The My Dad Wrote a Porno team
(Picture: handout)Comedians are used to boasting that they blew the roof off the venue. Josh Widdicombe and Rob Beckett seemed to do it without even playing a gig. The day that tickets went on sale for the live performance of their podcast Parenting Hell at the O2 Arena next year, Storm Eunice knocked the top off the Greenwich venue.
As metaphors go this is a useful one. Podcast gigs have recently stormed the comedy world. Yet despite notching up over 50 million downloads discussing sleepless nights and the perils of being young fathers, an arena tour was never in Widdicombe and Beckett’s career crosshairs.
“I did podcasts as an excuse not to do live comedy. It was a way I could work from home with a cup of tea without having to have a shower, so really it has backfired massively,” jokes Widdicombe. “Live shows were never the intention but the listeners demanded it,” adds Beckett.
We are obsessed with podcasts. On the commute. In the gym. At bedtime. What started out as a modest cottage industry has now become a potentially very lucrative income stream. Sources say a successful series with 800,000 downloads a month can bring in over £20,000 in four weeks. Add ticket sales and those chats about the travails of toilet training can pay for a lot of disposable nappies.
Another podcast that has made a seamless transition from smartphone screen to stage is My Dad Wrote A Porno, fronted by Alice Levine, James Cooper and Jamie Morton. In each episode they dissect Morton’s father’s attempts at writing erotic fiction about Belinda Blumenthal, the fictional sales director of a pots and pans company.
Fans include Emma Thompson and Daisy Ridley and gigs are more like conventions, with “Belinkers” dressing as characters from the books. Their tours are so popular a date at the Royal Festival Hall on May 18 has just been added after five-night Palladium run sold out.
Levine has a theory about why fans are obsessed: “I think podcasts have a rawness and an informality that is lacking in other mediums. As a listener there are so many elements that combine to make them essential listening; the bond you develop with the presenter, the in-jokes, the music, the familiarity of the ads even. The way interviewees open up makes you feel privy to a very intimate conversation.”
She believes that live shows are a natural consequence of this bond: “It’s an extension of the club that you create with a podcast. Being in the room with the rest of the gang, who laugh in the same places and know the references, is very appealing, it’s a safe space. People come with their crew but also meet up with fellow listeners they’ve connected with through the podcast.”
The result is a bona fide phenomenon: “We had no way of knowing that recording a pilot when we were knackered one evening after work would lead to shows at the Sydney Opera House and Royal Albert Hall, or Emma Thompson having us round for fish pie to talk porn or Daisy Ridley turning up at James’ flat with two bottles of Prosecco ready for a big night.”
Levine has a successful career as a TV presenter but loves podcasts so much she also fronts one with comedian Matt Forde. In British Scandal the duo look at causes célèbres, deep diving into stories such as the ‘Coughing Major’ on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? They are also taking it onstage at the first-ever Podcast Show festival in Islington at the end of May.
Podcasts are as more-ish as Pringles. Once you pod it is hard to stop. Forde also has his Political Party nights, interviewing politicians from Jacob Rees-Mogg to Keir Starmer. He started out attracting young Westminster Wonks but now draws a wider audience and is currently in the middle of a run at the Duchess Theatre.
Forde compares podcast gigs to any other major live event: “It’s like wanting to see a band live, or a football match. There’s no substitute for being there in the room, especially if it’s with a major figure like Tony Blair or Nicola Sturgeon.” The explosion has not surprised him. “I never believed that people had short attention spans. I think people crave detail and love immersing themselves in interviews.”
Another comic who has made his name with onstage interviews is Richard Herring. His long-running Leicester Square Theatre Podcast has attracted big names including Michael Palin and Russell Brand. The relaxed format has landed him scoops. Stephen Fry talked candidly about attempting suicide in a way he might never have done with a journalist.
Herring has seen the way that podcasting has started to pay. He was initially wary of running ads but decided to take the plunge: “It’s really no different than doing a show on ITV, except I get a choice over what I advertise.” There are other ways to raise finance too. Donations via Patreon, fundraising via Kickstarter. And recording live means ticket revenue too.
For some comedians making the leap to live shows takes time. Suzi Ruffell has two podcasts, Like Minded Friends with Tom Allen and Out, an interview show celebrating queer stories, which returns in April. Ruffell regularly tours with her stand-up set but has not fitted in a podcast tour yet: “Like Minded Friends is basically us chatting about our week, whether its exciting TV records or tips on how to make your bathroom taps as shiny as possible. We would love to do a live show at some point, maybe a bottomless brunch.”
On the other hand audience shows were in the mix from the very start of The Guilty Feminist, says co-creator Deborah Frances-White: “It’s always been a live show. I wasn’t interested in doing a studio podcast. It felt a bit self indulgent to me. I wanted to do stand up comedy and honestly I feel like the audience has been a huge part of the success. Listeners hear that they have a community - an army even. They hear the laughs, cheers and fury and they feel part of something which emboldens them.”
If there is a fault with podcasts it is that they can be a little generic. The costs are so low anyone can do it. Male stand-ups in particular seem seduced by the simplicity. Despite being one of the UK’s busiest comics Romesh Ranganathan has still made Hip Hop Saved My Life and Wolf And Owl. The latter, with King Gary star Tom Davis, is at the Hackney Empire this Thursday. By their own admission the concept is hardly niche. The blurb says they “shoot the breeze for an hour a week because they couldn’t work out a format”. But when it’s as funny as this it barely matters.
It feels as if there is no stopping the live boom. For comedians such as Widdicombe and Beckett they are playing bigger venues than on their own stand-up tours. Could podcasting overshadow stand-up careers? It is not something that worries Matt Forde: ”Ha ha. No not all, what a great problem to have!”
All the podcasts mentioned here are available on major platforms. British Scandal is also available on the Wondery app
THE BEST LIVE PODCASTS TO BOOK RIGHT NOW
Parenting Hell – 02 Arena, April 21 & OVO Arena Wembley, April 23, 2023
You definitely don’t have to be a parent to enjoy Josh Widdicombe and Rob Beckett’s family-inspired chat.
My Dad Wrote A Porno – Palladium, April 22, 27-30 & May 18, Royal Festival Hall
One of the biggest, and weirdest, podcasts in the world comes to the stage.
The Political Party With Matt Forde – Duchess Theatre, Mondays until July 2
Stand-up Forde grills politicians - previous guests range from Keir Starmer to Jacob Rees-Mogg.
British Scandal – Islington Assembly Hall, May 23
Debut live version of show that dissects historic causes célèbres from The Coughing Major to Lord Lucan.
Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast – Leicester Square Theatre, March 28, April 18 & 25
Celebrity interviews including Dara O Briain, Alan Davies, Omid Djalili.
Elis James and John Robins – Islington Assembly Hall, May 28
Quickfire banter from stand-ups-turned-radio-presenters James and Robins.
Jon Ronson – Leicester Square Theatre, WC2, March 29-31
Live spin-off of writer’s recent Radio 4 series/podcast Things Fell Apart
Guilty Feminist – Eventim Apollo, October 1
National tour reaches London. Host Deborah Frances-White is also solo at Soho Theatre, 26 April – 7 May
guiltyfeminist.com, sohotheatre.com
Nobody Panic Live! - Soho Theatre, June 13
Special guest Phil Wang joins Stevie Martin and Tessa Coates as they bring their podcast about the perils of modern life to the stage.
