All stories by Brian Logan on BroadwayStars

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Kim Noble: Lullaby for Scavengers review – strange, tender and endlessly funny by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe notorious comic and performance artist explores loneliness and the human/animal divide in an intricately assembled scrapbook show It’s taken Kim Noble seven years t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:25AM
Wednesday, September 21, 2022

‘It could have some negative pushback’: has extreme comedian Kim Noble finally gone too far? by Brian Logan

In Lullaby for Scavengers, the no-holds-barred performance artist returns to outfox and outrage audiences. He talks about trying to snog his mother, bathing with maggots and being an ‘old …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:33AM
Sunday, September 18, 2022

Dawn French Is a Huge Twat review – mini-masterpieces of self-mockery by Brian Logan

New theatre, OxfordFrench heaps detail upon self-abasing detail as she shares hugely engaging stories from her 40-year career It’s called semantic satiation, when you say a word so many ti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:07PM
Monday, September 5, 2022

The satire of Joe Lycett is a fitting response to our era of scorched-earth politics | Brian Logan by Brian Logan

Shows like Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg exist to make politicians seem upright and substantial. ​Lycett rightly pointed out that some of them are not “Memo: don’t put comedians on Ques…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:55AM
Sunday, September 4, 2022

Tom Walker: Javelin review – lots to enjoy, even if the central conceit does not soar by Brian Logan

Assembly George Square, EdinburghThe Australian physical comedian conjures up a career for himself as a professional spear-thrower in this wacky if uneven show There is a distinguished, if n…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03AM
Friday, September 2, 2022

‘Did Will Smith hurt me? He played Ali!’ – Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle live by Brian Logan

M&S Bank Arena, LiverpoolThey are arguably the two greatest US standups of their generation – and both topical for not always lovely reasons. Could this double-whammy possibly live up …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:55AM
Thursday, September 1, 2022

Jessica Fostekew review – sexuality switch exposes rich vein of fast-paced mirth by Brian Logan

Monkey Barrel, EdinburghSince her last show, about weightlifting, the 39-year-old has split from her son’s father and moved in with a woman. Which adds up to hilarity for the audience if n…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:03AM
Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Jamali Maddix review – the somewhat funny side of sex addiction by Brian Logan

Pleasance, EdinburghMaddix is a fluent, playful comic, but the window opened here on his conflicted psyche feels unresolved – for him as much as his audience ‘I needed to say it more tha…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:49AM
Tuesday, August 30, 2022

BriTANick review – dazzling mirth from two SNL sketch masters by Brian Logan

Assembly George Square, EdinburghThere are few bells and whistles in Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher’s fringe debut, just two seasoned US comics in effortless harmony with each other Here�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:07PM

Sam Campbell once joked about killing me – but the Aussie comedian’s Edinburgh win is well-deserved | Brian Logan by Brian Logan

The baby-faced oddball has gone from performing to tiny audiences to winning live comedy’s most coveted prize, the Edinburgh festival fringe comedy award What does an Edinburgh comedy awar…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:03AM
Monday, August 29, 2022

The Edinburgh fringe is too long, too expensive and too gruelling. It must change or die by Brian Logan

I’ve spent my whole professional life loving and writing about the fringe. But rocketing rents, a lack of diversity and its overwhelming scale are pushing this world-class cultural crucibl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:55AM
Sunday, August 28, 2022

Emmanuel Sonubi review – between beefcake and beta male by Brian Logan

Underbelly Bristo Square, Edinburgh The Dave’s Edinburgh comedy awards best newcomer nominee carries a confidence and warmth that is hard to resist In a lesser controversy at this year’s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:37AM
Friday, August 26, 2022

Lauren Pattison review – fall and rise of a comic motormouth by Brian Logan

Monkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghThe standup puts her working-class status front and centre in this compelling and cathartic journey through her Covid years Lauren Pattison had two ambitions f…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12PM

Josh Pugh review – fashioning fecklessness into front-rank standup by Brian Logan

Monkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghPugh shambles his diffident way into the spotlight with a stealthy, clever and heartwarming show Incompetent, negative, a follower not a leader: Josh Pugh is h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM
Thursday, August 25, 2022

Sam Campbell review – loopiness underpinned by sharp observations by Brian Logan

Monkey Barrel, EdinburghThe Australian comic takes incongruity to uncommon lengths – and this year he’s recalibrated his show towards warmth “My mind is a prison full of crazy ideas. A…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:43AM

