All stories by Brian Logan on BroadwayStars

Monday, December 11, 2017

Ongals: meet the Korean clown babies baffling audiences of all ages by Brian Logan

Mixing circus skills with finely honed comedy and bum jokes, these juggling, beatboxing man-toddlers are joyous – and more than a little menacingMy three-year-old son, Gregor, thinks farti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:33AM
Wednesday, December 6, 2017

The Beakington Town Hall Meetings review – Adam Riches' tortoise tombola laughathon by Brian Logan

Battersea Arts Centre, London The winningly weird comic tasks his audience with solving an animal massacre mystery in an evening that spins a good story from endless fun nonsenseThere’s be…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12AM
Saturday, December 2, 2017

Christie, Kitson and an unholy cabaret: the best comedy shows this Christmas by Brian Logan

Bridget Christie promises a night of hope and despair, Daniel Kitson serves up a heartwarmer and Lucy McCormick delivers a trash take on the New Testament. Here are the funniest festive gigs…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:12AM
Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Margaret Cho review – a scorching, full-frontal comedy carnival by Brian Logan

Comedy Box, Bristol After spending a year in rehab, Cho returns to the mic and tackles Weinstein and Trump, leaving prudery and inhibition in her wakeSince her last UK visit, Korean-American…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM
Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Marcus Brigstocke review – his eating-disorder material is fascinating and unexpected by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonBrigstocke's confessional standup gives this show its edge: he should lose the standard comedy shtick that surrounds itThis show, says Marcus Brigstocke, is about "stupid…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12AM
Saturday, November 25, 2017

Lena Dunham lashes out against porn by Brian Logan

The Girls creator hits back at a porn parody of her comedy show, Doug Stanhope wades into the Oklahoma God debate, and Dutch TV is slammed for satirising the Woolwich murderIn a week when Je…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:24PM
Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Ronny Chieng review – Daily Show comic's slick set is derailed by a heckle by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe standup and International Student sitcom star delivers jaunty routines about US life but the show suffers when he reacts to a heckler“I have a tone problem,” reck…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AM
Sunday, November 19, 2017

Sarah Silverman fans make mincemeat of Variety scribe by Brian Logan

TV writer Brian Lowry in hot water, Reginald Hunter says being called misogynist is 'rude' and Omid Djalili tries to crack America – againAn august organ makes a fool of itself this week, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:04PM
Friday, November 17, 2017

We Are Klang | Comedy review by Brian Logan

Bloomsbury Theatre, LondonA man being teased about his small penis. Jokes about the disabled. A song asking what it's like to be a Jew. And this is just the first scene of last night's gig b…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:36AM

Greg Davies review – supremely silly standup shouts the unsayable by Brian Logan

Hammersmith Apollo, LondonIn an exuberant new show, Davies scrutinises his own ridiculousness and goes from outre stories about his mum to a musical tribute to his dadGreg Davies has got a t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:36AM
Thursday, November 16, 2017

Comedy review: Sarah Silverman / Hammersmith Apollo, London by Brian Logan

Hammersmith Apollo, London"I'm very, very famous in America," Sarah Silverman tells us. With this debut UK gig, alongside her Friday-night turn on Jonathan Ross and the DVD release of her fi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24PM
Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Are you gruesome tonight? The comedy hit splicing Evil Dead 2 and Elvis songs by Brian Logan

In Sam Raimi’s horror classic, a man is tormented by demons and his own severed hand. All the story needed was a few tunes by the king of rock’n’roll, says Rob KempBy day, he was a mil…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM
Sunday, November 12, 2017

Kathy Griffin review – Trump's nemesis laughs away the pain of persecution by Brian Logan

London Palladium The standup leans too heavily on showbiz mudslinging here, but the remarkable story of the fallout from her severed-head stunt is uplifting comedy catharsis American comic K…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM
Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Don't wait for the punchline: Jordan Brookes and comedy's rule breakers by Brian Logan

Shows that delight in flouting conventions, like Brookes’s Body of Work, make us question our expectations of standup – including whether it should all be funnyAn offstage voice announce…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM
Monday, November 6, 2017

Katherine Ryan review – a comic in supreme command of her shtick by Brian Logan

Churchill theatre, BromleyRyan delivers plenty of astringent one-liners in a tart set that ranges from single parenthood to Khloé Kardashian’s ‘revenge body’ and the musical HamiltonT…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:18PM
Thursday, November 2, 2017

