All stories by Brian Logan on BroadwayStars

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Scared of standup? Making the leap from the safety of sketch comedy by Brian Logan

Katy Brand and Kieran Hodgson were intimidated at first by the idea of going it alone on stage. But plenty of comedians journey between sketch troupes and solo performance – taking refuge …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:00AM
Saturday, July 9, 2016

Mae Martin review – a standup's plea for deeper understanding by Brian Logan

The Invisible Dot, LondonThe Canadian comedian questions our rigid stereotypes of gender and sexuality, with the aid of some goofy anecdotes A review of Mae Martin’s first comedy gig, aged…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:21PM
Monday, July 4, 2016

Katy Brand: 'I was praying demons out of people at 15' by Brian Logan

The comedian relives her teenage years as a fervent evangelical Christian in her new show. As she prepares for the Edinburgh festival, she talks about preaching in shopping centres and comic…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:03AM
Friday, July 1, 2016

Rhys James review – standup with a superiority complex by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe 24-year-old comedian is charming and verbally virtuosic sending up his own white privilege, but can’t bring himself to be profound“Nothing bad has ever happened t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:31PM

Kieran Hodgson: Lance at Edinburgh festival review – five-star comedy show takes the yellow jersey by Brian Logan

Voodoo Rooms, EdinburghHodgson draws on youthful memories, the rise and fall of Lance Armstrong and northern characters for plentiful laughs and bittersweet sentimentJust do it, cyclist Lanc…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:03AM
Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Shock value: How Aamer Rahman's 'reverse racism' joke saved his career by Brian Logan

The Aussie comic on his YouTube hit, why teachers are using his video and how his 'police-related activity' means he won't be touring the US anytime soonLate last year, Aussie comic Aamer Ra…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:49PM
Friday, June 24, 2016

Standup is an unpretentious art but too often it's anti-intellectual too by Brian Logan

Comedians tend to apologise for making any highbrow references in their material. I wish more felt at ease quoting poetry like Liam WilliamsI’ve been listening to Liam Williams’s recent …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:14AM
Thursday, June 23, 2016

Daniel Kitson: the Salinger of standup by Brian Logan

Daniel Kitson doesn't do tours, interviews, TV or DVDs. So how did a reclusive enigma become the most sought after standup of his generation? As the comic prepares to appear at Edinburgh, Br…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:14AM
Tuesday, June 21, 2016

David Cross: Making America Great Again! review – obnoxious, cynical gags by Brian Logan

The Forum, LondonThe Arrested Development star is undoubtedly an adept comic but his political show lacks complexity and suffers from punchlines that strain to shockTrump is bad news, US gun…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:49AM
Thursday, June 16, 2016

Sarah Millican review – a saucy postcard from smutty country by Brian Logan

Brighton Dome The emphasis is relentlessly below the waist in a frank show ostensibly about the comedian embracing rural lifeDo we have a new genre of standup? Just as Michael McIntyre did l…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AM
Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Ron Funches review – Undateable TV star brings good cheer and fart gags by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe tittering US comedian finds his own jokes hilarious in a show that offers flashes of steel beneath the surface jollityAmerican comedians aren’t used to performing f…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:14AM
Friday, June 10, 2016

Edinburgh festival 2016: comedy shows that should deliver by Brian Logan

The fringe lineup is out: try Robert Newman’s Brain Show, Josie Long’s investigations and Michelle Wolf, one of Chris Rock’s Oscars speechwritersSummer begins! Or at least that’s how…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:01AM
Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Todd Barry: the super-dry standup who swapped gags for banter by Brian Logan

He was Flight of the Conchords’ bongo soloist and guest-starred with Louis CK and Garry Shandling. Now, Todd Barry has ditched his own comedy routines for a show devoted to off-the-cuff cr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:09AM
Saturday, June 4, 2016

Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle roars back with more deceptive deadpanning by Brian Logan

Lee’s peevish reaction to being pipped to a Bafta unravels into a rant about James Corden in another set of brilliant routines that force us to puzzle out whether this self-pitying shtick …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:55PM
Tuesday, May 31, 2016

The Boy With Tape on His Face: Actions speak louder than words by Brian Logan

After years of shouting, comedian Sam Wills covered his mouth with duct tape and devised a new show. But he won't be on Mock the WeekA complaint often levelled at 21st-century standup is tha…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:39PM
Friday, May 27, 2016

