John-Luke Roberts is a British

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

, writer, actor and performer.

Style

Roberts' comedy style is absurdist, and often uses props and physical movement, as taught by French clown

Philippe Gaulier Philippe Gaulier (born in Paris, 4 March 1943) is a French master clown, pedagogue, and professor of theatre. He is the founder of École Philippe Gaulier, a prestigious French theatre school in Étampes, outside Paris. He studied under Jacques Lec ...

with whom Roberts has trained. Roberts uses character comedy within his stand-up. Roberts has had jokes nominated in the best and worst lists at the Edinburgh festival.

Career

Roberts studied at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

where he was a member of the comedy society. Roberts took part in ''

So You Think You're Funny So You Think You're Funny? (SYTYF) is an annual stand-up comedy competition for new acts. The competition began in 1988 in the United Kingdom. The finals are held every August at The Gilded Balloon during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Past wi ...

'', and in 2005 was a finalist in the ''

BBC New Comedy Award The BBC New Comedy Award first took place in 1995, and it is considered to be one of the top UK comedy newcomer awards. It was axed in 2006, being replaced by a nationwide talent hunt that places its emphasis on sketch writing and filmed perform ...

.'' Roberts' 2014 Edinburgh show ‘Stnad-up’ concerned in part the end of his relationship with Nadia Kamil, and his 2015 Edinburgh show ‘Stdad-up’ addressed the death of his father. Roberts founded ''

The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society 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 Theatr ...

'' which he cohosts with

Thom Tuck Thomas Tuck (born 28 March 1982) is a British actor and comedian known for being one third of comedy troupe The Penny Dreadfuls and as a stand-up comedian. He was nominated for the Best Newcomer award at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Earl ...

at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

and which has had residencies at the

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

, The New Red Lion, and

The Bill Murray Angel Comedy is a free comedy night that runs seven nights a week at two pub venues in London, England; above the Camden Head and in The Bill Murray. The club was founded by Barry Ferns, Sarah Pearce, Rachael Warnes and Dec Munro, and describes i ...

. Roberts has written for '' Have I Got News For You'', ''

Newzoids ''Newzoids'' is a British topical satirical sketch show, which was co-produced by Citrus Television and Factory for ITV and broadcast for two series between 15 April 2015 and 8 October 2016. The programme operated in a similar format to ''Spitti ...

'' and ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hoste ...

'' for the

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

as well as ''

The News Quiz ''The News Quiz'' is a British topical panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4. History ''The News Quiz'' was first broadcast in 1977 with Barry Norman as chairman. Subsequently, it was chaired by Barry Took from 1979 to 1981, Simon Hoggart from ...

'', ''Dilemma'' and ''

Newsjack ''Newsjack'' was a British satirical sketch show which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra between 2009 and 2021. It was hosted by Miles Jupp (2009-Mar 2011), Justin Edwards (Sep 2011-2013), Romesh Ranganathan (2014), Nish Kumar (2015-2016), ...

'' for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. Roberts voiced the computer in '' Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully''. In 2015 Roberts' sitcom ''

Bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

'', co-written with

Gareth Gwynn Gareth Gwynn is a comedy writer, performer and radio presenter. He is the co-writer of the television sitcoms ''Bull'' and ''Tourist Trap'' and the radio sitcoms ''Ankle Tag'', '' Passing On'' and '' Social Club FM.'' Career Writing Gwynn began h ...

, aired on

UKTV Gold Gold is a British pay television channel from the UKTV network that was launched in late 1992 as UK Gold before it was rebranded UKTV Gold in 2004. In 2008, it was split into current flagship channel Gold and miscellaneous channel, W, with clas ...

, starring Robert Lindsay and

Maureen Lipman Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakesp ...

. Roberts hosts ''The Tony Law Tapes'' podcast with

Tony Law Tony Law (born 20 September 1969) is a Canadian stand-up comedian. Originally from Lacombe, Alberta, he has been based in London, United Kingdom since the age of 19. He is known for his surreal material and delivery. Many of his stand-up routine ...

. Roberts wrote the 2006 BBC 7 radio show '' Spats''. Roberts has been a guest on ''

The Comedian's Comedian with Stuart Goldsmith ''The Comedian's Comedian with Stuart Goldsmith'' is an interview podcast, in which Stuart Goldsmith interviews comedians about the craft of writing and performing standup comedy. Guests on the show have included Russell Brand, Stewart Lee, and ...

''. and has appeared as a guest on ''

Do the Right Thing (podcast) ''Do the Right Thing'' was a comedy panel show podcast featuring host Danielle Ward, and team captains Michael Legge and Margaret Cabourn-Smith. The show was produced by Ben Walker. The show consisted of seven series and four specials. The fi ...

''. Roberts has played comedy internationally such as in Adelaide and Melbourne. As well as stand-up comedy Roberts has created absurdist plays with fellow comedians such as

Mark Watson Mark Andrew Watson (born 13 February 1980) is a British comedian and novelist. Early life Watson was born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a brother, Paul. He attended Bristol Grammar School, wh ...

and Kieran Hodgson and written and performed plays and sketches with Nadia Kamil under the name ‘''The Behemoth''’. Roberts wrote and appeared in the short film ''Asparagus Tips'' which included appearances by

Cariad Lloyd Katie Cariad Lloyd (born 21 August 1982) is a British comedian, actress, writer, and podcaster who has been performing since 2007. She is a member of the improvisational comedy group Austentatious, the host and creator of '' Griefcast'', and ...

and

Margaret Cabourn-Smith Margaret Alice Cabourn-Smith (born 1975) is an English comedy actress with appearances on ''Catastrophe'', ''The IT Crowd'', ''Psychoville,'' ''Peep Show'' and ''Fresh Meat''. Her TV work includes playing regular characters on '' Miranda'', ' ...

and won Best Horror film at the 2019 Munich indie film festival. Robert's debut stand-up comedy album, ''It Is Better'', is due to be released in 2021 on Monkey Barrel Records.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, John-Luke Living people British comedians English clowns Year of birth missing (living people)