All stories by Brian Logan on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

John Robins review " painfully funny account of breaking up with Sara Pascoe by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe standup provides near-constant laughs in a startlingly honest, high-powered show that spares no one " least of all himselfCan things get any worse for John …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM[SHARE]

An Indiana Jones spoof and the destruction of Palmyra " the best shows at the 2017 fringe by Lyn Gardner and Brian Logan

Six of the best from Edinburgh including Mat Ewins' barrage of one-liners, a German teacher placement at a secondary school and a transgender journey Pleasance Courtyard Building on the succ…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM[SHARE]
Monday, August 14, 2017

Mark Thomas review " comic gambles on his audience in a lively show by Brian Logan

Summerhall, Edinburgh The political comic mixes debate about Britain's future with confessional memoir in an odd hybrid that solicits contributions from the crowdMark Thomas has called this …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:04PM[SHARE]

Rowdy, rude and darkly funny: Scottish standups at the Edinburgh festival by Brian Logan

Scott Gibson returns to the fringe after winning the best newcomer award in 2016. Can Scotland's comedians triumph again this time?Fringe history was made last year when, for the first time,…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM[SHARE]

Gein's Family Giftshop review " purist sketch group's most memorable show yet by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe trio play depressed, maladroit losers with absolutely straight faces, and give an object lesson in offbeat humourMaking a virtue out of necessity, I'd call …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18AM[SHARE]
Sunday, August 13, 2017

Alex Salmond ... Unleashed review: music and chat but no juicy gossip by Brian Logan

Assembly Rooms, EdinburghThe former first minister of Scotland and ex-MP has been promising a political kiss and tell, but he fails to deliver the goodsWhen the former first minister of Scot…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:04PM[SHARE]

Mat Ewins review " declaration of independence from seriousness by Brian Logan

Heroes @ The Hive, EdinburghRunning against the prevailing trend for sincerity in comedy, Mat Ewins' Indiana Jones-inspired show is a paean to daftness, fabrication and windups, with a terri…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:33AM[SHARE]

Steen Raskopoulos review " fruitful but uneasy audience participation by Brian Logan

Underbelly Cowgate, EdinburghNot every audience member press-ganged into taking part in the Australian's sketches has the confidence to keep up with a stellar performerTricky business, this …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:04AM[SHARE]
Friday, August 11, 2017

Kiri Pritchard-McLean review " pacey, lean, precision-tooled set from increasingly impressive comic by Brian Logan

Pleasance CourtyardPritchard-McLean's debut about sexism was good. Her new show, Appropriate Adult, which touches on millennial angst and her volunteer work, is even betterEven at a festival…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 10, 2017

Dave Johns review " heartwarming tale of late-in-life change from I, Daniel Blake star by Brian Logan

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghJohns was ready to quit standup until Ken Loach came calling. His fringe return is full of humility and unpretentious good humourCinderella can't touch this. Two yea…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:48PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Edinburgh festival 2017: the shows we recommend by Lyn Gardner and Brian Logan

Plan your viewing with our list of top shows, ordered by start time. This page will be updated throughout the festival Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:36AM[SHARE]

Aditi Mittal review " sharp reality checks amid Bollywood and Kama Sutra gags by Brian Logan

Underbelly Med Quad, EdinburghThe standup is strongest when she eviscerates cultural cliches in this nervy but promising fringe debutAditi Mittal's recent Radio 4 show was called A Beginner'…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Frankie Boyle | Comedy review by Brian Logan

Guildhall, Portsmouth"The most excruciating moment of my career," Frankie Boyle is said to have called it. But if he's embarrassed by his confrontation with a woman upset by his jokes about …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PM[SHARE]

Frankie Boyle review " the dark lord of comedy hits his meanest streak by Brian Logan

EICC, EdinburghThe cackling peddler of brutal jokes about the most sensitive subjects is not for the faint-hearted, but his new standup show is relentlessly funnyIf you thought Frankie Boyle…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM[SHARE]

Jayde Adams review " she raps, she cries, she raises the roof by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh The outrageous standup turns a story of lifelong loneliness into an irresistible hymn to self-realisationElsewhere at the Edinburgh fringe, Rose Matafeo uses r…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48AM[SHARE]
Monday, August 7, 2017

Alexei Sayle review " still angry after all these years by Brian Logan

Underbelly Med Quad, Edinburgh The standup aims his moral disgust at targets including the Queen, Dominic Sandbrook and Jack Whitehall, in a hilariously mean but erudite setWatching late-per…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AM[SHARE]
Sunday, August 6, 2017

Rose Matafeo: Sassy Best Friend review " fun-filled satire on romcoms by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe comedian keeps things upbeat as she lightly interrogates Hollywood cliche and the role models on offer to young womenRose Matafeo has watched a lot of romco…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12PM[SHARE]

Joseph Morpurgo: Hammerhead review " uproariously funny Q&A spoof by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Morpurgo's ludicrous satire on the post-show chat is so full of invention you could watch it twice and not stop laughingJoseph Morpurgo made a name for himself…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM[SHARE]
Saturday, August 5, 2017

Sara Pascoe: LadsLadsLads review " breakup tales from a woman reborn by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe whipsmart standup overthinks, overshares and delivers a winningly funny show that finds the humour in heartbreakCall it reinvention, or call it back to basi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48AM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 3, 2017

Comic Rose Matafeo: 'I definitely probably have a moderate amount of talent' by Brian Logan

Since first picking up the mic at 15, the standup has tap-danced, done Aerosmith karaoke and starred in her own TV show. So why does she want to disappear offstage?Was there ever a greater d…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Sam Simmons review " sublime oddity from aggressively silly standup by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonBy his own standards, the 2015 Edinburgh Comedy award-winner plays it relatively straight in his new show " but there are satisfyingly daft moments'There are pockets of j…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 20, 2017

Should Dapper Laughs be forgiven? by Brian Logan

The lad's comic Daniel O'Reilly killed his on-stage persona after a sexism storm last year. But Dapper Laughs says he's changed. So can he prove he's a feminist " or even funny?Dapper Laughs…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12PM[SHARE]
Sunday, July 16, 2017

Pam Ann review " 'Comedy of casual smut and insult' by Brian Logan

Leicester Square theatreHer misanthropic nymphomaniac shtick may be purposefully provocative, but Pam Ann's lewd talk, Asian accents and airline industry stereotypes make for deadening humou…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:33PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 14, 2017

Can Daphne and The Pin save Radio 4 comedy? by Brian Logan

One act offers Badults-style sketches, the other does mindbending meta-gags. Both bring new shows to a station that specialises in self-satisfied comedyThe Pin and Daphne were part of a wave…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 13, 2017

Daniel Kitson review " warts-and-all comedy is crammed with gags by Brian Logan

Roundhouse, LondonKitson's observations on everything from rough sleeping to sheep farming are beautifully crafted in a set that " with some polish " should be extraordinaryAfter a string of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM[SHARE]
Friday, July 7, 2017

Penn and Teller review " these old dogs need some new tricks by Brian Logan

Hammersmith Apollo, London There's too much talk and too few new tricks amid the fire-breathing, bottle-juggling virtuosity' That's not magic: Penn, Teller and Derren Brown reveal all (or do…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 6, 2017

Mrs Brown's Boys live? They'll need more than malaprops and mincing to thrill an entire arena by Brian Logan

Good Mourning Mrs Brown, the cross-dressing hit's live show, is so full of horseplay, guffaws and in-jokes, I started to feel like a gooseberryOne surefire way to elicit sympathy from your c…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 29, 2017

Alfie Brown " Edinburgh review by Brian Logan

UnderbellyAlfie Brown is opening himself up to ridicule " more even than the comedian's usual share. The 25-year-old has set himself up as a passionate critic of our cultural life, and of th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:36PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Penn & Teller's smug shtick and Sadowitz's twisted tricks: magicians conjuring with comedy by Brian Logan

The American duo's slick act shimmers with Vegas-style glitz, while the Scottish standup's sleight of hand is as flabbergasting as his vicious jokes The classic magician image, we are told i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AM[SHARE]
Monday, June 26, 2017

Steven Wright, master of meh: 'This is just how I talk. It accidentally went well with the jokes' by Brian Logan

The big-haired, sleepy-eyed standup is an Oscar-winner, one of America's best-loved comedians and 'a car that has no gears'. Now, his deadpan style has won him a perfect role in The Emoji Mo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:42AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 22, 2017

Deconstructing Jimmy Carr is no joke by Brian Logan

When critics analyse a standup routine it's considered pedantic and joyless " what's wrong with being serious about comedy?Theatre critics are seldom called pedants for analysing how a stage…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:33AM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off