Biography

Quotes "fiercely funny...insightful, incandescent." Herald “Revell is an expert in delivering thought-provoking, political satire, combined with a strong delivery and great stage presence….There are no cheap laughs here, but if you like your comedians to say something worth saying, Nick Revell is for you. “ Edfest Magazine 2014 “a set which as politically charged as it is hilarious.” Liverpool Echo “a master at work, someone who can deliver a cohesive critique of society’s ills without just ranting or being mindlessly angry.” Bruce Dessau “consistently excellent” Guardian 2014 “Master satirist” Time Out 2012 “The wonderful Nick Revell...A brilliant observer of contemporary idiocies....a shrewd commentator on society and the political scene....Having begun his career not long after alternative comedy’s equivalent of the year dot....you’d forgive Nick Revell if these days he chose to put his feet up of an evening. Instead, he maintains a gigging schedule that would shatter many fresher-faced acts...While he’s got access to a vein of intoxicating anger, he’s also a comedian who can transmit a huge amount of real human warmth. Expect to be seduced by a genuine craftsman”. Guardian 2009 “A master craftsman” Time Out 2003 "..one of the most creative and incisive comics on the circuit" Guardian 2009 “Revell’s pedigree goes back to the Eighties, but his patter is as relevant today as it ever was” London Evening Standard “He is an animated, engaging raconteur offering a master-class in delivery with variety in pace, volume and rhythm that keeps an already attentive audience transfixed” Chortle “Satirically brilliant. Travel miles to see him.” Guardian “Easy delivery and a great stage presence” Times "Scalpel-sharp satirist" London Evening Standard "If you were looking to set a gold standard of comic delivery, Nick Revell would be a good place to start. His varying rhythms, pace, emphasis and ability to drop into any number of accents to enliven his routines set him aside as an excellent storyteller...impressive stuff...an ambitious, and peerlessly told, set." Chortle "Revell makes you laugh and think; a rare and cherishable combination these days" Scotsman "Nick Revell is an excellent stand-up comic...an act that distinguishes itself by sharp observation and intelligence." Independent “Brilliantly satirical” Time Out, 1987 "Unfunny" Time Out, 1983 Biography Starting out as a writer for topical shows like Weekending and The News Huddlines on BBC Radio and Not the Nine O’Clock News on BBC TV in the late 70s, Nick Revell began performing as a stand-up at the Comedy Store in 1980. TV and Radio includes Friday Night Live, Live at Jongleurs, two visits to the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, co-writer and co-star with Andy Hamilton in several series of the award-winning Million Pound Radio Show on BBC Radio 4, two series of the Radio 4 sit-com The Nick Revell Show, and his own show Nick Revell, on BBC-1. Also panel shows such as Just A Minute, The News Quiz, Quote Unquote. His TV and Radio credits as a writer include sitcoms, sketch shows and material for other comedians - Drop the Dead Donkey, Dressing for Breakfast, After You’d Gone, Dave Allen, Three of a Kind, Not the Nine O’Clock News, Alas Smith and Jones, Rory Bremner and Jasper Carrot, The Million Pound Radio Show, House of the Spirit Levels, It’s that Jo Caulfield Again, Living with the Enemy, Weekending, The News Huddlines, The Unofficial Election 2005, with Andy Zaltzman and Jon Oliver, The Nick Revell Show, The Sunday Format to name but a few. As an actor his credits include Drop the Dead Donkey and Alan Clarke’s musical feature film Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire. Awards for the above include Perrier Nominee, BAFTAS, International Emmys, British Comedy Awards, Sony Radio Awards, Writers’ Guild Awards, Silver Rose of Montreux. For ten years from 1992 he stopped doing stand-up. During this period he performed two solo theatre shows, The Ghost of John Belushi Flushed My Toilet and Liberal Psychotic, which both transferred from successful runs at the Edinburgh Festival to Hampstead Theatre and then toured internationally. He continued to write extensively not only for TV and Radio but also two novels, House of the Spirit Levels and The Night of the Toxic Ostrich, and a stage play, Love and Other Fairy Tales which was highly successful with critics and audiences alike. He also presented Radio 4’s literature programme Open Book. Currently he continues to tour as a stand-up comedan and is also co-creator (with comedian Alistair Barrie and journalist and LBC presenter James O’Brien) of the topical panel show No Pressure to be Funny which can also be found as a podcast on the British Comedy Guide. “No Pressure To Be Funny isn't just a live event … it's also one of the best topical comedy podcasts out there.” Huffington Post

