Liam Williams (comedian)

Liam Williams
Born March 1988 (1988-03) (age 29)
Garforth, Leeds, England
Medium Stand-up, television, radio, theatre
Years active 2009–present
Website Official website

Liam Williams (born 1988 in Garforth, Leeds)[1] is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer, known for his wry poetic presentation style. He was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2013 Edinburgh Fridge Comedy Awards, and for Best Show at the 2014 awards.[2]

Life and career

Williams grew up in Leeds and read English at Cambridge University, where he was a member of Footlights.[3][4] In 2009 he participated in the Cambridge heat of the Chortle Student Comedy Award.[5]

In 2010 Williams was the runner-up in the So You Think You're Funny competition at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

In 2013 Williams appeared as the guest stand-up on Russell Howard's Good News.[6] Later that year he performed a solo show for the first time at the Edinburgh Fringe; he was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Williams also participated in a show with his fellow members of the comedy sketch group Sheeps, Daran Johnson and Alastair Roberts.[7][8]

In 2014 Williams performed a new show at Edinburgh, Capitalism. It was nominated for Best Show at the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards.[4][9] He also recorded a series of short clips for the Channel 4 online series Comedy Blaps, based on a previous routine.[10]

Williams's 2015 Edinburgh show was called Bonfire Night.[2] In 2015 Williams also wrote and presented a semi-autobiographical radio show titled Ladhood. The series was broadcast on BBC Radio 4.[11] He participated in the People Time Comedy Feed skit for BBC Three alongside Sheeps, Jamie Demetriou, Tash Demetriou, Claudia O'Doherty and Ellie White.[12] Continuing with the cast (minus O'Doherty), he co-created the web series 2016: Year Friends. As an actor Williams appeared in the BBC Three comedies Uncle and Together and on Comedy Central UK's Drunk History.

After each Edinburgh festival, Williams performed his most recent show at the Soho Theatre and the The Invisible Dot in London.[13][9][14] He also performs at the club with Sheeps.

In January 2016, Williams co-directed with Matt Bulmer a one-off performance of Shakespeare's The Twelfth Night featuring a cast of comedians including Kieran Hodgson, Tim Key and The Pin, with proceeds going to Refugee Action.[15] The play was staged again, with an altered cast, in July 2016 at the Latitude Festival and during London Wonderground at the Southbank in London.[16]

At the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe festival, Williams presented his debut play, Travesty, following previews in London.[16][17] December 2016 and January 2017 saw the presentation of the panto Ricky Whittington & His Cat, co-written by Williams and Daran Johnson and starring Charlotte Ritchie alongside previous comedy collaborators.[18]

In 2017, a web mockumentary series called Pls Like was released by BBC Three, written by and starring Williams as a struggling comedian who wins a contest to become the next superstar megavlogger, but must first undertake a series of challenges in order to win the attached £10,000 prize. Along the way, several successful YouTubers give him help and advice.[19][20]

Later in the year Williams and Josie Long co-wrote and co-starred in the BBC Radio 4 comedy Perimeter, part of the "Dangerous Visions" season on the station.[21] Williams also appeared on the final episode of series 2 of Live from the BBC, performing a 30 minute set.

References

  1. ↑ Liam Williams: Home - Comedy Blaps - Channel 4 on YouTube
  2. 1 2 "Liam Williams: Edinburgh Fringe 2015 interview". Laugh Out London. 8 August 2015.
  3. ↑ Nell Frizzell (28 October 2013). "Liam Williams on writing comedy". IdeasTap.
  4. 1 2 Brian Logan (4 August 2014). "Liam Williams: 'I've had nervous breakdowns on stage'". The Guardian.
  5. ↑ Liam Williams - Chortle Student Comedy Award on YouTube
  6. ↑ Liam Williams on Russell Howard's Good News on YouTube
  7. ↑ Ed Cripps (17 January 2014). "Liam Williams: The Philip Larkin of British Comedy". The Huffington Post UK.
  8. ↑ Julian Hall (19 August 2013). "Edinburgh 2013: Liam Williams - A comedian of existential introspection". The Independent.
  9. 1 2 Rachel Holdsworth (9 October 2014). "Liam Williams: Die, Capitalist Scum". Londonist.
  10. ↑ Liam Williams: Things - Comedy Blaps - Channel 4 on YouTube
  11. ↑ BBC Radio 4 - Liam Williams: Ladhood at BBC Programmes
  12. ↑ BBC Three - Comedy Feeds, 2015, People Time at BBC Programmes
  13. ↑ ID 197: LIAM WILLIAMS on YouTube
  14. ↑ ID 463: LIAM WILLIAMS: BONFIRE NIGHT - INTERVIEW WITH MARK WATSON on YouTube
  15. ↑ Twelfth Night - The Play
  16. 1 2 Si Hawkins (5 July 2016). "Circuit Training 97: Liam Williams, limping round Latitude". British Comedy Guide.
  17. ↑ Craig Angus (2 August 2016). "Liam Williams on his debut play Travesty". The Skinny.
  18. ↑ http://newdiorama.com/whats-on/ricky-whittington-his-cat
  19. ↑ "Pls Like: Why you have to watch BBC3’s fantastic YouTube mockumentary". Radio Times. 25 March 2017.
  20. ↑ Stuart Heritage (10 February 2017). "Pls Like: a brutal new mockumentary satirising YouTube stars". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
  21. ↑ Perimeter at BBC Programmes
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