Showing titles in Performing Arts

Sheltered is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi sitcom, starring Gemma Whelan, Sindhu Vee, Rufus Hound and Marek Larwood. It’s been centuries since Armageddon and no one has ever left the bunker that has sustained what remains of civilised human life.... When innocent simpleton Gary and social climber Veronica are sent to explore the world outside, they soon regret ever leaving the safety, soft furnishings and quilted toilet paper of Fallout Shelter 7421.

Few can forget where they were in September 1993 when they first heard Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation. The show was an immediate smash-hit success, causing pubs to empty on a Saturday night, which was particularly astonishing since the show went out on Thursdays. Since that fateful first series, the show has gone on to win Sony awards, Writers Guild nominations and a Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Included here are all 10 series of Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation.

Daughter of Major Derek Hargreaves (spy?) and June Hargreaves (spy's wife?) sister of Sara (born to be Head Girl) and Ben (the usurper), Jenny's comedy career took off via drama school, cider, sausage rolls, sleeping with men who looked like they lived under a carpet, punk poetry, anorexia, bedsit misery, waitressing and not really having a clue about anything. This was a world before microphones, mobile phones, before everyone gave up smoking or started taking coke. Jenny Eclair was on the comedy circuit before there really was a comedy circuit.

Ade Edmondson smashed onto the comedy circuit in the 1980s, stormed The Comedy Store and, alongside Rik Mayall, brought anarchy to stage and screen. How did a child brought up in a strict Methodist household – and who spent his formative years incarcerated in repressive boarding schools – end up joining the revolution? Well, he is part Norse. Could it be his berserker heritage? With wisdom, nostalgia and uniquely observed humour, Ade traces his journey through life and comedy.

There's a new chat in town as the hit programme comes live from the BBC Television Centre, and Alan ushers on a variety of guests including horsewoman of few words Sue Lewis, powerful hypnotist Tony le Mesmer, fashion designer Yvonne Boyd, and husband and wife thespians Tania Barker and Gary Barker. There's also a whole edition of the programme broadcast from sexy Paris, city of French people.

Have you ever experienced something you just can’t explain – an uncanny encounter with things that go bump in the night? Did it leave you with an unshakable belief in the paranormal? Or feeling like an idiot when your flatmate pointed out it was just your cat treading on the squeaky floorboard? Either way - you’re not alone! Join comedian Jamali Maddix as he asks fellow comics and celebrities to reveal their spookiest real-life tales and most uncanny experiences.

At the age of 9, Romesh Ranganathan delivered his first ever stand-up set at a Pontin's Holiday Camp talent competition, smashing the only other competitor, a young girl playing the kazoo. The gig went so well that Romesh retired his comic genius for 22 years, hiding behind the guise of a maths teacher, before finally revealing himself again (no, not like that) at the tender age of 31. In 2010, Ranganathan staged his epic comeback gig to an almost silent room, and has since gone on to earn his place as the most in-demand overweight vegan Sri Lankan comedian in Britain.

Ramble Book is about parenthood, boarding-school trauma, arguing with your partner, bad parties, confrontations on trains, friendship, wanting to fit in, growing up in the '80s, dead dads, teenage sexual anxiety, failed artistic endeavours, being a David Bowie fan and how everything you read, watch and listen to as a child forms a part of the adult you become. It’s also an audiobook about the joys of going off topic and letting your mind wander. And it’s about a short, hairy, frequently confused man called Adam Buxton.

David Mitchell’s 2014 best seller Thinking About It Only Makes It Worse must really have made people think - because everything’s got worse. We’ve gone from UKIP surge to Brexit shambles, from horsemeat in lasagne to Donald Trump in the White House, from Woolworths going under to all the other shops going under. It’s probably socially irresponsible even to try to cheer up.

This hilarious compendium celebrates a decade of Taskmaster's inspired chaos. Relive the most outrageous tasks, iconic meltdowns, and ingenious victories from your favourite contestants.

David Mitchell, who you may know for his inappropriate anger on every TV panel show except Never Mind the Buzzcocks, his look of permanent discomfort on C4 sex comedy Peep Show, his online commenter-baiting in The Observer or just for wearing a stick-on moustache in That Mitchell and Webb Look, has written a book about his life.

If Audible was a bottle of milk, then the cream of comedy would rise to the top. In this series of live showcases, Audible puts the spotlight on some of the established stars and emerging newcomers of the stand up scene. Expect hilarious, unadulterated, stand up fun from the masters of laughter.

Written to take advantage of the brief window between the end of lockdown and Jimmy getting cancelled for saying something unforgivable to Lorraine Kelly, this book is as timely as it is unnecessary. Because you might be interested in Jimmy's life but he's damn sure you're a lot more interested in your own, Before & Laughter is about both of you. But mainly him.

Jack Whitehall throws open the doors to his Safe Space, the place where we can all share our most embarrassing stories and try to feel better about ourselves along the way. With a career built on getting into awkward situations, Jack knows more than anyone the power that sharing can have in getting over the moments we most regret. So come in and settle down as Jack asks listeners, his best friend James and big name guests to share their personal humiliations so we can all move on, cringe-free.

Comedian Pierre Novellie was on stage when a heckler suggested he was autistic. Usually, this disruption would be water off a duck's back but two things made this heckler different: first, he was himself autistic. Second, he turned out to be absolutely right. This random encounter led to a diagnosis of autism at the age of 31 that unravelled his world, explained his struggles and answered questions that had bothered him for his entire life: why were the other kids obsessed with Britney Spears instead of The Goon Show? Why don't people ever say what they mean? Why is everyone chewing so loudly?

The funniest podcast in the UK with comedians Adam Rowe and Dan Nightingale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A follow up to Jamali’s British Podcast Award-winning comedy/horror series. Jamali Maddix is back attempting to debunk our guest’s wildest tales of the paranormal.

December 2022 marks 55 years of Just a Minute, Radio 4's longest-running and most beloved panel game. To commemorate this milestone, this special collection comprises five classic series of the hit show from 2010 and 2011, featuring a wealth of favourite panellists attempting to prove they have the gift of the gab.

In the olden days, people used to learn about things from encyclopedias. And that was really good, because you could read it, and learn it, then you could stop worrying about thinking. But now, with the Internet and more people and science and research, there's just too much knowledge - more every year - and it's overwhelming. So, after years of asking the big questions - like 'what did people do before evolution?' and 'what is clocks?' - intrepid reporter and visionary philosopher Philomena Cunk is bringing the encyclopedia back.

It's the complete second season of The Ricky Gervais Show - six episodes in one tidy package. It's packed full of all-new drivel, as Ricky and Steve Merchant forage through the long grass of Karl Pilkington's brain.