Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe Texan comedian delivers a playful show about a holiday from hell that tackles mental health and wokeness It is rare for an act to firmly establish themselve…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00AMPleasance Dome, EdinburghA show about unresolved masculinity combines elements of musical theatre with the experimental comic’s own ruminations on ego and oblivion If you were picking a co…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:00PMChildren’s author, YouTuber, ‘sausage bird’ designer … the comic who was born Derek Chickpeas (maybe) talks about cooking up his hilariously daft alter ego – and we pick some of hi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:06AMPleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh This tremendous solo debut finds the comic veering between stranger-than-fiction verisimilitude and hilarious gothic exaggeration ‘Childless cat ladies” ha…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:00PMPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghDowning Street’s chief of staff is imagined to be gossipy and gregarious in this wickedly silly show Sue Gray is one of the most recognisable names in the UK,…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:45AMMonkey Barrel, Edinburgh The BBC New Comedy award-winner resurrects a cadaver of an idea as a Rotherham working men’s club MC with a devilish twist Subterranean and claustrophobic, Monkey …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:01PMGilded Balloon at the Museum, EdinburghThe former SNP wunderkind brings her popular touch to the standup stage, pairing irreverent personal stories with a gasp-inducing exposé of Westminste…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:55AMThe comedian’s show Collaborator involves 160 audience members getting speaking parts – and Kitson has anticipated every possible question, anxiety or misstep What happens when an audien…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:02PMKyle Gass’s ill-judged Donald Trump assassination jibe has put Tenacious D on ice. Will he be for ever cancelled, or bounce back like Billy Connolly and Jo Brand? On the edge. Walking a ti…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:06AMTestosterone-soaked clowning show Furiozo: Man Looking for Trouble spikes fun with fear – but the hooligan’s knife-edge moments of vulnerability lead us somewhere different Clowning is a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PMSoho theatre, LondonLenoir’s mischievous charm is infectious, and she plays with skill on the heartstrings and funny bones Clowning may be silly, but it is seldom, these days, insubstantia…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48AMWe need to keep open offbeat DIY spaces that belong to artists and communities. Even if the odd performance sells zero tickets, they push theatre forward It feels like a lifetime ago. In 201…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:02AMThe American humorist delighted the Royal Festival Hall with characteristically disgruntled slices of life – including a brush with cancel culture In years to come, I can tell the grandkid…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PMThe cult heroes are back with their ‘best sketches ever’. After success with Ladhood, Stath Lets Flats and Parlement, are they still hoping for that elusive Sheeps TV series? Fifteen yea…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:02AMFrom performing in a bin to arm-wrestling rivals, the standup cut his teeth at a Nottingham pub’s chaotic Just the Tonic nights. As the thriving comedy club chain it grew into turns 30, he…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48PMCulden Faw Estate, Henley-on-ThamesThe Scottish clown and his pals have taken over in a family caper combining comedy, slapstick, dropped plates and acrobatic skills Tweedy’s MASSIVE Circu…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06AMA one-woman 90s romcom, boundary-testing standups and a new Taskmaster contestant make our comedy critic’s list of the fringe’s most promising tickets Olga Koch stepped into the big leag…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:32AMHackney Empire, London Well-spun jokes and great audience rapport elevate the comedian’s show above standard fall-guy fare, though slick management inhibits its spark How good can standup …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AMSoho theatre, London She’s a convivial host, but 70 minutes of shops chat, family home videos and the odd song about our comic’s love life may leave you eyeing the exit Many is the stan…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42AMComedians are increasingly leaning on audience interaction to sell their shows – and changing the nature of the shows themselves Crowd work. For some, it’s the fun bit when standups cru…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06PMHackney Empire, LondonThe east Londoner’s show majors in blunt putdowns of anything the ebullient standup finds to be up-itself or overrated “I’m doing alright for myself, gang!” Tha…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12PMSoho theatre, LondonHalf musical comedy, half party, Archie Henderson’s show ranges far and wide over the travails of his slinky singer vying for a knighthood It’s the Royal Variety Perf…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:36PMSoho theatre, LondonThe daffy duo follow up their westerns parody Cowboys with a silly but still oddly respectful musical-comedy about their grandads’ generation It’s quite the pivot goi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:02AMLeicester Square theatre, LondonThe Mash Report comedian’s material on middle age is sharp but it’s her political musical numbers that really hit home If life begins at 40, where does th…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AMSoho theatre, LondonThe comic traces a path from Arizona to Manhattan with a musical set that never quite lands The comedian as self-fascinated ego-monster is quite the pose these days. Kate…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AMApollo theatre, London John Cleese’s transposition of his TV sitcom to the theatre has pitch perfect performances, but it never quite becomes a play What should we hope for when TV hits of…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:54PMCutting the Tightrope: The Divorce of Politics from Art, at the Arcola in London, tackles freedom of expression – with particular focus on Gaza Arts Council England unleashed fury in Febru…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:02AMCliffs Pavilion, SouthendNow free of cancer, Gilbert looks back on his illness with a characteristic mixture of emotional candour and uproarious humour A standup show about cancer? It’s a …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:48AMMarylebone theatre, LondonKiell Smith-Bynoe and Martha Howe-Douglas ably embody Gogol’s schemers, but this show doesn’t hit any 21st-century targets You can see why, in 2024, one might r…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AMThe 1975 tour documentary Big Banana Feet captures a comic growing into his extraordinary talents – and adjusting to unprecedented fame In an age where our every selfie, photogenic breakfa…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:54AMColchester Arts CentreThe comedian’s rightwing alter egos have not yet evolved beyond the two-dimensional in this droll but conventional set It’s lovely to be here in Colchester, says Ro…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM
