Alfie Brown

Last updated

Alfie Brown
Medium
  • Stand-up
Genres Satire, Observational
Partner(s) Jessie Cave
Children4
Parent(s)

Alfie Brown is an English stand-up comedian. In 2022, he was nominated for the main prize of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. He is the son of comedian Jan Ravens.

Contents

Personal life

Brown is the son of Jan Ravens and Steve Brown. He says he can see his humour in his parents' styles and described “a great team spirit” between them. [1] He attended Sibford School in Oxfordshire.

He is in a relationship with the actress Jessie Cave. They have four children: a son born in October 2014, a daughter born in July 2016, a second son born in October 2020, [2] [3] and a third son born in March 2022. [4] In 2018, the couple took part in Comedy Central's Roast Battle . [5]

Career

Brown started performing comedy in January 2006 at the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year competition. [6] He had left school at 17 and described himself at the time as "the funniest person working in Top Shop . [7] He described his influences as George Carlin, Stewart Lee, Bill Hicks and Alexei Sayle. [8] A show in 2012 was described by The Independent as "Stewart Lee's attitude trapped in Russell Brand's body". [9]

He has since become a regular on the UK comedy circuit and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, he also started his own improvisational podcast entitled ‘Whatever Works’. [10] In 2018, during a break in their relationship, Brown and Cave each performed at the Edinburgh Festival a personal show about their break up. The Evening Standard gave Brown’s show Lunatic ‘4 stars’ calling Brown an “intriguing misanthrope” and describing him as a “provocative stand-up” who “has always been painfully honest but often painfully indulgent. This time he is much more focussed”. [11]

In 2021, The Guardian described him as a twisty and thoughtful social satirist, and a contrarian, in his show Sensitive Man as they saw “Brown looking askance at complacent twentysomethings ‘ostentatiously waving around wads of time’- What a phrase!”. [12] The Daily Telegraph was effusive about the show saying “the title of Alfie Brown’s new stand-up tour, Sensitive Man, might be the cleverest thing in an hour of very clever things” and “it’s a hoot from the outset, partly due to his original turns of phrase.” [13] Sensitive Man won best show at the 2022 Chortle Awards. [14] The show was recorded for Amazon Prime at the Soho Theatre. [15] After performing Sensitive Man at the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Brown was nominated for the main prize of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. [16] The Times described Brown “made it his business to say the unsayable with.. much wit, control, imagination and playful charm” and “Somehow he both maligns his audience and flatters their intelligence too, keeping the laughs coming as he does so.” [17] The comedian Stewart Lee described it as “the best British stand-up I have seen for some years”. [18]

In 2023, the comedian came under fire after making reference to claims of antisemitism within the Labour Party. After doubling down on these comments, it was revealed that Brown had used the N word in 2015 in a routine. [19] Footage also resurfaced of him joking about the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017. [20]

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References

  1. ↑ Thorpe, Vanessa (14 July 2018). "Funny bones run in the family as fringe plays host to comic dynasties". The Guardian.
  2. ↑ Needham, Lucy (22 October 2020). "Harry Potter star Jessie Cave welcomes baby boy after 'extreme' birth". Metro.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  3. ↑ Ellis-Bextor, Sophie. "Spinning Plates Episode 16". sophieellisbextor.net. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  4. ↑ Slater, Georgia (22 March 2022). "Harry Potter's Jessie Cave Welcomes Fourth Baby, Son Becker, 3 Weeks After COVID Hospitalization". People. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  5. ↑ "Roast Battle Series 2, Episode 2". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "Alfie Brown: "I wanted to have rumours about me and Pamela Anderson"". Squaremile.com. 9 May 2022.
  7. ↑ Burgess, Marissa (1 August 2022). "Alfie Brown: I was the funniest person working in Top Shop". thelist.co.uk.
  8. ↑ "Alfie Brown: Soul Not for Sale". Thisweeksculture.com. 18 January 2013.
  9. ↑ Hall, Julian (17 August 2012). "Alfie Brown: Soul for Sale, Underbelly, Edinburgh". The Independent.
  10. ↑ "WHO IS ALFIE BROWN, HARRY POTTER STAR JESSIE CAVE'S PARTNER?". hitc.com.[ dead link ]
  11. ↑ Dessau, Bruce (8 August 2018). "Edinburgh Fringe reviews: Jessie Cave and Alfie Brown tell both sides of their break-up story". Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  12. ↑ Logan, Brian (11 November 2021). "Alfie Brown: Sensitive Man review – contrarian comic with a devilish twinkle". The Guardian.
  13. ↑ Saunders, Tristram Fane (27 January 2022). "Alfie Brown, Soho Theatre, review: jabs at 'free speech' hypocrites and sensitive souls alike". The Daily Telegraph.
  14. ↑ "Chortle Awards 2022 results". comedy.co.uk. 30 March 2022.
  15. ↑ "Felicity Ward and Alfie Brown to tape Amazon Prime specials". Chortle.co.uk. 23 December 2021.
  16. ↑ "Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominations 2022". www.comedy.co.uk. 24 August 2022.
  17. ↑ Maxwell, Dominic (26 August 2022). "Alfie Brown at Edinburgh festival review — saying the unsayable with wit and charm". The Times.
  18. ↑ Lee, Stewart (20 August 2022). "Edinburgh Extra 3 - Stewart Lee August 20 2022". Stewartlee.co.uk.
  19. ↑ "Was Alfie Brown really cancelled over N-word routine?". Chortle. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  20. ↑ Lewis, Darren (27 March 2023). "'Shame on comedian Alfie Brown and anyone who laughs at Grenfell Tower'". Daily Mirror.
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