The Comedy Bureau

The Comedy Bureau...launching 25th September 2025!

The Comedy Bureau launches Thursday 25th September at 7pm (UK time) with its first three case files. Academic Oliver Double and comedian Laura Lexx begin their investigations with an impossible question… Who was the first stand up comedian? From there they move out into even murkier waters… what is a joke and why do humans laugh?The Comedy Bureau is a warm, insightful look into all facets of comedy. Covering the history and development from the days of Variety and Vaudeville performance right up to the practicalities of being a working comedian in the present day. It’s an essential show for all fans of history and comedy.e5bb03ef6465c5295bd86df61a20218143213c78

Case File 1: Who Was The First Stand Up Comedian?

In the very first episode of The Comedy Bureau, stand-up comedian, author and podcaster Laura Lexx poses comedy academic Olly Double an impossible question. It sounds simple when you ask it... who was the first stand up comedian? But, as Olly passionately and carefully explains – there's no way to answer because stand-up comedy didn't leap out of the ether fully formed as an entertainment format. Olly puts forward five candidates for first ever stand up comedian and meticulously explains why each one could be considered such. Laura then forces him to choose... which one would he pick as the first ever stand up comedian?The Comedy Bureau is a new show dreamed up by Laura Lexx – a supreme comedy nerd with fifteen years’ experience as a stand up comedian. Her career really began at The University of Kent where a professor named Oliver Double introduced her to the world of comedy and the potential for stand-up as more than just for her entertainment. Fast forward to 2025 and the two have teamed up to explore the real intricacies of the world of comedy. From the history to the science to the sociology to the just plain interesting – The Comedy Bureau will be covering it all. If you have any questions you think would be interesting to pose to us here at The Bureau, please don't hesitate to get in touch. You can comment on our social media pages or send us an email at TheComedyBureauTeam@gmail.com Thanks for watching – don't forget to like, subscribe and share these episodes. Our sources for this episode were: • Judith Yaross Lee (2006), 'Mark Twain as a Stand-Up Comedian', The Mark Twain Annual, no. 4, pp.3-23.• Joe Laurie Jr. (1931), 'Monologists', Variety, 29 December, p.22.• The Stage (1904), 'Death of Dan Leno', 3 November, p.16.• Peter Quince (1917), 'Stage Gossip', The Yorkshire Evening Post, 10 November, p.3.• Jay Hickory Wood, 'Dan Leno' Methuen & Co (1905)• Rafe (1954), 'The Hunger i, Frisco', Variety, 4 August, p.53.• Mort Sahl (1958), At Sunset [LP], USA: Fantasy Records. Laura mentions in this episode the wonderful Kate Lucas, you can check her out at www.katelucascomedy.co.uk or on social media @katelucascomedy Follow us on instagram @The.Comedy.Bureau to see Olly's postcards in more detail.Podcast cover art by Adam Richardson Artwork for The Comedy Bureau is by Matthew Grant at Tiny Worlds Workshop @tinyworldsworkshop.Our video editor and credit sequence designer is Lucas Orme.Music was devised and performed by Olly Double.Huge thanks to the whole team at Podspike for invaluable advice and help launching and marketing the show.All media enquiries via Julian Hall textualhealingpr@gmail.com

Case File 2: What Is Laughter?

Welcome back to the office of The Comedy Bureau, here you will find Reader in Popular Performance and Comic History Olly Double, alongside comedian and author Laura Lexx. They are the employees at The Comedy Bureau – a department in The University of Niche Interests where the analysis of all things comedy takes place in meticulous detail.In this episode Olly and Laura are focusing on a simple question with an extremely complicated answer… what is laughter?Laughter is such a fantastic feeling that we pay strangers to make us do it. Laughter is so intoxicating that when someone causes you to do it you like them more, if not begin to love them in some cases.But what is it? Why do humans do it? Do we know why we like it? And, are we alone in doing it?In this episode we explore the three leading humour theories – superiority, release and incongruity as well as discussing evolution of laughter. We then move on to dissecting some of Laura’s current stand up jokes to look at why we are laughing in each joke.If you have any thoughts or subjects for future episodes you can email us at TheComedyBureauTeam@gmail.comOur Sources for the research for this episode were:• Robert Provine (2000), Laughter: A Scientific Investigation, London: Penguin.• John Morreall (1987), The Philosophy of Laughter and Humor, Albany, NY: SUNY Press.If you would like to watch Slinky, the show which Laura shared extracts from then you can join her mailing list here to be notified of when it’s available:https://www.lauralexx.co.uk/mailing-listPodcast cover art by Adam Richardson Artwork for The Comedy Bureau is by Matthew Grant at Tiny Worlds Workshop @tinyworldsworkshop.Our video editor and credit sequence designer is Lucas Orme.Music was devised and performed by Olly Double.Huge thanks to the whole team at Podspike for invaluable advice and help launching and marketing the show.All media enquiries via Julian Hall textualhealingpr@gmail.com

Case File 3: What Is A Joke?

