Paul Kerensa

Exiled Cornishman Paul Kerensa has established himself as one of British comedy's leading young talents, both as a writer and a comedian. In just a few short years he has become a regular at the UK's biggest venues, and a popular and reliable headline act. Still only in his late twenties, Paul has, as a ginger man, battled both prejudice and apathy, and emerged to win ITV's 'Take The Mike' stand-up competition in 2002. In the same year, he appeared in four new act finals at the Edinburgh Festival, including the televised BBC New Comedy Awards.

He writes for various sitcoms, including BBC1 hits Not Going Out and After You've Gone, as well as sketch shows such as Dead Ringers, ITV's CGI UK and BBC3's The Wrong Door. He was awarded the Titheridge Prize as BBC Radio Entertainment's in-house comedy writer, and has also written for The News Quiz, The Now Show, and countless others.

A stalwart at the Edinburgh Festival, whether in plays, sketch shows or stand-up, Paul is now on his 4th solo stand-up show which he takes up in 2008. This follows previous popular (and profitable!) shows 'Paul Kerensa's 26' (themed around TV show 24), 'Back To The Futon' (a tribute show to Back To The Future, including actual Delorean and Hoverboard), and most lately his bluffer's guide to the biblical book of Genesis, handily titled 'Genesis'.

He's also very modest, so given that he wrote all of the above, just pretend he wasn't modest and imagine what else he must have done but hasn't told you about. Here's what other less biased people said about him:

**** Metro
**** Chortle
"attitude, style and diamond-sharp wit" Maxim Magazine
"f**king funny" Ricky Gervais
"ingenious" Evening Standard
"his experience showed ... he made it look effortless" Manchester Online
"in manner and style, he has the confident, unconfrontational nature of Dave Gorman, though for material he is certainly an original. An impressively strong routing" Chortle
"well worth a night out" The Scotsman

Live Work
Regular appearances and headline sets at comedy clubs across the UK and abroad (Ireland, Bahrain, Monte Carlo, Nice, Germany), including work for all major agencies and promoters. Paul is also a regular feature on the emerging Christian Comedy Circuit, performing regularly at churches, religious conferences and seminars across the country.

Television
Comedy Cuts - ITV2, 2007
News Doggs - Tiger Aspect/MTV 2006
Four Minute Rant - ITV4 2006
Bargain Hunt Comedians Special – BBC1
The Weakest Link Comedians Special – BBC1
Weapons of Mass Distraction – ITV1
Take The Mike (3 episodes) – ITV1
BBC New Comedy Awards (2 episodes) – BBC1, BBC Choice
Young, Gifted & Broke – ITV1
London Comedy Festival – ITV1
Weapons of Mass Distraction - ITV1
Just For Laughs - CBC, Canada

Radio
28 Acts in 28 minutes - BBC Radio 4, 2007
Henry Kelly Show - BBC Radio Berkshire, Ongoing, Regular paper reviewer
Ed Douglas Breakfast Show – BBC Southern Counties, 2005, Paper reviewer
Serious About Comedy – BBC7, 2005, Panellist
Leading Edge – BBC Radio 4, guest; excerpts of stand-up
Stage and Screen - Radio Wey, Surrey, Presenter
Snakes & Bladders – BBC7, Actor and Writer
Spanking New on 7 - BBC7, Writer and Performer

Theatre
Genesis - Edinburgh Festival, 2007, Performer and Writer
Back to the Futon – Edinburgh Festival, 2006, Performer and Writer
Paul Kerensa’s 26 – Edinburgh Festival, 2005, Performer and Writer
Spinning Jenny – Edinburgh Festival, 2002, Performer and Writer
The Last Supper – Edinburgh Festival, 2000, Performer and Writer
Twice Nightly – Edinburgh Festival, 1999, Performer and Writer
Little Shop of Horrors - Nottingham New Theatre
12 Angry Men - Nottingham New Theatre
Tom Jones - Nottingham New Theatre
Macbeth - Great Hall Theatre
West Side Story - Great Hall Theatre
Roles whilst training include A Doll's House, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Absurd Person Singular