comedy

Next Level Sketch’s 5th Birthday Show with Julia Masli, Luke Rollason and Jamie Mykaela

We are five! It was a splendid evening at Hoopla, our first Thursday show and a sold out room to boot. We prepped a greatest hits set – pimped up with Josephine’s wonderfully bizarre sketch about being a sofa in a nightclub toilet, alongside Ben’s pleasing anti-Dyson rant. And I rebooked some of our favourite… Read more

February 3, 2025

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jamesofwalsh

in

comedy, Diary, Next Level Sketch, Sketch Comedy

comedy, Hoopla Impro, Jamie Mykaela, Julia Masli, London, Luke Rollason, Next Level Sketch, Sketch Comedy
Sanity balm on the edge of disaster: my favourite podcasts of 2024

Podcasts are not just for Christmas. The favourites I listed back in 2022 I still listen to. Naturally, over the years I have formed intense parasocial relationships with the hosts, whose faces I imagine so perfectly I never wish to see what they actually look like. I still recommend each and every one, though Trashfuture… Read more

December 26, 2024

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jamesofwalsh

in

America, art, Diary, podcast

Bad Hasbara, Best podcasts of 2024, comedy, Favourite podcasts of 2024, Israel, propaganda, QAnon Anonymous, Worst of all Possible Worlds
Next Level Sketch with Jamie Mykaela, Mikey Bligh-Smith, Michael Brunström and The Mayor and His Daughter

Hello! I did the Treason Show for the first time, and am back in London with some cats. I sometimes find it difficult to sleep after a show, and so after a few aborted attempts at no longer being conscious, I thought I’d write a short post about last week’s Next Level Sketch, which was… Read more

October 5, 2024

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jamesofwalsh

in

Diary, Next Level Sketch, Sketch Comedy

comedy, Hoopla Impro, Jamie Mykaela, London, Mikey Bligh-Smith, Next Level Sketch, Sketch Comedy, The Mayor and his Daughter
Next Level Sketch at Bristol Improv Theatre with Up The Antics and The Artist Formerly Known As Banana

I wrote this post yesterday and accidentally hit “discard” before publishing, sending it down the nothingness pipe into the memory hole of forever. So writing about our show again feels very strange – like anything I say here will be a mere shadow of whatever it was I wrote yesterday. And of course, whatever I… Read more

September 4, 2024

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by

jamesofwalsh

in

comedy, Diary, Next Level Sketch, Sketch Comedy

Bristol, Bristol Improv Theatre, comedy, Next Level Sketch, Sketch Comedy, Up The Antics
A (very belated) list of stuff to see at Edinburgh Fringe 2024

I’m not at Edinburgh this year, but a friend asked for recommendations and I cobbled this list together. Old favourites abound – and pretty much all are on Joz Norris’ own, much more comprehensive list. I’m not sure how I feel about that particular Fringe these days. But so many people I know and love… Read more

August 22, 2024

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by

jamesofwalsh

in

comedy, Sketch Comedy

comedy, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe
Next Level Sketch with Katie McCleod, Chuck ‘n’ Jeck and Rob Duncan

There has been a lot going on with me recently, more on this to come in future blog posts. A lot of you out there already know what I’m talking about. So my own personal desire for the last Next Level Sketch before our summer hiatus was to get through it without falling over or… Read more

June 29, 2024

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by

jamesofwalsh

in

comedy, Diary, Next Level Sketch, Sketch Comedy

comedy, Hoopla Impro, London, Next Level Sketch, Rob Duncan, Sketch Comedy
Next Level Sketch with Will Sebag-Montefiore, Jen Zheng, and The Awkward Silence

I dashed off to Istanbul straight after our show, and so didn’t have time for my usual, far-too-long write-up. But I wanted to write down a few things, as it was another fabulous night at Hoopla Impro, with some of my favourite people. Self-criticism corner first: I probably should have prepared better for hosting. I’m… Read more

June 6, 2024

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by

jamesofwalsh

in

comedy, Diary, London, Next Level Sketch, Sketch Comedy

comedy, Hoopla Impro, Jen Zheng, Just These Please, London, Next Level Sketch, Sketch Comedy, the awkward silence, The Miller
Promoting shows in our collapsing digital realm

I’ve got a show in Brighton next week! It’s being headlined by Jason out of Clearlake, who I interviewed here. I’ve booked some clowns and written some songs about the end of the world, it’s going to be good. Telling people about a thing is tricky nowadays, as far as the internet is concerned. Offline,… Read more

June 5, 2024

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jamesofwalsh

in

art, Brighton, comedy, Diary, folk, The Highchurches, This Machine Kills Wasps

Blank Peng, Brighton, Clearlake, comedy, gig, Jason Pegg, Rob Duncan, The Folklore Rooms
All the shows I saw at Brighton Fringe 2024

Over on my newsletter I’ve posted links to all the Fringe, Spiegeltent, and Festival shows I went to this year. I’ve probably forgotten a couple, but this is how posterity shall remember it. I had a lovely time, and enjoyed excellent company throughout. Next year, I think I’ll take a few more risks and see… Read more

May 28, 2024

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jamesofwalsh

in

Brighton, Brighton Folk Choir, comedy, Diary, folk, journalism, music, Places, Reviews

Brighton, Brighton Festival, Brighton Fringe, comedy, Spiegeltent
Bin Day: a sketch by Orca Comedy and Next Level Sketch

Thoroughly enjoyed being asked to act in this – you can read all about how the filming went here. And remember! Next Level Sketch return to Hoopla Impro next Wednesday 29th May. Come along? Read more

May 22, 2024

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jamesofwalsh

in

Ace Doctor Who Podcast, comedy, Diary

bins, comedy, Hoopla Impro, London, Next Level Sketch, Sketch Comedy