Chris Morris: the comeback starts here by Brian Logan

After a rare stage appearance at Stewart Lee's recent standup gig, the Brass Eye comedian is returning to TV. Now, more than ever, we need a satirist with his fearlessnessBrendon Burns wrote…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:55PM
Monday, May 23, 2016

Derren Brown: Miracle review – a playful, perplexing night of Derren-do by Brian Logan

Palace theatre, LondonThe nation’s favourite mentalist explores faith healing in a show that leaves sceptics’ and believers’ minds jitterbuggingDerren Brown doesn’t have a good word …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:52PM
Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Ricky Gervais is returning to standup and David Brent – we should celebrate by Brian Logan

The star of The Office has turned plenty of people off with his boorish public image, and even more with his non-PC standup. But his best-loved character still has much to offerSo Ricky Gerv…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM
Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Sara Pascoe: ‘There are certain things I’ve done that are just horrible’ by Brian Logan

The outspoken standup talks about teenage bad behaviour, panel shows and the ‘stubborn’ iPhone pest who inspired her Manchester international festival showThe seeds of Sara Pascoe’s Ma…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:44AM

Sara Pascoe: Animal review – God, pubes and glow worms in a fun, fresh show by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonPascoe makes for charming company with a dose of self-deprecating skits on body image, being good and 21st-century sexYou’d think from the title of Sara Pascoe’s new …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:39AM
Thursday, May 12, 2016

It took a comedian to call Bill Cosby to account by Brian Logan

The rape allegations against Cosby didn’t stick until Hannibal Buress made the accusation on stage. Sometimes comedians are able to say what others can’tJudging by the story of the Natio…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:13PM
Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Paul Chowdhry review – tawdry gags about Gypsies, gay people and the French by Brian Logan

Beck theatre, HayesThe standup’s PC’s World seldom strays from xenophobia in a show full of poor jokes and weak puns• Never mind the broadcasts: TV doesn’t make or break a standupPau…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:11PM

Wanted: more jokes about an Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman by Brian Logan

When it comes to Britishness, comedy doesn’t tend to get further than Michael McIntyre’s benign observations. As the EU referendum approaches, comedians should be digging deeperIn 2000, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:52AM
Friday, May 6, 2016

An Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman walk into a bar – to discussing national identity by Brian Logan

When it comes to Britishness, comedy doesn’t tend to get further than Michael McIntyre’s benign observations. As the EU referendum approaches, comedians should be digging deeperIn 2000, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM
Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Fun factory: the finest comedy of summer 2016 by Brian Logan

Bridget Christie grapples with a Motörhead vibrator, David Baddiel tackles dementia, Todd Barry busts boredom – and Mr Swallow re-creates Houdini’s daftest escapeSummer culture: Theatre…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:26AM
Tuesday, April 26, 2016

We Will Rock You, Dominion Theatre, London by Brian Logan

Dominion Theatre, LondonThe much trumpeted Queen musical has arrived, and it would be hard to imagine a less appropriate vehicle for the band's music - far less for the anti-corporate mes sa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:05AM
Thursday, April 21, 2016

Joke in a box: comedy is funniest when it's set free by Brian Logan

Italian company TIDA have made one of the shows of the year with Quintetto. It’s not billed as comedy: has that made it more humorous?I went to see the Best of BE festival showcase at the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:26AM
Friday, April 15, 2016

Paul Zerdin review – stale standup for dummies by Brian Logan

Udderbelly, LondonThe British ventriloquist and America’s Got Talent winner is a virtuosic voice-thrower but his material isn’t up to the same standardVentriloquist Paul Zerdin was a mod…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:55AM
Thursday, April 14, 2016

Ricky Gervais is returning to standup and David Brent – we should celebrate by Brian Logan

The star of The Office has turned plenty of people off with his boorish public image, and even more with his non-PC standup. But his best-loved character still has much to offerSo Ricky Gerv…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24AM
Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Jonny & the Baptists review – spirited environmental rallying cry by Brian Logan

Orange Tree, RichmondInspired by a promise about climate change to a four-year-old girl, Jonny & the Baptists add some moral ballast to their usual gags and gigglesome wordplayA previous…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:02AM
Thursday, March 31, 2016

Laughing stock: Jimmy Carr outed, comedy's top 100, Brand new Russell Kane by Brian Logan

Accusations of tax avoidance, the most influential people in comedy, Russells, and Alastair and Armando square upThe 8 Out of 10 Cats host, Jimmy Carr, finds himself strewn across the newspa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:30PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic