Will Franken (born June 30, 1973, Sedalia, Missouri) is an American character comedian and
satirist whose work has been highly acclaimed in both the USA and Europe
Life
Franken was born in Sedalia, Missouri. He has a degree in literature from Southwest Missouri State University.
Franken was credited with uncovering some illuminating literary discrepancies between two extant copies of
David Garrick's one act farce, Miss in Her Teens The spotlight which this discovery shone on the role of political censorship from the Lord Chamberlain's office in the 18th century, proved of such interest to those in the field that Franken's article about it was published in the
Huntington Library Quarterly.
He started performing comedy in the 2000s in San Francisco,
before moving to London in 2013.
In 2015, Franken lived as a woman, "Sarah", for seven months.
In 2016 he created the "Defining the Norm" awards at the Edinburgh Fringe, for "safety, sameness and sycophancy".[ "On Violent Laughter (and Other Comedic First Principles)"]
In April of 2025, Franken was shortlisted for The ObserverAnthony Burgess Prize in Arts Journalism.
His scathing review of Richard Gadd’s Netflix series ‘Baby Reindeer’ was singled out by the judges for its unique criticism of a work that had been almost universally lauded.
Franken has been linked to English writer Alisha J.Prince who he has collaborated with on several projects including a 13 hour unabridged production of John Milton’s Paradise Lost
Reception
Reviewing his one-man show,
Good Luck With It in The New York Times in 2005,
Jason Zinoman wrote:
What elevates Mr. Franken above your garden-variety comedian is an erudite wit and a highly developed sense of the absurd. Zinoman went on to say in summing up Franken's satire:
What is constant is a disgust with the mediocrity of contemporary culture, suburban living, and the hypocrisy of well-meaning liberals. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/18/theater/reviews/feelgood-comedy-with-a-dose-of-anger.html
Franken was awarded "Best Comedian" of 2005 by the
SF Weekly.
The
New York Times praised his "erudite wit and the kind of highly developed sense of the absurd".
The SF Weekly awarded him "Best Comedian" and a few weeks later, the SF Bay Guardian gave him the award for "Best Alternative to Psychedelic Drugs" This same year he also received his first national press from both the New York Times and the
San Francisco Chronicle.
A review of his 2012 Edinburgh fringe show praised the "vivacity of his characterisations" and wrote that he "baffles conventional thinking".
His 2013 Soho Theatre show received mixed reviews from The Arts Desk
A review of his 2014 Edinburgh fringe show praised his inventiveness.
External links
https://willfrankencomedy.weebly.com/
https://youtube.com/@willfranken8795?feature=shared
