Is This Thing On? at the London Film Festival 2025 is inspired by the life of comedian John Bishop

One of the most surprising films at the London Film Festival 2025 is surely Is This Thing On?, a comedy-drama loosely based on the rise of the British comedian John Bishop.

The Liverpudlian is now one of Britain’s most famous acts, but he was fairly late to find fame, breaking through in his late-thirties and early forties. Before his first stand-up gigs in 2000 he was a pharmaceutical salesman, but after touring the regional comedy scene for seven years his first television performance came in 2007. His rise from a working class neighbourhood in Liverpool to the biggest London stages fascinated the film’s director Bradley Cooper.

Cooper, who also directed A Star Is Born and Maestro, has a

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