We are delighted that the brilliant comedian Susan Calman has agreed to give the 2017 Linda Smith Lecture. Susan is known to Radio 4 listeners as a regular panellist on The News Quiz, and for her two series, Susan Calman is Convicted and Keep Calman Carry On. On television she has appeared on QI and in the sitcoms Fresh Meat and Dead Boss. She is also known for her superb stand-up act, and her first DVD Lady Like is available from Go Faster Stripe.

Susan Calman, photographed by Steve Ullathorne

The deposit of Linda Smith’s personal archive with the University of Kent in 2013 provided the inspiration for the formation of the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive, which is now growing into a substantial collection, for use by comedians and for those researching stand-up comedy and associated performance arts. The Linda Smith Lecture was established in 2015 to be an annual event to celebrate Linda’s life and work, her interest in comedy and its use in and for political and social commentary, and to promote the work of the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive.

You can get your tickets for the Lecture via the Gulbenkian box office, online or in person.