 |
| Michael Legge | |
|---|---|
 Legge in 2013 | |
| Born | 12 August 1968 Newtownards, Northern Ireland |
| Medium | Stand-up, television, radio |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Genres | Social satire Observational comedy Absurdist humour |
| Website | michaelleggesblog |
Michael Legge (born 12 August 1968 [1] ) is a London-based Northern-Irish stand-up comedian and television host.
He has written for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, MTV, VH1 and other media, and has appeared in numerous venues throughout the UK as well as in Australia, United States, Canada, Singapore, the Netherlands, Germany and Dubai.
Legge began performing in 1991 along with writer Stella Duffy and fellow comedian John Gordillo in the London version of the improvised comedy stage show Theatresports . He became Artistic Director of London Theatresports in 1995 and performed in their popular weekly show, Scriptease, at the Tristan Bates Theatre.
He has performed in several Edinburgh Festival shows including The Conversation (2004) with John Voce, The Vagina Monologues (2005), The Clock Hour (2008) and King of Everything (2009) with Johnny Candon.
Legge co-founded and performed in the cult comedy sketch show The Real Daniel O'Donnell Show (2007–2008) at The Albany, London. The monthly show featured Legge along with Paul Litchfield and Jeremy Limb of sketch group The Trap and Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Zoe Gardner of The Congress of Oddities, with contributions from Dan Mersh. It also regularly featured stand-up comedian guests and live bands. The Real Daniel O'Donnell Show spawned the 2008 Edinburgh Festival show The Clock Hour.
Legge was nominated for a BAFTA award for his writing on the MTV website of the show The Osbournes . [2]
His blog won the 2009 Chortle award for Best Off-Stage Contribution. [3]
Legge also co-hosted a podcast called Precious Little Podcast with James Hingley. The podcast regularly featured Legge shouting at everything. Although not officially declared dead, the podcast has been on hiatus since April 2011 and the content removed from the website. Through the podcast, Legge occasionally filled in for Richard Herring on his BBC 6 Music radio show with Andrew Collins.
After Martin White left, Legge co-hosted The Dave Gorman Show on Absolute Radio alongside Gorman and Danielle Ward. [4]
Legge's first solo show was Curse Sir Walter Raleigh , which debuted at the Edinburgh Festival in 2011. In 2012 Legge produced What A Shame, which he recorded for a future album release in March 2013. Legge has also recorded Pointless Anger, Righteous Ire, an improvised show alongside Robin Ince.
He is a team captain on Danielle Ward's comedy podcast Do the Right Thing , alongside Margaret Cabourn-Smith.
For Comic Relief in March 2013, Legge wrote a blog continuously for 25 hours, raising more than £2,500 for the charity. [5]
In 2014, Legge appeared in the second series of The Alternative Comedy Experience .
Legge started the podcast Vitriola Music in 2015 with fellow comedian Robin Ince. [6]
Legge has also performed warm-up for television shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats , Would I Lie to You? and many others. Before becoming a professional comedian, Legge featured in several TV commercials.
Legge is a vegan. In 2015, he pulled out of a performance at Vegfest because a representative from UKIP would also be at the same event. [7]
Richard Keith Herring is an English stand-up comedian and writer whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring. He is described by The British Theatre Guide as "one of the leading hidden masters of modern British comedy".
Josie Isabel Long is an English comedian. She started performing as a stand-up at the age of 14 and won the BBC New Comedy Awards at 17.
Robin Ince is an English comedian, actor and writer, known for presenting the BBC radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage with physicist Brian Cox, and his stand-up comedy career.
Alexander James Jeffery Horne is a British comedian. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series Taskmaster, in which he takes the role of assistant to the Taskmaster Greg Davies. He is the host and bandleader of comedic band The Horne Section. Horne hosts the band's eponymous podcast and television series, and has appeared with them on BBC Radio 4, TV channel Dave, and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
Nick Doody is a British stand-up comedian.
Danielle Ward is a British stand-up comedian and writer.
Matthew James "Maff" Brown is a British comedian and MC. He is known for his mischievous style of joke-telling. Brown is the founder of the award-winning Outside The Box Comedy Club.
Karaoke Circus is a British Karaoke night where guest singers from the world of comedy compete alongside members of the public for a coveted prize. Sometimes called 'Ward & White's Karaoke Circus', the show was started by composer Martin White and stand-up comedian Danielle Ward in October 2008 at The Albany, Great Portland Street, London. It has since been held at the 100 Club, The Bethnal Green Working Men's Club, Ginglik, Royal Vauxhall Tavern and at The Edinburgh Fringe.
Martin White is an English musician, comedian and animator. As well as performing solo with an accordion around the London comedy circuit, White also fronts the Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra and the Karaoke Circus live bands. He performs jingles regularly in the comedy podcast Answer Me This!.
The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society (ACMS) is a British comedy night, where comedians are invited to perform sets that might not work at more mainstream comedy nights. It was founded by John-Luke Roberts and Thom Tuck at the New Red Lion Theatre in Islington, London. For a while it was mainly held at the Soho Theatre, but now the regular London venue is The Phoenix, Cavendish Square. Each year there are Alternative Comedy Memorial Society shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. ACMS has been running since March 2011, usually on Monday evenings. The group's logo is a boulder emblazoned with 'JOKE?' being pushed up a hill, representing the slogan 'Fresh Sysiphean Comedy'.
Owain Elis James is a Welsh comedian, broadcaster and actor from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. James is best known as a stand-up comedian, his weekly radio show and podcast for BBC Radio 5 Live, his football punditry and presenting and for his TV acting roles. James's first language is Welsh and he performs stand-up in English and Welsh.
Angela Barnes is an English stand-up comedian, mostly known for her appearances on Mock the Week.
Just the Tonic is a comedy club with branches in Nottingham and Leicester, which also takes acts to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The club opened in Nottingham in 1994, followed by a Leicester branch in 2012.
Steen Raskopoulos is an Australian comedian, actor and improviser. He is best known for his live character solo sketch shows, playing Dr. Evan in The Duchess (Netflix), Pete Lewis in Feel Good (Netflix), John Mahogany in BBC Three's Top Coppers, Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia and as one half of the award-winning improvisation duo The Bear Pack.
Sofie Hagen is a London-based Danish comedian, author, podcaster, fashion designer, and fat acceptance campaigner. She has toured with comedy shows, released a book and hosted and co-hosted a number of podcasts.
Pierre Novellie is a South African-born comedian.
Lauren Pattison is an English stand-up comedian from Newcastle. She was nominated for the best newcomer award at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival and for best show in 2022.
John-Luke Roberts is a British stand-up comedian, writer, actor and performer.
Sophie Duker is a British stand-up comedian and writer.
Konstantin Vadimovich Kisin is a Russian-British satirist, author, political commentator, and co-host of the Triggernometry podcast. Kisin has written for a number of publications including Quillette, The Spectator, The Daily Telegraph and Standpoint on issues relating to tech censorship, woke culture, comedy and culture war topics in the past but currently publishes articles on these subjects on his Substack.