Jay Foreman (comedian)

Jay Foreman (born 4 October 1984) is an English comedian, YouTuber, cartography enthusiast, educator, and singer-songwriter.

Early life and education

Foreman was born on 4 October 1984. He was raised in a Jewish household in Stanmore, London, with his brother and sister. His brother Darren is a beatboxer and musician going under the pseudonym Beardyman.

From 1996 to 2003, Foreman was educated at Queen Elizabeth's School, a state grammar school for boys in Barnet, north London, followed by the University of York, where he began performing comedy songs on acoustic guitar in 2005.

Foreman lived in Villa Hayes, Paraguay for six months at the age of 19 in 2003, taking a gap year teaching English and guitar. He often includes references to Paraguay in his videos.

Career

Foreman was featured as the BBC New Talent Pick of the Fringe 2007, won Best Newcomer at the Tuborg Musical Comedy awards 2009, and came third at the Musical Comedy Awards 2010.

In 2009, Foreman contributed jingles to the weekly comedy podcast Answer Me This!, and in 2011 and 2012, supported comedian Dave Gorman on Dave Gorman's PowerPoint Presentation tour.

Foreman presented The General Election Xplained, a series of educational videos to explain the election process for schoolchildren in Key Stages 3 to 5.

For several years, he has also performed shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which include Disgusting Songs For Revolting Children (And Other Funny Stories), No More Colours and Mixtape.

Jay Foreman's songs have been heard on BBC Radio 4, Radio 4 Extra, The One Show, and London Live TV.

YouTube

Foreman created his YouTube channel in April 2006. Its content focuses on a variety of comic educational series such as Unfinished London, Politics Unboringed, and Map Men (presented with Mark Cooper-Jones), as well as music videos for his songs and clips from his comedy shows.

Unfinished London

Unfinished London is a series of educational YouTube videos that began in 2009, with each video or set of handling a specific area of the evolution of London's infrastructure, urban planning, and local government.The series was initially only meant to exist as a single episode to function as a skills showcase but the reception convinced Foreman to continue making them.

Politics Unboringed

Politics Unboringed was a series of educational YouTube videos that ran between 2015 and 2017. Each episode is roughly five minutes long and handles various topics relating to British politics. Foreman has no plans to bring the series back, stating that "with everything that’s going on, I now find it impossible, irresponsible even, to maintain the cheery, neutral tone that the series used to have."

Map Men

Map Men is a edutainment mini-series which premiered in 2016, and is currently in its fourth season. Foreman writes and presents the show with its co-creator Mark Cooper-Jones. A mix of comedy and geography, its videos regularly attract 1-5 million views on YouTube.

Personal life

Foreman married Jade Nagi, in 2021. They have two children: Ellis, born in July 2022 and another son born November 2023.

Foreman created a political ad for Green Party candidate Siân Berry during the 2016 London mayoral election, covering her proposed policy to close London City Airport and convert it into a new residential neighbourhood.

Foreman is ethnically Jewish, and in a statement written for the London Jewish News in 2018, he described his fondness for his family's Jewish traditions, even though Foreman himself is an atheist.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official website
• Media related to Jay Foreman at Wikimedia Commons