A Bit on The Commonside

Our ever popular Comedy under Canvas line-up is subject to change but also guaranteed to tickle your funny bones!

Mark Simmons

As Seen on Mock The Week, BT Sport and ITV, Mark Simmons is “One of the UK’s pre-eminent pun merchants…the quickest quipster in showbusiness.” - Evening Standard

After being a semi-regular on BBC2’s Mock The Week, Mark has been busy on his debut tour where he has performed at over 120 venues across the UK & Ireland, selling over 15,000 tickets. Mark has been in Dave’s Top 10 Jokes of the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017, 2019 & 2022. 

 At the Edinburgh Fringe 2023, Mark, alongside Danny Ward, receivedthe Victoria Wood Panel Prize at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards for a show they organised in memory of the late Gareth Richards.

“Master of one-liners…his (show) consist(s) of literally one liner after one liner, with one or two breaks for the audience to catch their breath before another assault on the laughter and muscles with the next segment.” One4Review ★★★★★

“Absolutely hilarious.”The Scotsman ★★★★

“A lot of excellent funny one-liners.” Bruce Dessau

“A talented comic with an artisan’s grasp of joke writing.”Chortle ★★★★

Carl Donnelly

Carl Donnelly is a multi-award winning stand-up comedian, podcaster and actor. From winning a host of the most prestigious new act competitions following him starting comedy in 2005, he went on to be nominated for the Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2009. He later followed that with a nomination for the main award in 2013. In between he has won and been nominated for a series of other awards such as Chortle’s Best Club Comedian.

He has performed at the most prestigious festivals in world comedy from Montreal’s Just For Laughs to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as well as ones closer to home such as Kilkenny Cat Laughs. His reputation as a stand-up has led to him appearing on countless television and radio shows such as ‘Mock The Week’, ‘Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled’ and more.

Aside from stand-up, Carl is an established podcaster having previously placed runner-up in the Best Comedy section of the British Podcast Awards for his show ‘Babysitting Trevor’. He now hosts the weekly podcast ’TVI’ with his fellow comedian Julian Deane.

Carl has also recently begun to dip his toe into acting having appeared in a selection of short films. His performance in the comedy short ‘Reformed’ earned him the Best Actor award at the 2022 NYC Web Fest short film festival.

“Observational genius” The Guardian

"[Carl Donnelly] was the first stand-up I’d seen perform in the round since Kevin Hart at the 02 and trust me, Carl Donnelly was funnier” Beyond The Joke
"intelligently hilarious… right up there with the best” Herald Sun

Shaparak Khorsandi

Shaparak established herself as one of the country’s finest comedians in 2006 with

her sell out Edinburgh show, Asylum Speaker.

This show lead to the publication of her childhood memoirs, “A Beginner’s Guide To

Acting English“, her best-selling literary debut.

In typical Shappi style, this show told the story of how her family were forced to flee

Iran and gain asylum in the UK.

Her father’s popularity as a satirist attacking the regime has ensured they cannot

return to Iran.

As Shaparak says, “obviously there’s free speech in Iran, but little freedom after

you’ve spoken.”

Shaparak’s career has taken her to all corners of the globe, she has appeared on

countless TV & Radio shows including; Mock The Week, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Have I Got News For You, QI, Just a Minute; other flagship radio 4 programmes.

She is proud of being a “spit & sawdust” standup; one of her favourite things is

pulling on her wellies, trudging through muddy fields, and performing at every music festival which has a comedy tent – from Glastonbury to Secret Garden Party.

She has received an honorary doctorate from Winchester University for her

contribution to the arts and recently received the prestigious James Joyce award

from Dublin University.

She is also currently hoping to receive an apology from Ealing Council for

consistently failing to remove her bins on time.

Shaparak has taken part in the iconic television; live show for Amnesty

International, The Secret Policeman’s Ball, as well as several series of Live At The

Apollo; Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow.

Her screenwriting debut was in the form of Sky’s Little Crackers; she has recently

been commissioned to write a drama script for BBC Television.

Hasan Al Habib

Arab. Brummy. Muslim. Hasan Al-Habib was born to Iraqis that moved to Birmingham after deciding Baghdad wasn’t dangerous enough.

“Deliciously funny and challenging in the way [he] engages with race, class and privilege” - The Guardian

“Hasan stood out. Clearly a man of many talents, his material, delivery and his stage presence were all strong” - Birmingham Comedy Festival

“[Racist] attitudes are ripe for pillory, which he does very effectively, through a slick, punchy, pacy delivery and engaging no-nonsense presence. And he even gets to show off his accents…” - Chortle

"Slickest of the class of 2022... great jokes" - Chortle (Student Comedy Award 2022)

“he’s so likeable, super talented, a great performer” - Mae Martin

"He’ll make a million doing this” - Jamali Maddix

“Glorious and funny” - Sofie Hagen

“F***ing brilliant” - Limmy

• Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award 2023 - Winner

• Chortle Student Comedy Award 2022 - Finalist

• OnlyFans Comedy Creative Fund - Finalist