Performing Arts

Comedian Trevor Noah offers listeners a glimpse into his childhood during apartheid in South Africa in this award-winning memoir.

Outsider. Misfit. Criminal. Convict. . . . Movie star. Family man. Comedy legend. Joey Diaz has been called every name in the book (and then some). Now, for the first time, he shares the story of his unlikely rise to fame in his own words—with no punches pulled....

From Tom Segura, the massively successful stand-up comedian and cohost of chart-topping podcasts 2 Bears 1 Cave and Your Mom’s House, hilarious real-life stories of parenting, celebrity encounters, youthful mistakes, misanthropy, and so much more....

Before Liz Lemon, before Weekend Update, before Sarah Palin, Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: A recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV....

In the mid-70s, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up....

Millions of viewers know and love Bob Saget from his role as the sweetly neurotic father on the smash hit Full House, and as the charming wisecracking host of America's Funniest Home Videos....

 Since his first performance at the legendary New York nightclub “Catch a Rising Star” as a 21-year-old college student in fall of 1975, Jerry Seinfeld has written his own material and saved everything.... 

From a beloved comedy critic, a wisecracking, heartfelt, and overdue chronicle of comedy’s boom—and its magic....

The Big Book of Bad Decisions is a collection of tragicomic vignettes from the hilarious true adventures of Scott Michael Nathan, as he sets out to devour everything Hollywood has to offer....

Bob Odenkirk’s career is inexplicable. And yet he will try like hell to explicate it for you. Charting a “Homeric” decades-long “odyssey” from his origins in the seedy comedy clubs to a dramatic career full of award nominations, it’s almost like there are many Bob Odenkirks....

In Big Beacon, Norwich's favourite son and best broadcaster, Alan Partridge, triumphs against the odds. TWICE....

In these fresh and hilarious personal essays, Mindy Kaling gives the inside scoop on her new role as single mom, the perks of being her own husband, and how she deals with social anxiety even at the most glamorous A-list parties....

Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress....

James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales raucously and revealingly take the SNL story up to the present, adding a constellation of iconic new stars, surprises, and controversies....

Robin Williams was a singularly innovative and beloved entertainer. He often came across as a man possessed, holding forth on culture and politics while mixing in personal revelations....

Actor, voice actor, and comedian H. Jon Benjamin helps us all feel a little better about our own failures by sharing his own - despite his success starring on Archer and Bob's Burgers - in a hilarious, self-helpful memoir....

A hilarious and biting memoir from the actor, comedian, and Saturday Night Live alumnus....

The exercises in this book will get you off the couch and onto the stage, helping you develop the skills necessary to envision, and achieve, a successful career in comedy....

Six-time Emmy Award-winning funnyman Tim Conway, best known for his characters on The Carol Burnett Show, offers a straight-shooting and hilarious memoir about his life on stage and off as an actor and comedian....

A celebration of and behind-the-scenes look at Jerry Seinfeld’s groundbreaking streaming series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee....

The legendary writer and performer of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers fame takes listeners on a grand tour of his ascent in the entertainment world John Cleese’s huge comedic influence has stretched across generations....

David Mitchell’s 2014 best seller Thinking About It Only Makes It Worse must really have made people think - because everything’s got worse....

Rainn Wilson’s memoir about growing up geeky and finally finding his place in comedy, faith, and life. For nine seasons Rainn Wilson played Dwight Schrute, everyone's favorite work nemesis and beet farmer. Viewers of The Office fell in love with the character....

The bestselling comedian returns to respond and rant on real questions about life and love, careers and cars, and everything else from fans and famous friends....

Why is every film or tv programme a sequel or a remake? Why are people so f***ing hung up about swearing? Why do the asterisks in that sentence make it okay? These and many other questions trouble David Mitchell. Join him on a tour of the absurdities of modern life....

The Blue-Collar Bible is a humorous collection of stories about pranks, mishaps and inside jokes that bring laughter to the ‘smoko’ breaks and much-needed comic relief to the tough workdays. It offers a captivating journey through the heart and soul of the building trade, providing readers with an intimate insight into the lives, antics, challenges, and diverse personalities that define this gritty and essential industry.

The Big Book of Bad Decisions is a collection of tragicomic vignettes from the hilarious true adventures of Scott Michael Nathan, as he sets out to devour everything Hollywood has to offer — bad dates, worse roommates, A-list celebrities and porn stars, models, moguls, and mushrooms.

Book of poems about life as an adult in America during the 3rd Quarter of 2023. I cover addiction, football season, suicide, aliens, divorce, kids, reviews, dogs, politics, sports betting and con-artists. Meant for a quick laugh, brief reflection, some cheers, a little arguing and maybe a few tears, but hopefully enjoy!

From Rebecca Shaw and Ben Kronengold, the youngest comedy writers ever for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and masterminds behind the viral 2018 Yale graduation speech, comes a hilarious collection of short stories taking on coming-of-age, memes, sex, politics, relationships, and Goop, with satire, self-deprecation, and utter irreverence.

Comedy is king. From multimillion-dollar TV specials to sold-out stand-up shows and TikTok stardom, comedy has never been more popular, democratized, or influential. Comedians have become organizing forces across culture—as trusted as politicians and as fawned-over as celebrities—yet comedy as an art form has gone under-considered throughout its history, even as it has ascended as a cultural force.

Adopted at six months old by Dubliners Sean and Helen Gallagher, PJ spent much of his childhood knocking back Lucozade with the local alcoholics in his parents' northside pub. But the chaos that reigned for his first ten years was nothing compared to what happened when - having lost the pub - Helen took in psychiatric patients from the local hospital to give them 'care in the community'. Now it was a household of ten - PJ, his sister, his parents and six lost souls. Worst. Idea. Ever. Madhouse is PJ's riotous life story.

While other books give you tips on how to “write funny,” this book offers a paradigm shift in understanding the mechanics and art of comedy and the proven, practical tools that help writers translate that understanding into successful commercial scripts. The Hidden Tools of Comedy unlocks the unique secrets and techniques of writing comedy. Kaplan deconstructs sequences in popular films and TV that work and don’t work and explains what tools were used (or should have been used).

Face it, our future is scripted in code and algorithms, and it's high time to find the humor in it. Welcome to Artificially Intelligently F*cked: A Comedic and Semi-Serious Survival Guide Against the Future of Artificial Intelligence, your ultimate guide to understanding—and surviving—the rise of AI. Whether you're already fretting over your smart home plotting your demise or simply curious about the AI-shaped road ahead, this book is your road map, sprinkled generously with wit and wisdom.

No matter your understanding of chemistry, I am sure you'll get a reaction, because the jokes within, are sodium funny. These jokes have been accumulated through years of interactions with fellow scientists and teachers, and lots of drinking in strange bars late at night. A word of caution must be had—some jokes are innocent, and some are rude and lewd, but none are meant to offend. As studies have shown, the darker your sense of humour, the more intelligent you are.

In Big Beacon, Norwich's favourite son and best broadcaster, Alan Partridge, triumphs against the odds. TWICE. Using an innovative 'dual narrative' structure you sometimes see in films, Big Beacon tells the story of how Partridge heroically rebuilt his TV career, rising like a phoenix from the desolate wasteland of local radio to climb to the summit of Mount Primetime and regain the nationwide prominence his talent merits.

What happens when SuperGoodMedia, a ridiculous out-of-town newspaper chain, buys the venerable Boston Daily Tribune, which has published every day since 1823? Heads roll and the few journalists left wonder when it will be their turn. That’s protagonist Nick Nolan’s worry, too—until he gets exclusive coverage of a single mother who claims that the Virgin Mary is speaking to the world through her young comatose daughter.

The legends of comedy are back – this time with an even bigger range of in-studio snacks. Dawn and Jennifer once more settle in behind the mic to bring you the fourth series of their smash hit podcast Titting About, armed with a fresh stack of shiny new topics to tit about about. From ghost hunting to grooming rituals, from unwatchable box sets to unlistenable bird noise, from franglais to faff; Dawn and Jennifer once again leave no stone unturned, and no corner of their lives un-poked, in their quest to ensure they are comprehensively titting about for your listening pleasure.