Writing CV

 

1978-86    Weekending (BBC R4) The News Huddlines (BBC R2) Not the Nine O’Clock News             (BBC 2), Three of a Kind (BBC 2)

1985-1992    co-starred in and wrote The Million Pound Radio Show - 6 series (BBC R4)

1986        Rory Bremner - What Else? (BBC 2)

1987-91    3 solo stand up hours, Edinburgh Fringe and touring

1989        Nick Revell (stand-up comedy special, BBC 2)

1991-93    starred in and wrote The Nick Revell Show (sitcom, BBC R4) - 2 series 

1992        Dave Allen  (ITV)

1993        The Ghost of John Belushi Flushed My Toilet (solo stage show - Edinburgh Fringe,             Hampstead Theatre, touring)

1992-97    Drop the Dead Donkey (sitcom, 5 series, C4)

1995        N7 (broadcast sitcom pilot, BBC2)

        Liberal Psychotic (solo stage show -Edinburgh Fringe, Hampstead Theatre, touring)

1997        starred in and wrote The House of the Spirit Levels (sitcom, BBC R4)

        Dressing for Breakfast (sitcom, C4)

1998        The House of the Spirit Levels (novel)

        Gary Lineker is Dead  (drama / doc C4)

1999-2004    The Sunday Format (BBC R4)

        script editor Room 101 (C4)

2000        Night of the Toxic Ostrich (novel)

2001        script editor Public Opinion (BBC2) 

        script editor Terri McIntyre (BBC3)

        Love and Other Fairytales (stage play for Scarlet Theatre)

2003-4        solo stand up hours at Edinburgh Fringe and touring

2006        co-starred in and co-wrote Living with the Enemy (sitcom series BBC R4)

2008        solo stand up hour, Edinburgh and touring

2009        solo stand up hour 

2010-2016    co-produced, wrote and performed in No Pressure to be Funny - a monthly topical-            satirical podcast recorded in front of a live audience, hosted by James O’Brien

2013        stand-up double header - Transatlantic Fury - with US comedian Lee Camp.                 Toured internationally

2014-15    solo stand-up hours, Edinburgh Fringe and touring

2016        In and Out of the Kitchen - sitcom, for Miles Jupp (R4)

2016        Gluten-Free Jesus, or The Treasure of the Illuminati Leprechauns (solo stage show,             Edinburgh Fringe and touring)

2017        Nick Revell vs Lily, Evil Cat Queen of Earth Planet and the Laughing Fridge (solo                 stage show, Edinburgh Fringe and touring)

2018        Broken Dreamcatcher (solo stage show, Edinburgh Fringe and touring)

2019        Eurasia’s Most Eligible Psychopaths and Their Lovely Homes (solo stage show,                 Edinburgh Fringe and touring)

2018-23    BrokenDreamcatcher (three series, BBC R4)

2020        Maybe Some Other Time (stage play for Guildford School of Acting)

2021        Better Than Death (stage play for Guildford School of Acting)

        editor and proof reader for Bob Boyton’s short story collection Johnny Fortune

2022        The Tale of the Time-Traveling Tartan Tea Towel (solo stage show touring various                 literary festivals)

2023        Waiting for the End of the World (stage play for Guildford School of Acting)

        A Parrot in the Underworld (solo stage show touring various literary festivals)

 2019-        writing with, script editing for Tom Walker as Jonathan Pie (stage shows and BBC             sitcom - podcast & BBC R4)

2024        Portrait of the Dog as A Young Artist - (solo stage show, premiering at Laugharne             LitFest)

 

Awards include International Emmys and BAFTAs for Drop the Dead Donkey; Sony Radio, British Comedy, and Writers’ Guild awards and a Silver Rose of Montreux for various other programmes, and a Perrier Award nomination. He is one of two people who have twice been voted Favourite Act at the Laugharne Literary Festival. (The other one is Patti Smith).