My jokes and sketches have been used on several BBC satirical shows and I’ve worked in BBC writers’ rooms.
Newsjack
I have several joke and sketch credits on this BBC Radio 4 Extra satirical show, across 3 years.
Breaking The News
I have ‘additional material’ joke credits on this BBC Scotland TV show.
The Skewer
I have credits across two series of this innovative BBC Radio 4 sketch show.
Comedy short film directed by Akaash Meeda and starring Heather Coombs, Jaz Deol, Pernilla Holland, Jack Mosedale and Michael Mendip.
Backstage at the exam board, Gillian and her team try to make their maths paper more diverse. Watch political correctness go mad, right in front of your eyes.
Winner of:
Best Comedy at Sunderland Shorts Film Festival 2019
Highest Commendation at the London-Worldwide Comedy Short Film Festival
Also selected for screening at:
London Sunday Shorts Film Festival 2019
Lisbon Sunday Shorts Film Festival 2019
Norfolk Film Festival 2019
Lift-off Film Festival 2019
An immersive comedy set on a night bus, full of drunken clubbers and fried chicken clutchers. Had a 6-night run at Matchstick Theatre in Deptford, October-November 2018. And it’s back – bigger and better – for 2020 (9th March - 2nd April). Buy tickets and join the ride!
2020: Directed by Edwina Strobl. Starring Grace Boyle, Ocean Harris, Natasha Vasandandi, Aaron Peters, Aneirin George and Bradley Carpenter.
The 2020 production featured on London Live.
“Delicately crafted characters, amazingly engaging pace and fantastic performances.” ★★★★ Theatre News
“Enjoyable comedy following a single epic journey with all the characters you’d expect to find on London public transport” ★★★ Time Out
“A frank and funny look at London life.” There Ought To Be Clowns
2018: Directed by Edwina Strobl. Starring Molly Ward, Lanre Danmola, Reena Lalbihari, Aneirin George, Hassan Govia and Theo Toksvig-Stewart.
In 2018, the play went down very well with audiences and also made the local paper and got a segment on ITV London News.
A very modern-day adult pantomime performed at Canal Café Theatre, 2018. Forget kitsch Fairy Godmothers, glamorous balls and midnight kisses – think a feisty Fairy Matchmaker, a Tinder Nando’s date and some midnight aubergine, taken up The Shard.
*** London Pub Theatres – “Sharp, funny, exuberant and enthusiastic panto” – London Pub Theatres
**** Boyz Magazine – “With Tinderella, Mark Daniels throughly entertains, raises a chuckle and generates a slight gasp from an audience that were loving every minute.” “The gags come thick and fast, a delicious festive treat.”
**Nominated for Boyz Magazine Awards 2018**
Directed by Roann McCloskey. Starring Lawrence Bolton, Iona Crampton, Francesco Roberts and Lucy Aley-Parker.
I have a variety of sitcom spec scripts:
Straight Faced
A sitcom about a laddy gay man named Adam. How does he negotiate the dual identities of bloke and poofta and how do his friends come to terms with their best friend’s new lifestyle? I’ve had really great feedback on it from several writers and producers. Dave Cohen described it as the best sitcom he’s ever read by a new writer.
BAFTA Rocliffe Sitcom competition TOP 10 FINALIST
Pozzitive Comedy Sitcom competition WINNER
Craft of Comedy new sitcom script 2018 WINNER
Shore Scripts TV pilot QUARTER FINALIST (Top 5%)
Sistahs
A proper London sitcom about four half-sisters left behind in the gentrification of Walthamstow. It’s a musical (yes… musical!) family sitcom, without the men.
Woke
A sitcom script that goes behind the scenes at a YouTube wellness guru channel and tackles the topics of friendship, hipsters and social media.
A Prime Minister Lives In Our Fridge
A sitcom about a time-travelling Prime Minister who’s come back to 2022 to understand how we live.
A play in partnership with director Edwina Strobl and Matchstick Theatre. It had a successful 8-night run in April 2019, starring Theo Toksvig-Stewart, Molly Ward, Tori Louis, Christian Andrews and Craig Abbott. We’re looking for a producer to take this to bigger venues.
The reviews:
★★★★ The Spy In The Stalls – “a powerful commentary on toxic masculinity in modern society”
★★★★ London City Nights – “the writing displays a consistent level of wit and imagination, with the various lessons feeling like comedy sketches that skewer traditional masculine notions.” “Relevant as hell. I dug it.”
★★★★ Everything Theatre – “a show about toxic masculinity that moves, and should create the right sort of discussion”
★★★★ Smiths Magazine – “By depicting toxic masculinity at its ugliest, Daniels has written a play which in many ways needed to be written.” “Thought-provoking comedy.”
The synopsis:
Welcome to The Institute of Nuts, a crazy school-cum-retreat-cum-prison where people’s names are letters and their reasons for being there are… well… mysterious. Here, E and M run the show and O, P and B do whatever they’re told. Until a rebellion begins.
B arrives for his first day, ready to learn how to be a success in the wider world. Gradually things go from funny to completely farcical, and the skills he learns, such as strength and bravery, go from important and desirable to ridiculous and even threatening. The students protest and discover what the Institute is really all about.
My sketches and songs are regularly used by long-running satirical theatre show, NewsRevue both at Canal Café Theatre and their big Edinburgh Festival shows at Udderbelly and The Pleasance.
I work closely with Canal Café and have been to work with the actors and director in the room on the show.
The world’s news in 500 seconds. A weekly YouTube project by a mix of professional and up-and-coming comics. As part of this project, I’ve worked with Zoe Lyons, Joel Dommett and Ninia Benjamin. Some examples of my jokes are in the video here.
My writing is frequently used in innovative new Facebook and YouTube project, British Rationals in which actors play the British public, reacting to today’s news.
Some examples of my writing for British Rationals can be seen in the video here.
A new play that was recently longlisted for the Bruntwood Prize 2019 in partnership with The Royal Exchange Theatre. It came in the top 115 of 2561 entries.
Mabel, 75, a lifelong Bethnal Green resident, meets new arrival Benjamin, 23, on the train station platform. They clash. But, over time, an unlikely friendship blossoms.
Currently seeking producers.
