All stories by Brian Logan on BroadwayStars

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Laughing gear: the best live comedy to start 2017 by Brian Logan

Hilarity to come this year includes Bridget Christie battering Brexit, Sue Perkins' post-Bake Off trip to Leicester comedy festival and a breathtaking bout of escapologyUnmissable Theatre | …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:18AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 6, 2017

Shappi Khorsandi review " perky gags about porn and prejudice by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe Anglo-Iranian comedian ranges entertainingly from racism to combative encounters at the school gateIt's not easy being a single mum on a council estate, but it's a gi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Laugh? I nearly died: how an aneurysm led Scott Gibson to standup by Brian Logan

After undergoing brain surgery, call-centre worker Scott Gibson quit his job to have a crack at comedy " and ended up storming EdinburghEight years ago, while returning home from a stag do i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:36PM[SHARE]

Move over Mrs Brown: comedians prefer Alan Partridge and Fawlty Towers by Brian Logan

Gold TV has polled the professionals about their favourite comedy. But even the funniest of the funny can't easily be reduced to scenes and one-linersSurveys of Britain's favourite comedy " …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AM[SHARE]
Monday, January 2, 2017

Liam Williams five-star review " a shatteringly funny set: Edinburgh festival 2014 by Brian Logan

Laughing Horse @ the Cellar Monkey, EdinburghThe Yorkshire standup's free show Capitalism is an extraordinary cri de coeur about the shallowness of modern life' Liam Williams: 'I've had nerv…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:24AM[SHARE]
Friday, December 30, 2016

Capital panto: Ricky Whittington surveys modern London's malaises by Brian Logan

A crack cast of millennial comics deliver social satire amid the poo jokes and spoof songs in an alt-panto created by Liam Williams and Daran JohnsonThe "all-age family entertainment" of pan…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:04AM[SHARE]

Beyoncé to Black Mirror; the culture that defines 2016 by Archie Bland, Michael Billington, Peter Bradshaw, Daphne A Brooks, Tom Holland, Jonathan Jones, Justine Jordan, Brian Logan, Sean O'Hagan and Simon Parkin

How better to make sense of this turbulent year than through the art and literature it has produced? Our critics choose the works that sum up the last 12 monthsIf there is one film that hold…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 18, 2016

Comedy review: Victoria Wood by Brian Logan

Royal Albert Hall, LondonRating: ** More reviews"Well, you did it," says Victoria Wood to her crowd. "You got out of the house." This is a performer who knows her audience. Her 10-show resid…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 16, 2016

An American original: comic Barry Crimmins is as radical as ever by Brian Logan

For more than 40 years, Barry Crimmins has honed his political skewering of the American dream to a fine artFrustratingly, I missed veteran US standup Barry Crimmins when he performed his de…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Jerry Seinfeld's Clio acceptance speech is a standup routine for our times by Brian Logan

Seinfeld's rant about advertising is an astonishing feat of comedy and raises an important question " whither satire when its targets laugh so hard?Usually when I see a comedian fronting an …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12PM[SHARE]

Brian Logan's top 10 comedy of 2016 by Brian Logan

Mr Swallow camped it up as Houdini, Isy Suttie looked for Mr Right, while Brexit brought out the angry best in Bridget Christie and Stewart Lee. Our critic picks the year's best comedy' More…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12AM[SHARE]
Friday, December 9, 2016

A John Kearns Christmas review " festive toast to mundane merriment by Brian Logan

Battersea Arts Centre, LondonComedian Kearns celebrates the pain and joy of a family Christmas with wit, whimsy and wistful silencesHow do you sustain a loser persona after winning the most …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 8, 2016

Michael McIntyre " review by Brian Logan

O2, LondonIn the opening sequence of Michael McIntyre's new show, a video portrays him as some sort of machine: a standup Terminator, assembled backstage by hi-tech gadgetry. It's a revealin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48PM[SHARE]

Taking the mickey out of Michael McIntyre by Brian Logan

As another standup is exposed for his seriousness about getting rich, over in the US Louis CK kicks out the middlemanYou'll have been forgiven this week for not noticing anything else happen…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:36PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Nick Cody review " tales of a globetrotting standup by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, London The Australian comic's stories and mickey-takes spin along well, but there's a stale cynicism to the material"Modish crap" was Michael Gove's verdict on Turner prize-win…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM[SHARE]
Monday, December 5, 2016

