Comedian shares tricks of the trade in new book

Louise Stevenson is CEO of Brighton Comedy Course and the author of the book.

She said: "This book will help aspiring comedians create, write, and edit their material to its best. It will provide the know-how to write a killer set, take the stage and make an audience laugh.

"There are plenty of tips on performance, delivery, timing, and confidence that will also appeal to public speaking enthusiasts. It’s a practical book with writing, editing and performance exercises and tasks throughout.

"There are insights from both well-known comedians and real-life stories from Brighton Comedy Course graduates, who share their own comedy journeys."

Louise performed her first stand-up gig in 1999 in New Zealand, she has worked alongside the likes of Jimmy Carr, Alan Carr, Rich Hall and Steven K Amos.

She said: "This is the book I wish I’d picked up twenty years ago before my first stand-up performance. Comedy has been such a big part of my life that this stage makes sense."

As for comedians she enjoys watching she said: Kevin Bridges, Amy Schumer, Dara O’Briain and Micky Flanagan.

Louise's top tips include: "Don’t leave it too long, if you want to make people laugh, give it a go. Immerse yourself in stand-up, read books, watch stand-up or go on a comedy course to give yourself the best chance of success.

"Confidence plays a key part of being a comedian. Keeping nerves under wraps and embracing nervous energy is a sure way to engage any audience. And don’t worry about the hecklers, they’re easy to handle, when you have the know-how."

The book has been published independent publisher, Funny Bones Publishing. It is available on Kindle or paperback format from Amazon.

The next beginner’s course starts in September, Corona permitting. There are a few spaces available. There’s also the 2-day Comedy weekend course for those want to dip their toe in the comedy waters, book on www.brightoncomedycourse.com