Welcome back to The Comedy Bureau! In the third episode, Laura and Olly open the doors of the office just in time for Laura to pose Olly another impossible question… what is a joke?!Laura and Olly first met at The University of Kent where Laura studied stand up comedy under Olly’s tutelage. Now, 20 years later they are reunited to examine the gory details of the world of comedy. Even when there might not be a definitive answer.First off Olly and Laura explore some traditional jokes to look at the ways they are structured. Then they explore intentionality to see if the real soul of a joke is in the purpose of the sentence.In this episode they analyse jokes from the Roman period to Shakespeare to the modern day stand-up routine to see if there are any definitive rules and regulations that truly define a joke.What is a joke?• Geoff Rowe (2021), All Puns Blazing: The Best British Knockout Jokes, Ebury Press• Jimmy Carr and Lucy Greeves (2006), The Naked Jape, London: Michael Joseph.• Dan Compton (2010), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, London: Michael O'Mara Books.• James Orchard Halliwell (1844), Tarlton's Jests and News Out of Purgatory, London: Shakespeare Society.• Lewis and Faye Copeland (eds.) (1940), 10,000 Jokes, Toasts & Stories, Garden City, NY: Garden City Books.• Robert Orben (1946), The Encyclopedia of Patter, New York: Louis Tannen.• Robert Orben (1951), One-Liners, New York: D Robbins.• Robert Orben (1951), Comedy Technique, New York: Louis Tannen.• Robert Orben (1963), If You Have to Be a Comic, Baldwin Harbor, NY: Orben Publications.Comedians Laura mentions in this episode:Dinesh Nathan @dineshnathancomedianGary Delaney @garydelaneycomedianAndy Askins @AndyAskinsPaul F Taylor @paulyftaylorPodcast cover art by Adam Richardson Artwork for The Comedy Bureau is by Matthew Grant at Tiny Worlds Workshop @tinyworldsworkshop.Our video editor and credit sequence designer is Lucas Orme.Music was devised and performed by Olly Double.Huge thanks to the whole team at Podspike for invaluable advice and help launching and marketing the show.All media enquiries via Julian Hall textualhealingpr@gmail.com

Case File 4: Are Women Funny?

Welcome back to the cosy offices of The Comedy Bureau. Staffed by comedian Laura Lexx and academic Olly Double, it’s the go to place for all the comedy discussions and analysis you could ever want. This week, in their most provocatively titled episode to date Laura and Olly explore the rage-inducing issue of women in comedy. As a stand up comedian, Laura is often forced to deal with people who, for their own personal reasons, cannot find women funny. Unfortunately, Olly isn’t a therapist and so can’t fix them. Instead, what they aim to do in this episode is bust the myth that female inclusion in comedy is somehow a new thing. Olly gives Laura a brilliant rundown of the history of women in comedy from the days of Vaudeville and Variety up to the Alternative Comedy explosion of 1979.Female involvement in comedy seems to have fluctuated over the last century and a half and Olly and Laura discuss here various explanations for how and why that happens. Olly talks Laura through the female power houses of the Variety stage including the likes of Suzette Tarry, Nelly Wallace and Marie Lloyd. When comedy moves to Working Men’s Clubs things take a bit of a dip for female representation but Olly finds examples like Marti Caine. Names you may be more familiar with include Pauline Melville, Victoria Wood and Jenny Eclair in a rich tour of all the ways women have helped shape the British history of comedy. Our Sources for the research for this episode were:• Zoe Williams (2020), 'Interview: Jenny Eclair: " Menopause gave me incandescent rage. It was like a superpower"', The Guardian, 28 June https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/jun/28/jenny-eclair-menopause-gave-me-incandescent-rage-it-was-like-a-superpower• John Fisher (1973), Funny Way to Be a Hero, London: Frederick MullerLaura mentions Harriet Dyer in this episode, and Harriet can be found on Instagram at @harrietdyercomedyPodcast cover art by Adam Richardson Artwork for The Comedy Bureau is by Matthew Grant at Tiny Worlds Workshop @tinyworldsworkshop.Our video editor and credit sequence designer is Lucas Orme.Music was devised and performed by Olly Double.Huge thanks to the whole team at Podspike for invaluable advice and help launching and marketing the show.All media enquiries via Julian Hall textualhealingpr@gmail.com