The Comedy Bureau launches Thursday 25th September at 7pm (UK time) with its first three case files. Academic Oliver Double and comedian Laura Lexx begin their investigations with an impossible question… Who was the first stand up comedian? From there they move out into even murkier waters… what is a joke and why do humans laugh?

The Comedy Bureau is a warm, insightful look into all facets of comedy. Covering the history and development from the days of Variety and Vaudeville performance right up to the practicalities of being a working comedian in the present day. It’s an essential show for all fans of history and comedy.

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In the very first episode of The Comedy Bureau, stand-up comedian, author and podcaster Laura Lexx poses comedy academic Olly Double an impossible question. It sounds simple when you ask it... who was the first stand up comedian? But, as Olly passionately and carefully explains – there's no way to answer because stand-up comedy didn't leap out of the ether fully formed as an entertainment format.

Olly puts forward five candidates for first ever stand up comedian and meticulously explains why each one could be considered such. Laura then forces him to choose... which one would he pick as the first ever stand up comedian?

The Comedy Bureau is a new show dreamed up by Laura Lexx – a supreme comedy nerd with fifteen years’ experience as a stand up comedian. Her career really began at The University of Kent where a professor named Oliver Double introduced her to the world of comedy and the potential for stand-up as more than just for her entertainment. Fast forward to 2025 and the two have teamed up to explore the real intricacies of the world of comedy. From the history to the science to the sociology to the just plain interesting – The Comedy Bureau will be covering it all.

If you have any questions you think would be interesting to pose to us here at The Bureau, please don't hesitate to get in touch. You can comment on our social media pages or send us an email at TheComedyBureauTeam@gmail.com

Thanks for watching – don't forget to like, subscribe and share these episodes.

Our sources for this episode were:

• Judith Yaross Lee (2006), 'Mark Twain as a Stand-Up Comedian', The Mark Twain Annual, no. 4, pp.3-23.

• Joe Laurie Jr. (1931), 'Monologists', Variety, 29 December, p.22.

• The Stage (1904), 'Death of Dan Leno', 3 November, p.16.

• Peter Quince (1917), 'Stage Gossip', The Yorkshire Evening Post, 10 November, p.3.

• Jay Hickory Wood, 'Dan Leno' Methuen & Co (1905)

• Rafe (1954), 'The Hunger i, Frisco', Variety, 4 August, p.53.

• Mort Sahl (1958), At Sunset [LP], USA: Fantasy Records.

Laura mentions in this episode the wonderful Kate Lucas, you can check her out at www.katelucascomedy.co.uk or on social media @katelucascomedy

Follow us on instagram @The.Comedy.Bureau to see Olly's postcards in more detail.

Podcast cover art by Adam Richardson

Artwork for The Comedy Bureau is by Matthew Grant at Tiny Worlds Workshop @tinyworldsworkshop.

Our video editor and credit sequence designer is Lucas Orme.

Music was devised and performed by Olly Double.

Huge thanks to the whole team at Podspike for invaluable advice and help launching and marketing the show.

All media enquiries via Julian Hall textualhealingpr@gmail.com

Welcome back to the office of The Comedy Bureau, here you will find Reader in Popular Performance and Comic History Olly Double, alongside comedian and author Laura Lexx. They are the employees at The Comedy Bureau – a department in The University of Niche Interests where the analysis of all things comedy takes place in meticulous detail.

In this episode Olly and Laura are focusing on a simple question with an extremely complicated answer… what is laughter?

Laughter is such a fantastic feeling that we pay strangers to make us do it. Laughter is so intoxicating that when someone causes you to do it you like them more, if not begin to love them in some cases.

But what is it? Why do humans do it? Do we know why we like it? And, are we alone in doing it?

In this episode we explore the three leading humour theories – superiority, release and incongruity as well as discussing evolution of laughter. We then move on to dissecting some of Laura’s current stand up jokes to look at why we are laughing in each joke.

If you have any thoughts or subjects for future episodes you can email us at TheComedyBureauTeam@gmail.com

Our Sources for the research for this episode were:

• Robert Provine (2000), Laughter: A Scientific Investigation, London: Penguin.

• John Morreall (1987), The Philosophy of Laughter and Humor, Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

If you would like to watch Slinky, the show which Laura shared extracts from then you can join her mailing list here to be notified of when it’s available:

https://www.lauralexx.co.uk/mailing-list

Podcast cover art by Adam Richardson

Artwork for The Comedy Bureau is by Matthew Grant at Tiny Worlds Workshop @tinyworldsworkshop.

Our video editor and credit sequence designer is Lucas Orme.

Music was devised and performed by Olly Double.

Huge thanks to the whole team at Podspike for invaluable advice and help launching and marketing the show.

All media enquiries via Julian Hall textualhealingpr@gmail.com