalon artists have been creating whilst in lockdown – this list will be updated on our press centre here as any new projects launch. For our recent round-up of new and ongoing podcasts featuring Avalon artists, please click here, for a list of comedy specials featuring Avalon artists please click here, and for tv currently on demand in the UK produced by Avalon please click here.
Alex Horne – Home Tasking (Twitter @AlexHorne)
“Taskmaster is one of the most consistently funny comedy game shows on television”
★★★★ Sarah Hughes, The I
Emmy and triple Bafta nominated Taskmaster became interactive as the show’s creator and star Alex Horne set Taskmaster style tasks for people of all ages to do from home during the C-19 lock down, keeping families entertained and providing a nice diversion from everything that’s happening in the news. Using the hashtag #HomeTasking, fans could submit their task while Greg Davies reprised his role as the almighty Taskmaster to score people’s entries and announce winners on the Taskmaster YouTube channel.Receiving thousands of ingenious entries from households across the globe, #HomeTasking was featured on NPR in the U.S., TVNZ in New Zealand, The Project in Australia, and Channel 4 broadcast each new task throughout the day on air and across their social platforms as part of their Stay At Home activity. After a successful launch reaching 5.1 million views, the finale is released today revealing the champions of the final task. #HomeTasking will return in the future.
You can watch Alex explain Home Tasking here
Bilal Zafar – Pro Evolution Soccer (Twitch @zafarcakes)
“witty and absorbing…highly entertaining. I look forward to whatever Zafar cooks up next”
Dominic Maxwell, The Times
Bilal Zafar presents a completely original interactive, improvised comedy stream via Twitch in which he plays a struggling football manager in charge of the fictional team PES United, from the classic football game Pro Evolution Soccer 5, circa 2005. Dealing with players heading off to war, accusations of bullying aka ‘banter’ and an addiction to Bongela, the stream also includes matches, regular team talks, press conferences and meetings with the players. Weekly guest apperances also feature Josie Long as the owner of the club, Danny Wallace as ‘Operations Director’ and Nick Helm as an angry supporter.
You can watch Bilal on Twitch here
Bilal Zafar – Bilal Zafar’s Acting School of Excellence (YouTube)
“Delivers big laughs”
Brian Logan, The Guardian
Bilal Zafar has also launched a new webseries: Bilal Zafar’s Acting School of Excellence. In the first episode, Bilal helps struggling actor Josie Long with her accents, expressions and they perform a scene from the classic British film; ‘Nil By Mouth,’ with more recent pupils including Michael Spicer, Ken Cheng, and Stevie Martin to name a few.
You can watch the series on YouTube here and on Twitch here
Harry Baker – Something Borrowed (@harrybakerpoet)
“[Harry Baker’s] intricate, quick-fire rhymes have always been on the impressive side of mind-blowing”
The Scotsman
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Something Borrowed is the brainchild of World Poetry Slam Champion Harry Baker where he and a different guest from the worlds of comedy, music, and performance poetry share something old, new, borrowed and blue from their respective art forms. Interacting live with viewers during each show, it’s a gig/interview/conversation/way of staying connected while physically staying apart – The first show features the phenomenal poet Erin Bolens.
You can watch Harry’s Instagram lives at 7.00pm every Wednesday here
Iain Stirling – Gaming (Twitch @iainstirling)
“At his best the Edinburgh native is an unhinged free-form anecdotist”
★★★★ Mark Wareham, The Mail On Sunday
BAFTA-winning comedian Iain Stirling (Love Island, Taskmaster) continues to play computer games for yours and his amusement via Twitch. Activities include playing FIFA and puzzles, alongside magazine show style streams such as dissecting old children television show’s theme tunes whilst connecting with his audience via a chat box.
You can watch Iain on Twitch here
Jonny & The Baptists – Love You & Hate Covid
“Wickedly amusing”
★★★★ The Times
Multi-award-nominated musical-activist-comedians Jonny and the Baptists have announced a brand new virtual tour with their latest show Love You & Hate Covid, which enjoyed a five-star run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with the title Love You & Hate Bastards. Partnering with arts centres, theatres and comedy clubs across the UK with a unique show performed for each town, all proceeds will be equally split with each venue. Jonny Donahoe and Paddy Gervers hope to help struggling independent arts venues during the C-19 lockdown and cheer up the nation the best way they know how, with musical brilliance and thought-provoking lyrics.
Latest press release here
Tickets can be found online at www.jonnyandthebaptists.co.uk
Phil Ellis – Self-Isolation Reviews (YouTube)
“you will find yourself helpless with horrified irreverent laughter.”
★★★★★ Claire Smith, The Scotsman
Phil Ellis is self (now told to by the Government) isolating during the Coronavirus pandemic. In order to raise the spirits of other self isolators he is taking to YouTube to give “Self-Isolation Reviews,” reviewing everything in his house, to entertain you and to stop himself staring at his gas oven.
You can watch Phil’s reviews on YouTube here
Pierre Novellie – Medieval Monday, Warzone Wednesday & Thinking Thursday (Twitch @pierrenovellie)
“A show packed full of belly laughs…impressively well written, perfectly building and building and rich with detail…Novellie delivers it all with real astuteness and skill”
★★★★★ Sharon Lougher, The Metro
Award-winning comedian and long-time gamer Pierre Novellie has recently turned to live-streaming via Twitch in the absence of live comedy, giving in to his urges and playing video games while chatting and improvising comedy with his audience. With themed days, you can join Pierre playing: Ages of Empires II, a real-time strategy video game set in the Middle Ages, on Medieval Monday; Call of Duty: Modern Warefare, a highlighy realistic first-person shooter video game saving the fictional country of Urzikstan from Russian invasion, on Warzone Wednesday; and Return of the Obra Dinn, a puzzle video game following an insurance inspector for the East India Company in 1807, on Thinking Thursday.
You can watch Pierre on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays on Twitch here
Richard Herring – Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast or RHLSTP (Twitch @rkherring)
“the best celeb interviewer in Britain”
Edward Tew, The Guardian
The multi-award-winning and perennially popular live podcast interview series in which comedian Richard Herring (“The Podfather”, The Guardian) chats with some of the biggest names in comedy and entertainment is now being live-streamed every Wednesday evening via Twitch. Dubbed “The UK’s online comedy pioneer” (The Times), RHLSTP has continuously made headlines over the years, probably most famously for Stephen Fry’s sad revelation that he tried to commit suicide and then most recently many aspects of Les Dennis’ interview going viral and making newspapers. And with over 200+ episodes available online, you can also catch interviews with the likes Eddie Izzard, Dawn French, David Mitchell, Katherine Ryan, London Hughes, Grayson Perry and Brian Blessed to name a few.
Latest press release here
You can watch Richard on Twitch here
You can listen to the podcast here
Produced by Sky Potato, Go Faster Stripe and Fuzz Productions
Richard Herring – Me1 vs Me2 Snooker (Twitch @rkherring)
“The UK’s online comedy pioneer”
The Times
In addition to his RHLSTP and Stone Clearing podcasts now being live-streamed via Twitch, Richard Herring, otherwise known as the world’s premier semi-professional self-playing snooker player, is bringing his Me1 vs Me2 Snooker surreal podcast series to the live-streaming platform. In this show, Richard recreates his lonely childhood by playing himself at snooker; commentating as he plays. Madness!
You can watch Richard on Twitch here
Richard Herring – Stone Clearing (Twitch @rkherring)
“a podcasting veteran… the chat is always worth it… fab”
Miranda Sawyer, The Observer
The word’s first podcast dedicated to the ancient art of Stone Clearing (removing stones from a field and using them for better purpose) can now be lived-streamed online via Twitch. Watch Richard Herring as he attempts to build a wall around the huge field that can be seen from space, while serving as an introduction to the industry for the newcomer and hopefully providing tips for the many other stone clearers around the world. Despite the new format, remember this effort is still a secret – please do not tell anyone what Richard is doing.
You can watch Richard on Twitch here
Richard Herring – Ally and Herring’s Twitch of Fun (Twitch @rkherring)
“King of the Internet”
Time Out
In addition to his RHLSTP, Stone Clearing and Me1 vs Me2 Snooker podcasts now being live-streamed via Twitch, Richard Herring is teaming up with an 128 year-old, ‘handsy’, ventriloquist doll made by his great-grandad to review the day’s newspapers in an attempt to put to rest the ghosts of old and failed double acts he’s been in. It’s a format surely you’ve seen before, but hopefully they can give it a fresh spin. Unprepared and unrehearsed, Ally and Herring have no idea what the other one is about to say and as long as the offensive stuff is said by the dummy then no one can touch us. But which one’s the dummy?
You can watch Richard and Ally every Thursday night at 8.00pm on Twitch here
Or you can listen to the podcast and continue to enjoy ventriloquism, as God intended, in audio only here
Steff Todd – Celebrity Impressions (@SteffTodd)
“absolutely hilarious”
The Daily Mirror
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Comedian, impressionist and viral internet sensation Steff Todd is imagining what life is like in lockdown for celebrities such as Gemma Collins, Charlotte Crosby, Katie Price and The Kardashians to name a few. Creating a series of impressions imagining celebrities at home, on Zoom calls and discovering the latest TikTok trend, Steff recently gained national headlines when another series of impressions went viral, racking up over 10 million views and which were featured by ITV, BBC Radio 1, The Daily Mail, Metro, The Mirror, OK Magazine, Twitter Moments, Cosmopolitan and many more.
You can watch Steff’s impressions linked here on her Instagram, Twitter and on TikTok
Stevie Martin – The Book Club (Twitch @5tevieM)
“funny AF”
Time Out
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Co-host of the Nobody Panic podcast and one third of the Massive Dad sketch group, Stevie Martin (“Hilarious,” The Guardian) is starting a weekly improvised book club on Twitch, launching from the live-streaming platform on Thursday 23rd July at 8.00pm. Join Stevie where she and a guest will improvise a book title and proceed to have incredibly academic discussions about it, reading favourite excerpts, (spoiler alert) discussing the ending and deciding whether they loved it or hated it. With upcoming guests including Richard Osman, Bilal Zafar, Adam Riches and Tessa Coates to name a few, Stevie’s The Book Club welcomes all and anyone can join the club, provided of course you’ve read the book they’ve made up.
You can watch Stevie every Thursday at 8.00pm on Twitch here
Stevie Martin – Sketches (@5tevieM)
“In complete command of the audience…tremendous”
★★★★ Edinburgh Festivals Magazine
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Co-host of the Nobody Panic podcast and one third of the Massive Dad sketch group, Stevie Martin (“Hilarious,” The Guardian) is putting out regular sketch videos during quarantine. Mining her life amongst the quarantine, the sketches explore topics including casting calls, auditions tapes and activist campaigning. Stevie’s latest sketch explores one of the pillar stones of the new normal, the Zoom meeting.
You can watch Stevie’s sketches on her Instagram and Twitter here and here
For further information and images please contact pressoffice@avalonuk.com or 0207 598 8000.
