Andrew Lawrence (comedian)

For other people, see Andrew Lawrence.
Andrew Lawrence
Born (1979-12-17) December 17, 1979
Kingston, England
Alma mater University of St Andrews
Occupation Comedian
Years active 2003–present
Website www.andrewlawrencecomedy.co.uk

Andrew Lawrence (born December 17, 1979) is a British comedian known for his work in stand-up, radio and television.

Early life and education

Born in Croydon,[1] Lawrence attended Tiffin School, Kingston[2] and the University of St Andrews, where he started his stand-up career at a regular comedy night.[3]

Stage career

The Pleasance Courtyard during the 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, location of Lawrence's Fringe performances.

Lawrence's university debut led on to the Edinburgh fringe, where he was runner up in the 2003 So You Think You're Funny competition.[4] Subsequent wins of the Amused Moose Starsearch, York Comedy Festival New Act of the Year Competition and the BBC's New Act of the Year Competition in 2004 provided him further exposure on the UK comedy scene.

He presented his first hour-long comedy show at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe entitled How to Butcher your Loved Ones. It was nominated for the if.comeddie award (as it was known for that year only) for Best Newcomer. His 2007 Fringe show, Social Leprosy For Beginners & Improvers, was nominated for the main if.comedy award.[5] He has returned to the Fringe every year up to 2015.

As well as touring shows in the UK, Lawrence has performed abroad at the Just For Laughs Montreal Festival Showcase[6] and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.[7]

TV and radio career

Lawrence has featured in numerous radio and TV shows, mostly as a stand-up performer. He has also appeared on television as a comic actor, playing the builder Marco in the BBC TV sitcom Ideal.[8] He has written and performed four series for BBC Radio 4, most recently the 2015 sitcom There Is No Escape.[9]

Other work

In 2015 his literary debut Reasons To Kill Yourself was published, a self-harm satire on the psychospeak genre.[10]

Political views

On October 25, 2014, Lawrence wrote a lengthy post on his official Facebook page attacking fellow comedians for making "cheap and easy gags about UKIP". Despite appearing on many of its comedy programmes in the past, his post singled out the BBC and particularly its panel show Mock the Week, which he described as a programme where "aging, balding, fat men, ethnic comedians and women-posing-as-comedians, sit congratulating themselves on how enlightened they are about the fact that UKIP are ridiculous and pathetic". The post, and subsequent Twitter disputes with fellow comedians such as Dara Ó Briain[11] and Frankie Boyle,[12] were widely covered in the UK press.[13] On October 3, 2015, he qualified his political beliefs in a post on his website, saying "I've noticed a number of journalists in comedy have taken to labeling me a 'right-wing comedian'... I don't subscribe to any political ideology and I am not in any way affiliated with any political organisation." However, he also acknowledged that he has "certainly been very critical of the resurgent hard-left wing in British politics" and "critical of left-wing hysteria on the internet, and the left-wing establishment in comedy".[14]

TV and radio credits

TV

Year Title Role Channel
2007–2010 Ideal Marco BBC Three
2010 Michael MacIntyre's Comedy Roadshow Stand-up BBC One
2010 Dave's One Night Stand Stand-up Dave
2011 Live At The Apollo Stand-up BBC One
2012 Stand Up for the Week Regular performer Channel 4

Radio

Year Title Role Channel
2006–2007 Shipwrecked Presenter Channel 4 Radio
2010 What To Do If You're Not Like Everybody Else (Series 1)[15] Writer, performer BBC Radio 4
2011 What To Do If You're Not Like Everybody Else (Series 2) Writer, performer BBC Radio 4
2012 How Did We End Up Like This? Writer, performer BBC Radio 4
2015 There Is No Escape [16] Writer, Andrew BBC Radio 4

Awards

Year Award Result
2003 So You Think You're Funny?[4] Runner-up
2004 York Comedy Festival New Act of the Year Winner
2004 Amused Moose Starsearch 2004 Winner
2004 BBC New Act of the Year[3][17] Winner
2006 if.comedy award (Best Newcomer)[5] Nominated
2006 Sony Radio Awards Nominated
2007 if.comedy award (Best Act) [5] Nominated
2010 Chortle Award - Best UK Headline Act[18] Nominated
2011 Chortle Award - Best UK Headline Act[18] Nominated

References

  1. ↑ Malcolm Hay (24 Nov 2006). "Andrew Lawrence: Interview". Time Out. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  2. ↑ Brian Holden, ed. (September 2007). "People" (pdf). Tiffnews: The Newsletter of the Old Tiffinians Association (233): 6. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  3. 1 2 "BBC New Talent - Success - Andrew Lawrence". BBC. April 2007. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  4. 1 2 "Finalists & Runners up". So You Think You're Funny. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
  5. 1 2 3 Benedictus, Leo (23 August 2007). "Edinburgh comedy review: Andrew Lawrence / Pleasance Courtyard". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  6. ↑ "Just For Laughs: New Faces". Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  7. ↑ "Melbourne Comedy Festival: Andrew Lawrence". Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  8. ↑ "The Healer". Ideal. Series 5. Episode 1. 11 May 2009. BBC. BBC Three. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  9. ↑ "What To Do If You're Not Like Everybody Else". 1. BBC. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  10. ↑ Jay Richardson (18 Jan 2015). "Andrew Lawrence on the sanctimony of social media". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  11. ↑ "Dara O'Briain reacts to 'bitter, self-delusional' Andrew Lawrence's". The Independent. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  12. ↑ "Farage Takes On Frankie Boyle And Loses, Predictably". The Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  13. ↑ "Dara O'Briain reacts to 'bitter, self-delusional' Andrew Lawrence's". The Independent. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  14. ↑ "Andrew Lawrence - News". www.andrewlawrencecomedy.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  15. ↑ "What To Do If You're Not Like Everybody Else". 1. BBC. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  16. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 - There Is No Escape". BBC. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  17. ↑ "BBC Talent Stand Up Comedian 2004". BBC. 14 Dec 2004. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
  18. 1 2 "Chortle Awards". Retrieved 2015-10-27.

External links

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