Monday, January 2, 2017
Laughing Horse @ the Cellar Monkey, EdinburghThe Yorkshire standup's free show Capitalism is an extraordinary cri de coeur about the shallowness of modern life• Liam Williams: 'I've had ne…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:24AMFriday, December 30, 2016
A crack cast of millennial comics deliver social satire amid the poo jokes and spoof songs in an alt-panto created by Liam Williams and Daran JohnsonThe “all-age family entertainment” of…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:04AMHow better to make sense of this turbulent year than through the art and literature it has produced? Our critics choose the works that sum up the last 12 monthsIf there is one film that hold…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36AMSunday, December 18, 2016
Royal Albert Hall, LondonRating: ** More reviews"Well, you did it," says Victoria Wood to her crowd. "You got out of the house." This is a performer who knows her audience. Her 10-show resid…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42PMFriday, December 16, 2016
For more than 40 years, Barry Crimmins has honed his political skewering of the American dream to a fine artFrustratingly, I missed veteran US standup Barry Crimmins when he performed his de…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18AMTuesday, December 13, 2016
Seinfeld’s rant about advertising is an astonishing feat of comedy and raises an important question – whither satire when its targets laugh so hard?Usually when I see a comedian fronting…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12PMMr Swallow camped it up as Houdini, Isy Suttie looked for Mr Right, while Brexit brought out the angry best in Bridget Christie and Stewart Lee. Our critic picks the year’s best comedy• …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12AMFriday, December 9, 2016
Battersea Arts Centre, LondonComedian Kearns celebrates the pain and joy of a family Christmas with wit, whimsy and wistful silencesHow do you sustain a loser persona after winning the most …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AMThursday, December 8, 2016
O2, LondonIn the opening sequence of Michael McIntyre's new show, a video portrays him as some sort of machine: a standup Terminator, assembled backstage by hi-tech gadgetry. It's a revealin…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48PMAs another standup is exposed for his seriousness about getting rich, over in the US Louis CK kicks out the middlemanYou'll have been forgiven this week for not noticing anything else happen…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:36PMWednesday, December 7, 2016
Soho theatre, London The Australian comic’s stories and mickey-takes spin along well, but there’s a stale cynicism to the material“Modish crap” was Michael Gove’s verdict on Turner…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AMMonday, December 5, 2016
Soho theatreKearns's comic armoury of distracted pauses, eccentric antics and daydreamer philosophy starts brilliantly before tailing off"Imagine I couldn't do this," ruminates John Kearns a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PMThe UK Jewish Comedy festival’s salute to the Borscht Belt comedy of Woody Allen and Joan Rivers is poised awkwardly between tribute and parodyYou could argue that standup was born in the …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PMFour months after opening its archive about the comedy great without including his famous bonnet, the V&A has added one to its collectionWhen the V&A launched its Tommy Cooper archiv…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AMSunday, December 4, 2016
O2 Arena, LondonThe physical foolery is fine, but some of Evans’ jokes are not very nice at allLee Evans is one of the great clowns of the age, but on his new arena tour, Monsters, the sla…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:02PMFriday, December 2, 2016
In her podcast, Cariad Lloyd talks to other comics about death, a subject that standups rarely deal with directly on stageUntil this year’s Edinburgh fringe, where comedians grappled on st…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:18AMThursday, December 1, 2016
The Britain's Got Talent judge says she was attacked by an unnamed comic, 21st-century comics grapple with homosexuality, and David Brent realises his rock-god dreamsNot much to laugh about …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:24PMTuesday, November 29, 2016
Gilded Balloon, EdinburghTruscott has some funny, transgressive material but technical glitches and a lack of polish disrupt the flow of this setNot many acts enter fringe legend with their …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54PMSaturday, November 26, 2016
In Whitehall's routines, poshness is a depoliticised quirk, like being tall. You can only laugh at his jokes if you think disadvantage isn't worth getting upset about• Jack Whitehall inter…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36AMThursday, November 24, 2016
Soho theatre, London‘America’s Next Drag Superstar’ presents Unwrapped, a tinsel-fringed riot of inappropriate Santa gags, Miley Cyrus covers and jaundiced humourJinkx Monsoon, the 201…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AMSunday, November 20, 2016
Leicester Square theatre, London The comedian’s Little Misfit show takes aim at tribalism, social awkwardness and British reserve, though her potent wit should land more blowsBy Zoe Lyons�…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42AMThursday, November 17, 2016
Leicester Square theatre, LondonPolitical cataclysms jostle with gags about kinky sex and selfie culture in a characteristically twisty and frequently brilliant show from the ‘ex-TV comic�…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03AMIf you work in contemporary theatre, you spend half your life fretting about how to reach beyond its small, perfectly formed audience.
SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AMWednesday, November 16, 2016
NextUp will stream live comedy sets for a low subscription fee. Standups are excited, and will share 50% of the income – but will the new service attract a big enough audience to succeed?M…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AMMonday, November 14, 2016
Hammersmith Apollo, LondonTate’s talent and personality propel this thrilling live comedy comeback that is peppered with TV sketch-show oldies, creaking gags and committed daftnessRed face…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:06AMThursday, November 10, 2016
The Canadian standup’s Radio 4 show expertly splices comedy, opinion and enlightenment to explore millennial gender fluidity and sexWoman’s Hour host Jenni Murray raised hackles the othe…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:02AMWednesday, November 9, 2016
Stables, Milton Keynes Fresh from a stint on America’s Got Talent, Sam Wills delivers a captivating set of skits that bring the audience on stage and celebrate the improbableAmerica’s G…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42AMSunday, November 6, 2016
Nottingham PlayhouseBack from comedic and political hibernation, swaggering as always but a little less potent in new show ExposedIt feels like another age, that still-recent time when Russe…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:02PMFriday, November 4, 2016
The scary pranksters with red noses and outsize shoes running amok on the streets are the antithesis of a great tradition, says the celebrated clown teacher Schools were barricaded, Hallowee…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:12PMWednesday, November 2, 2016
The innovative outfit that cultivated talents such as Tim Key and Claudia O’Doherty is no more. So why, during this boom time for comedy, did it fail?Three weeks ago, it went into voluntar…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06PMMonday, October 24, 2016
A new film blurs fiction and reality with its tale of an aspiring comic. It asks to what extent you can study to become funny – or if you’re just born that way“The Comedian’s Guide t…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:10AM 