Lefty Scum: Josie Long and the protest jokers serenading the Labour faithful by Brian Logan

Can funny songs change the world? Jonny & the Baptists and Grace Petrie join Josie Long for a spirited night of comedy that imagines nationalising the Queen’s swans and banning Daily M…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PM
Wednesday, November 1, 2017

A bleary agent of chaos: Tony Slattery returns to live impro by Brian Logan

The charismatic Whose Line Is It Anyway? star is a blithely uninhibited lord of misrule at a new improvisation night in London On the way to Slattery Night Fever, the new weekend impro night…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AM
Friday, October 27, 2017

Frank Skinner doesn't stand up for Benefits Street by Brian Logan

The Brummie comic fails to see the funny side of the Channel 4 TV series. Plus, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David go for theatrical gold and a planned Richard Pryor biopic moves a step closerOn…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:04AM

Frank Skinner's impro odyssey: should we expect more for a fiver? by Brian Logan

The master comedian’s off-the-cuff routine gets more laughs than most scripted standup. But he’s hardly breaking sweat. Will Skinner ever pull out all the stops?Is Frank Skinner a restle…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AM
Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Nathan Caton review – a cosy cruise down the middle of the road by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, London The charmingly self-mocking standup is not short of decent gags but appears almost devoid of strong opinions. He may not offend but he certainly exasperatesWhat do you w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM
Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Flight of the Conchords, Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh by Brian Logan

Gilded Balloon, EdinburghLast year's from-nowhere smash, this Kiwi duo has accrued a cult following that seems to include every other comedian on the fringe. You can see why: their show, Hig…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54AM

Rhys Darby review – Flight of the Conchords star's psychedelic standup by Brian Logan

Shepherd's Bush Empire, LondonDarby's loser act keeps him and us smiling, but some trimming of his silly storytelling would make this show a winnerOnly a comedian would wear jeans like these…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AM
Monday, October 23, 2017

Eddie Izzard – review by Brian Logan

Brighton CentreEddie Izzard is on the UK leg of what's been billed as the biggest ever world standup tour, and the man himself is telling interviewers: "The key thing is making your stu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12PM
Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Facebook feud: fan accuses Reginald D Hunter of 'misogyny and violence' by Brian Logan

Hunter's followers retaliate with death threats. Plus: Russell Brand is 'double double against genocide', Jon Stewart lashes out at media and John Cleese hates today's comedyA masterclass in…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42PM

Ivo Graham: Educated Guess review – Eton schooldays and leftie laughs by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThere’s plenty to admire in Graham’s new show, including a teenage appearance on The Weakest Link and a fresh-minted routine about the £1 coin‘Push the envelope, b…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM
Monday, October 16, 2017

Farewell to Sean Hughes, sparky comedy gadfly in a league of his own by Brian Logan

From the bumbling misadventures of Sean’s Show to the jaunty misanthropy of his later standup material, Hughes – who has died aged 51 – was a master of telling messy truths There were …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM

Sean Hughes | Comedy review by Brian Logan

The Capitol, Horsham"I'm not saying I'm perfect," says Sean Hughes, as he mocks all the things the rest of us do wrong. But part of Hughes's charm is that he does claim to be, if not perfect…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AM

Tim Key review – spilt lager, Poohsticks and an agonising quest for romance by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonHis first standup set in three years works a treat as Key paints a slyly humorous and heavily ironic portrait of midlife disappointmentIt feels both apt and unlikely that…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18AM
Sunday, October 15, 2017

Comedy review: Horne and Corden / Royal Albert Hall, London by Brian Logan

Royal Albert Hall, LondonTheir current BBC3 sketch show has been drubbed by the critics - and there's no improvement on that programme's lobotomised humour at this live outing, a headline pe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42PM
Monday, September 25, 2017

Scream with laughter: can comedy ever be scary? by Brian Logan

Standup Nick Coyle’s new show Queen of Wolves takes a Victorian governess on a terrifying journey – and proves how humour and horror work in similar waysThe buzz around Australian standu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:33AM
Sunday, September 24, 2017

Simon Amstell review – perky, pained, anxious, ironic, wise – and funny by Brian Logan

Leicester Square theatre, LondonFrom his long process, after coming out, of self-acceptance to his newfound romantic happiness, this is classic, neurotic, angst-ridden Amstell If there were …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AM