Comedy
A chance phone call from former BBC Radio 1 host and comedy writer Danny Robins, for whom Smith had previously written some spoof music, led to Smith working as a script consultant on Robins’ BBC Radio 4 sitcom Rudy's Rare Records, a vehicle for veteran UK comedian Lenny Henry. This eventually led to walk on roles and more editing and writing work on other Radio 4 comedy shows, including Music Therapy and Look Away Now.
Encouraged by producers at the BBC, Smith attended an BBC industry gig in January 2008 at a small venue in London's Great Portland Street named The Albany, where he performed a comic song and told an anecdote regarding being the first rapper to work for Radio 4. By his own admissions in an interview from 2009, Smith claimed he "ran out of things to say" and called for the audience to offer words, names and places, with which he improvised a comic rap. According to Smith, the venue managers were impressed and invited him to perform a short set at a late night variety show named Spank!
Smith then entered a national talent competition for comedians called So You Think You're Funny and his third ever stand up gig was in the first round of the competition in spring 2008 at the Hobgoblin Pub in Forest Hill, South East London. Smith eventually made the last eight at the grand final in Edinburgh that August, an event in which by his own admission he "froze up", delivering what he saw as a disappointing performance.
Regardless, the performance led to interest from bookers, and Smith began a new incarnation as a professional stand up comedian in October 2008. Since then he has performed at the prestigious Tartan Ribbon event at the Edinburgh Festival, debuted his own one man show Unfamous which sold out its run at both the Pleasance Theatre in Edinburgh and London’s Soho Theatre. He also gave a one off performance of Unfamous at the indigO2 at the The O2 in March 2011. In April 2011 Smith was invited to take the show to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for one month. On the weekend of 20 April 2012 Smith opened for comedian Ricky Gervais as support on two shows at the Folketeateret in Oslo, Norway.
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Famous quotes containing the word comedy:
“It is comedy which typifies, where it is tragedy which individualizes; where tragedy observes the nice distinctions between man and man, comedy stresses those broad resemblances which make it difficult to tell people apart.”
—Harry Levin (b. 1912)
“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.”
—Monty Python’s Flying Circus. first broadcast Sept. 22, 1970. Michael Palin, in Monty Python’s Flying Circus (BBC TV comedy series)
“The actors today really need the whip hand. They’re so lazy. They haven’t got the sense of pride in their profession that the less socially elevated musical comedy and music hall people or acrobats have. The theater has never been any good since the actors became gentlemen.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)