Case File 1: Who Was The First Stand Up Comedian?

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 [e-mail]

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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 [e-mail]