Will Franken 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

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,^[1] before moving to London in 2013.

In 2015, Franken lived as a woman, "Sarah", for seven months.^[2][3]

In 2016 he created the "Defining the Norm" awards at the Edinburgh Fringe, for "safety, sameness and sycophancy".^[4] In April 2024 Franken had an article published in The Philosopher Journal https://www.thephilosopher1923.org/current-issue

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.^[5] The New York Times praised his "erudite wit and the kind of highly developed sense of the absurd".^[6] 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".^[7]

His 2013 Soho Theatre show received mixed reviews from The Arts Desk^[8] and the Evening Standard.^[9]

A review of his 2014 Edinburgh fringe show praised his inventiveness.^[10] A review on Chortle praised "his chameleonic ability to inhabit so many characters".^[11]