Items20The creator’s order
  1. 1Todd BarryTodd BarryBorn 26 Mar 1964The Crowd Work Tour removes Barry’s usual prepared jokes and follows him through shows built around conversations with the audience. His restrained delivery makes a small detail, an unexpected answer or an extra beat of silence carry unusual weight. Start with the full concert film rather than a…0i
  2. 2Andrew MaxwellAndrew MaxwellBorn 3 Dec 1974Maxwell brings a conversational manner to political and social material, using the people in the room to open new routes into a story. His Soho Theatre performances offer a useful example of audience backgrounds prompting riffs about travel and differing perspectives. Watch how he lets a response…0i
  3. 3Russell KaneRussell KaneBorn 19 Aug 1975Kane pairs audience conversations with an unusually physical delivery, turning replies into imagined situations and then bringing earlier names or details back into the show. His 2022 live work provides a useful example of that combination. Watch how the movement supports the thought rather than…0i
  4. 4Jessica KirsonJessica KirsonBorn 14 Nov 1969Kirson combines audience exchanges with physical character work and abrupt changes in perspective, including the private-sounding asides she delivers into the microphone. I’m the Man provides a fuller introduction than the clips that made her crowd work widely familiar. Her Working It Out…0i
  5. 5Paul Smith (comedian)Paul Smith (comedian)Smith’s work as a compere at Liverpool’s Hot Water Comedy Club makes audience interaction central to the job, with a small suggestion becoming material that carries the room towards the next act. Start with the club performances, then compare the crowd sections of Pablo with the personal stories…0
  6. 6Ross NobleRoss NobleNoble can turn a passing remark into an elaborate imaginary world, letting the room change the direction of the performance. Randomist is a useful starting point because its recordings offer more room for those detours than a short highlight clip. Watch how an apparently abandoned thought returns…0i
  7. 7Dara Ó BriainDara Ó BriainThis Is the Show places Ó Briain’s conversations with the audience alongside his prepared routines, making it a good introduction to the way the two can reinforce each other. An occupation or an unexpected answer becomes material he can question, extend and recall later. Listen to the follow-up…0i
  8. 8Nina ContiNina ContiIn Your Face turns audience participation into an unusual double act: Conti supplies a voice through a controllable mask while a volunteer supplies the body underneath it. The mismatch between what the person does and what the invented character says creates the scene. Watch how she responds to…0i
  9. 9Paula PoundstonePaula PoundstonePoundstone describes her audience conversations as a way of discovering little biographies, usually beginning with where someone lives or what they do. Her stand-up is the better starting point for this skill than her panel appearances, because there is room for a response to develop into a thread.…0i
  10. 10Jason Byrne (comedian)Jason Byrne (comedian)Byrne’s audience work is physical, unruly and often closer to a shared game than a sequence of questions. His 30 Years Byrning show draws on that history of participation, with props and returning ideas giving him something to adapt around the people in front of him. Look for the moments when an…0i