The Comedy Café - 22/10/2010

From BBC1's "Watchdog" and "One Show" to BBC Radio 4's "The Now Show", award winning Mitch Benn is one of the top musical satirical comedians on the circuit today. Renowned for his improv skills, satirical wit, vocal versatility and mastery of a myriad of musical genres his subjects range from parodying today's pop charts to pondering everyday conundrums - such as successfully ironing shirt sleeves... Currently on the road with his band, The Distractions, on their "Rhyme Lord" tour, Mitch will be strumming his stuff on the Comedy Café ahead of an Edinburgh appearance. Chris Rock, Shappi Khorsandi, Russell Peters - they're not alone in their use of race related gags. But how do they get away with jokes based on culture and colour - and is there an even playing field for all comedians to do so, regardless of their own cultural background? Comedy critic for the Independent, Julian Hall, and stand-up comedian, Ava Vidal, consider who can tell race jokes - and get away with it.