Larry Dean review – cheeky-chappy persona begins to fray by Brian Logan

Monkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghDean’s great skill is to make the audience feel like intimate confidantes, but sometimes his impatience to get to the next laugh weakens the shtick It’s a …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42AM
Wednesday, August 24, 2022

A love rat, a shelf-stacker and a Fleabag spoof: Edinburgh comedy awards shortlist announced by Brian Logan

From Liz Kingsman’s ‘messy woman’ send-up to Seann Walsh’s memories of his off-screen Strictly kiss, the nine-strong shortlist is a triumph for diversity though not without glaring o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:03PM

Blues, Jews and Ukrainian ballet: the best theatre, dance and comedy of autumn 2022 by Arifa Akbar, Lyndsey Winship and Brian Logan

Samira Wiley makes her UK stage debut, there’s an urgent counter to antisemitism, plus a fourth King James, refugee dancers and comedic returns Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:33AM
Monday, August 22, 2022

‘Am I going to get shot?’ Comedy’s wild pranksters on their most daring stunts by Brian Logan

They are the shock troops of comedy, pranksters who risk arrest and worse to ridicule the powerful. As two acclaimed practitioners – including the man who threw Nazi golfballs at Trump –…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:48PM
Sunday, August 21, 2022

Sami Abu Wardeh review – a clown in character-comic’s clothing by Brian Logan

Underbelly, EdinburghOutlandish physical antics and a spontaneous stage presence keep Wardeh’s audience laughing as he clowns through a cast of oddball characters Clown is in vogue again, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:49PM

Colin Hoult review – a beloved character bids farewell by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghHoult hangs up the dress and luvvie cadences of his fringe-staple alter ego Anna Mann in a camp, silly yet surprisingly emotional show When a character comic bi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48PM
Saturday, August 20, 2022

Emily Wilson review – a portrait of the artist as an X Factor wannabe by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghWilson relives her tumultuous turn as a teenage talent show contestant armed with laughter and song, topped with a touching tribute to her plucky younger self �…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:33PM

Atsuko Okatsuka review – an artfully offbeat standup by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghOkatsuka’s slightly incapable, slightly on-edge persona is a fun time, whose yarn about an intruder frames material on marriage, mental illness and migration …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42PM
Friday, August 19, 2022

Thanyia Moore review – can a comedy show get by on laughs alone? by Brian Logan

Monkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghThe answer may seem obvious but the commanding comic’s fringe debut eschews any clear structure with mixed results Back in 2020, Thanyia Moore was planning h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:33AM

Anthony DeVito review – stand-up guy reflects on his mafioso dad by Brian Logan

The Mash House, EdinburghThe New Jersey comic mines his lineage for laughs in a pensive dispatch from cosa nostra America (or somewhere nearby) The “dead dad” show is a fringe comedy cli…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM

Ivo Graham review – bashful posh comic grows up with a skilful new show by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghMaturity has made the awkward standup more at ease with himself and lent heft and fruitful battle-scarring to his shtick It’s a feature of standup that comedy…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:54AM
Thursday, August 18, 2022

Sarah Sherman review – Saturday Night Live star’s queasy comedy hour by Brian Logan

Gilded Balloon, EdinburghSherman’s show, pitched between anti-comedy, performance art and body horror, leaves no doubt why she’s also known as Sarah Squirm Delightfully weird, says the p…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:24AM

Phil Wang review – an irresistible set of smart and silly jokes by Brian Logan

Assembly George Square, EdinburghPart observational, part autobiographical, The Real Hero in All This considers life from ever-surprising angles Sixteen years in Malaysia, 16 in the UK. Thi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:37AM
Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Maisie Adam review – an embarrassment of fun by Brian Logan

Gilded Balloon, EdinburghAdam has lots to say – about proposals, weddings, football and houseplants – and delivers it with puppyish pleasure There are worse qualities to bring to standup…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:03PM

Jayde Adams review – the comic on a mission to save modern man by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghFrom jokes about men’s waning dominance to a teary anecdote, this show runs through a range of emotions on a post-breakup journey Wanna feel weird? Try star-r…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:42AM
Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Finlay Christie review – TikToker’s vindication of Gen Z by Brian Logan

Gilded Balloon, EdinburghIn his debut fringe show OK Zoomer, the 22-year-old comic bounces between optimism and fatalism, delivering gags with a sly twinkle Gen Z’ers have every reason to …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54PM