TALK: Josh Kingsford and the Art of the Stand-Up Special

Stand-up comedy has been booming, and the most common
manifestation of this boom is the rise of the stand-up special,
the audiovisual recording of a comic’s set. This was especially
obvious during the Covid pandemic, but even before there were
signs that the cultural importance of specials has quite
increased. Streaming services like Netflix or HBO are releasing
more and more specials, even smaller comedians try their luck
shooting DIY specials, comedy fans debate about their favourite
specials and exchange their favourite jokes with friends.


But what exactly is a stand-up special? It is not just a mere
recording of a set, it is more: comedians have found different
ways to play not only with the art form of stand-up, but also
with the form of the special and the cinematic means of the
camera. What can they achieve by this?


Today’s guest is Josh Kingsford, a Welsh comedian living in New
Zealand. Josh is running the Youtube channel Comedy Without
Errors where he publishes in-depth-analyses about comedians,
specials and stand-up related phenomena. He argues that there are
indefinite ways of filming a stand-up special, and, by embracing
cinematic means, comedians can enhance their jokes and their
comic persona. And he shows how, vice versa, sticking to the
prevalent notion of the special and doing the recording in huge
theatres or arenas can, after all, do harm to the comedic act.


Specials we mention throughout the episode: Jerrod Carmichael: 8
(2017) | Bo Burnham: Inside (2021) | Norm MacDonald: Me Doing
Stand-Up (2011) | Drew Michael: Drew Michael (2018) | Stewart
Lee: Stand-Up Comedian (2005), 90s Comedian (2006) | Chelsea
Peretti: One of the Greats (2014) | James Acaster: Repertoire
(2018) | Maxi Gstettenbauer: Lieber Maxi als normal (Comedy
Central filming 2020)


Youtube channel Comedy Without Errors