For four years Andrew McConnell Stott was a comedian on London’s stand-up circuit, appearing on bills with Stewart Lee, Al Murray and Daniel Kitson, amongst others. Back then, Ricky Gervais used to say he was a big fan, although no one believes a word of that now. After retiring in 2000, he pursued a career in academia that has focused largely on comedy, popular culture and the history of theatre from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. He is currently Associate Professor of English at the State University of New York, Buffalo.