All stories by Brian Logan on BroadwayStars

Friday, December 18, 2015

Margaret Cho review – sex-positive comedy with knobs on by Brian Logan

Leicester Square theatre, LondonCho gleefully goads the demure with an in-yer-face set that, amid the name-dropping and self-promotion, has some almost fabulous momentsIf you noticed US come…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:36AM
Thursday, December 17, 2015

Sara Pascoe's Christmas Assembly review – a fun school nativity mashup by Brian Logan

Battersea Arts Centre, LondonGanesh, Odin and Princess Diana substitute for the three wise men in Pascoe’s endearingly silly, variety-pack Christmas playThe bar was set high last year for …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:10AM
Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Brian Logan's top 10 comedy of 2015 by Brian Logan

Bridget Christie was belligerent, Doug Stanhope was savage, and Nish Kumar was reborn a rightwinger. But a touching show about Lance Armstrong wins our critic’s best comedy of 2015• More…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:22AM
Sunday, December 13, 2015

Sofie Hagen review – digging deep with a very light touch by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe Edinburgh best newcomer award-winner explores her own teen Westlife obsession and self-harming in this compelling, beautifully constructed setIn the future, maybe eve…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:27AM
Friday, December 11, 2015

Bill Bailey review – back to his blithe best by Brian Logan

Vaudeville theatre, LondonFrom riffs on Labour’s ‘experimental’ period to a German-language heavy-metal Waterloo, Bailey’s ticklish joy in the trivial delights a warm crowdBill Baile…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:39AM
Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Ricky Gervais back as David Brent, while Derek passes the taste test by Brian Logan

Plus, Joan Rivers defiant on Holocaust 'joke' – and in hot water over Adele weight wisecrackTen years after his final appearance on British TV, Ricky Gervais's best-loved and, let's face i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:39PM
Monday, December 7, 2015

Five of the best comedy gigs for Christmas 2015 by Brian Logan

Sara Pascoe, Margaret Cho, Brian Cox and Kevin Bridges are among those promising better laughs than you’ll get from your Christmas crackersThe leftfield comedy club Weirdos stages the four…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:58AM
Monday, November 30, 2015

Nath Valvo's Grindr: A Love Story? review – slap-and-tickle comedy by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonPart idiot’s guide to the sex app, part confessional standup, this show blends gaudy anecdotes and Valvo’s relatable awkwardness into a night of easy humourGrindr –…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:28AM
Friday, November 27, 2015

Politicians and comedy: a rather funny business by Brian Logan

Donald Trump tried to be witty on Saturday Night Live, Barack Obama has honed his own standup style and Boris Johnson continues to play the clown. But are politicos’ attempts at humour amu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:05PM
Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Hal Cruttenden review – mocks the weak with brio by Brian Logan

Leicester Square theatre, London The TV regular has constructed a plausible world full of self-absorbed, middle-class misanthropy, with occasional strikes against conformity“I think I have…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:58AM
Monday, November 23, 2015

Reformed character: 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?Dap…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06PM
Thursday, November 19, 2015

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 08:03AM
Friday, November 13, 2015

Comedy is starting its own nostalgia industry – for better and worse by Brian Logan

Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse are touring their 90s characters around the UK, and trying to update them for the era of #piggate. But can they ever really work when comedy relies on the h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:36AM

Dawn French review – comic opens her heart in poignant solo show by Brian Logan

Vaudeville, LondonFrench draws on memories of her beloved father and her relationship with her body to tackle the biggest subject of all: how do you be a person?Dawn French has been alive 30…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:20AM
Monday, November 9, 2015

Olivia Williams: 'I've never been cast as a silly little woman before' by Brian Logan

Banned in 1907, but still sharply topical, a new production of Harley Granville Barker’s play Waste is opening at the National Theatre. Its star talks sex, idealism and backstage briefings…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48PM
Sunday, November 8, 2015

Sarah Franken review – smart, scabrous satire, if not jolly by Brian Logan

Museum of Comedy, LondonIn this luridly populated show – her first after becoming a trans woman – Franken gives an intermittently persuasive vision of a culture in meltdownIf you’ve co…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:46AM
Thursday, November 5, 2015

Alfie Brown review – a standup set of sly charm and self-doubt by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonBrown gives us a show of two halves, with endearing routines about early fatherhood leading to social commentaryWhat a change in Alfie Brown! Three years ago, he announce…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:09AM
Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Stealing Bill Cosby's jokes: a standup's act of revenge or redemption? by Brian Logan

Ellen DeGeneres writer Greg Fitzsimmons is using Cosby’s material in his own routines. It’s unclear if the aim is to punish the performer or just celebrate good jokes Given the allegatio…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:31AM
Monday, October 26, 2015

Rob Delaney – review by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonIt's not assured that a standup who is huge on Twitter will translate to the stage. Good to report, then, that US comic Rob Delaney – 619,000 followers and counting –…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18PM

Richard Herring, Pleasance Above, Edinburgh by Brian Logan

Pleasance Above, Edinburgh"This show," runs the warning at the start of Richard Herring's new set, Talking Cock, "may contain knob gags." Oh, just a few. The knob gag is …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:19PM

Amy Schumer is a 'sex comic' – and a radical one at that by Brian Logan

The US comedian is frustrated at having been labelled, but she should be pleased with the responses to her frank and challenging HBO specialIs Amy Schumer a “sex comic”? That’s the deb…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:27PM
Sunday, October 25, 2015

Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse review – gentle pleasure of old acquaintances by Brian Logan

Brighton CentreA familiar cast of indelible comic characters and pithy catchphrases imbue the veteran duo’s live show with a comforting glowTo open their first live show, commemorating 25 …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:07AM

Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse review – there's life left in these Old Gits by Brian Logan

Brighton CentreDespite joking that they might expire before the Legends tour finishes, their classic characters keep us smiling even when the jokes fall shortTo open their first live show, c…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:02AM
Friday, October 23, 2015

Frankie Boyle sues, while Sarah Silverman falls foul of fellow Jews by Brian Logan

Boyle sues the Mirror for libel, Silverman learns not to cross a rabbi, and Stephen K Amos gets the last – and longest – laughWe've been arguing about "offensive" comedy for ye…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:32AM

Frankie Boyle review – sick jokes used as hand grenades by Brian Logan

Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-SeaBoyle delivers his vicious one-liners as palate cleansers between heartfelt routines beating us for our bovine acquiescence to political authority“It’s no…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:16AM
Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Robert Newman – review by Brian Logan

Little Angel, London"I know what you're thinking," says Rob Newman, introducing another riff on genetics, social Darwinism and the high-water mark of free-market capitalism: "…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:21AM
Monday, October 19, 2015

Do adjust your set: when comedians swap the stage for telly by Brian Logan

Two new TV series – Together and The Almost Impossible Gameshow – demonstrate how live acts as unique as Jonny Sweet and the Rubberbandits can find the funny to suit different formatsI w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:31AM
Sunday, October 18, 2015

'Outside, looking out': the twisted world of Richard Gadd by Brian Logan

Richard Gadd carved a cult reputation for himself with schlocky shows full of drugs, sex and gore. Now, in Waiting for Gaddot, he’s pushing his audience even further – by threatening not…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:38PM
Friday, October 16, 2015

Angelos Epithemiou – review by Brian Logan

Bloomsbury theatre, London Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:58PM
Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Hannibal Buress review – super-smooth standup amuses himself, and us by Brian Logan

The Forum, LondonWith nothing more to prove, the self-assured US comic who exposed Bill Cosby is able to take seemingly innocuous material to unexpected places“Well, that situation got out…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:31AM
Monday, October 12, 2015

Doug Stanhope review – scabrously funny, brutally unsentimental by Brian Logan

Brixton Academy, LondonThe US standup likes to shock, but not just for the sake of it: he does it because conventional wisdom needs questioningAt one point in his new touring set, the Arizon…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:03AM

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