Writing
How a Comedy Callback Makes an Earlier Joke Feel New
Learn how a comedy callback turns an earlier detail into a fresh joke, with clear ways to choose, plant and revise…
The reading room
All pieces
Browse close readings of comic writing, performance, characters and visual choices. Each piece follows one idea at a time, with the aim of helping you notice more on your next watch or read.
Performance
Straight Face or Broad Gesture? Two Comic Performance Registers
Straight face or broad gesture? Learn how restrained and exaggerated comic performance steer attention, shape a…
Characters
The Comic Foil, the Straight Man and the Job of Contrast
Learn how a comic foil makes eccentric behaviour legible through specific reactions, shared stakes and character of…
Visual Comedy
Why a Tiny Prop Can Steal a Scene
Why a tiny prop can steal a scene: learn to spot how scale, placement and handling make an ordinary object quietly…
Comedy History
Before the Laugh Track: Comedy in the Radio Imagination
Radio comedy invites listeners to build a scene from voices and sound cues, revealing how imagined details can sharpen…