Far Too Funny List
One of the Best Books on Comedy I've Read
Hello!
I want to start this newsletter by saying:
Thank you.
Once again Too Far Comedy this past Monday was an absolute pleasure to be a part of. The comedians were hilarious and it was such a fun, supportive vibe. And it’s been like that all year. Apart from a couple of nights, we’ve been packed to the rafters and even when not full, the crowd has been awesome. So, thank you.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise how many of you applied for spots to perform in May and June. We were inundated with requests and unfortunately, I had to let down many people. So apologies if you didn’t get a spot this time. Hopefully, we can get you on in July. And perhaps it’s time to start thinking about running a second night…
😂 Far Too Funny List
📺 Watching - Speaking in front of a group of strangers can be terrifying. Even if you’re not a comedian there always comes a time when you need to do this. And there are different ways to get over stage fright. Comedian and YouTuber Max Fosh is preparing to get back out on the road and he used a unique method to get over his fear. Find out what I mean in his video: I Hired 7 Year Olds To Write My Stand Up Comedy.
🎧 Listening - You may know Brett Goldstein as Roy Kent from Ted Lasso, well the talented comedian also has a podcast called Films To Be Buried With. Having just watched the Netflix show The Gentleman I listened to the episode with British institution Ray Winstone. To many, he is the “Place your bets now” bloke but in this chat, he comes across as an absolute treasure. It was lovely to hear touching stories from his stellar acting career.
📕 Reading - I’ve previously called Adam Bloom’s Finding Your Comic Genius the best book I’ve read on stand-up comedy. This week I finished Jesse David Fox’s Comedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture–and the Magic That Makes It Work and it is also up there, albeit for different reasons. While Bloom’s book focuses more on structure, Fox’s book uses examples of comedy in recent history to contextualise the different facets of performing. He covers topics such as timing, the audience, and the line. As Vulture’s comedy critic, Fox is well-placed having watched a lot of comedians and spoken to them too, often breaking down their best jokes into infinitesimal detail. There’s a lot of information that has me analysing how I now approach the stage.
🎬 New Videos
Find out why my wife STOPS me from telling my jokes in my latest video The Honeymoon is OVER! on my YouTube channel. Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE. New videos come out on a Friday!
There’s no new video in our #funnylist series this week. I’ve put out all the interviews that have been filmed. I wanted to gauge your interest in the series before I record any more. Each video takes over 2 hours to edit and I wanted to know whether you think we should continue. Please vote below!
🎤 Where you can see me perform
Too Far Comedy - Monday 22 April | 7.15pm doors
The OM Comedy Club - Sunday 21 April | 5.30pm doors
Lolipops - Tuesday 23 April | 6.30pm & 8pm
Not So New Comedian of the Year 2024 - Friday 26 April | 7pm
If you want to book me for one of your comedy nights please email me.
If you haven’t already, please give Too Far Comedy a follow on Instagram and Facebook!
That’s it for now. Hope to see you soon!
Richard
Some of the links above may be affiliate links so I might get a commission if you purchase.
“Far Too Funny List” is a collation of content that Richard Parr finds hilarious or valuable as a comedian. Richard is the MC of Too Far Comedy. It’s a new act, new material night at The Artillery Arms in Old Street, London starting at 7.30pm. This weekly newsletter also gives acts priority access to spots to perform when they become available.