John Kearns " review by Brian Logan

Soho theatreKearns's comic armoury of distracted pauses, eccentric antics and daydreamer philosophy starts brilliantly before tailing off"Imagine I couldn't do this," ruminates John Kearns a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PM[SHARE]

Jewish humour ain't what it used to be by Brian Logan

The UK Jewish Comedy festival's salute to the Borscht Belt comedy of Woody Allen and Joan Rivers is poised awkwardly between tribute and parodyYou could argue that standup was born in the Ca…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PM[SHARE]

Just like hat! Why Tommy Cooper's fez was much more than a prop by Brian Logan

Four months after opening its archive about the comedy great without including his famous bonnet, the V&A has added one to its collectionWhen the V&A launched its Tommy Cooper archiv…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 4, 2016

Lee Evans review " when he starts talking he stops being funny by Brian Logan

O2 Arena, LondonThe physical foolery is fine, but some of Evans' jokes are not very nice at allLee Evans is one of the great clowns of the age, but on his new arena tour, Monsters, the slap …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:02PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 2, 2016

Dead funny: what comedy brings to the experience of grief by Brian Logan

In her podcast, Cariad Lloyd talks to other comics about death, a subject that standups rarely deal with directly on stageUntil this year's Edinburgh fringe, where comedians grappled on stag…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:18AM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 1, 2016

Amanda Holden reveals sexual assault by 'famous comedian' by Brian Logan

The Britain's Got Talent judge says she was attacked by an unnamed comic, 21st-century comics grapple with homosexuality, and David Brent realises his rock-god dreamsNot much to laugh about …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:24PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Adrienne Truscott at Edinburgh festival review " a sparky yet shaky performance by Brian Logan

Gilded Balloon, EdinburghTruscott has some funny, transgressive material but technical glitches and a lack of polish disrupt the flow of this setNot many acts enter fringe legend with their …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54PM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 26, 2016

Jack Whitehall: standing up for Cameron's Britain by Brian Logan

In Whitehall's routines, poshness is a depoliticised quirk, like being tall. You can only laugh at his jokes if you think disadvantage isn't worth getting upset about' Jack Whitehall intervi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 24, 2016

Jinkx Monsoon and Major Scales review " racy drag just in time for Christmas by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, London'America's Next Drag Superstar' presents Unwrapped, a tinsel-fringed riot of inappropriate Santa gags, Miley Cyrus covers and jaundiced humourJinkx Monsoon, the 2013 winn…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 20, 2016

Zoe Lyons review " diverting riffs on outsider life by Brian Logan

Leicester Square theatre, London The comedian's Little Misfit show takes aim at tribalism, social awkwardness and British reserve, though her potent wit should land more blowsBy Zoe Lyons's …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 17, 2016

Stewart Lee review " Brexit, Trump and a history of bondage by Brian Logan

Leicester Square theatre, LondonPolitical cataclysms jostle with gags about kinky sex and selfie culture in a characteristically twisty and frequently brilliant show from the 'ex-TV comic'Br…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03AM[SHARE]

Brian Logan: Can rock'n'roll save theatre's tainted brand? by Brian Logan

If you work in contemporary theatre, you spend half your life fretting about how to reach beyond its small, perfectly formed audience.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 16, 2016

NextUp: can it become the Netflix for British standup comedy? by Brian Logan

NextUp will stream live comedy sets for a low subscription fee. Standups are excited, and will share 50% of the income " but will the new service attract a big enough audience to succeed?Mif…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM[SHARE]
Monday, November 14, 2016

Catherine Tate review " droll superstar not bovvered by comeback pressure by Brian Logan

Hammersmith Apollo, LondonTate's talent and personality propel this thrilling live comedy comeback that is peppered with TV sketch-show oldies, creaking gags and committed daftnessRed faces …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:06AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 10, 2016

Mae Martin's candid bid to make sexuality 'one less thing kids worry about' by Brian Logan

The Canadian standup's Radio 4 show expertly splices comedy, opinion and enlightenment to explore millennial gender fluidity and sexWoman's Hour host Jenni Murray raised hackles the other we…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:02AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Tape Face review " whimsical party comedy from AGT alumnus by Brian Logan

Stables, Milton Keynes Fresh from a stint on America's Got Talent, Sam Wills delivers a captivating set of skits that bring the audience on stage and celebrate the improbableAmerica's Got T…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42AM[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