All stories by Brian Logan on BroadwayStars

Friday, September 25, 2015

Sam Simmons: Spaghetti for Breakfast review – hits sublime heights of tomfoolery by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonIn a richly strange set, this year’s Edinburgh award-winner snorts cereal, obsesses over the audience’s legwear and acts out everyday annoyancesIt’s a rare feat to …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:56PM

Misery loves comedy? Don't make me laugh by Brian Logan

A new documentary suggests comedians are tortured geniuses, a breed apart. But it’s time to forget the tears-of-a-clown cliche – they’re just regular people working hard at their craft…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:15AM
Wednesday, September 23, 2015

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 11:33AM
Friday, September 18, 2015

Is Jeremy Corbyn too nice for satire? by Brian Logan

A man being persuaded to compromise on his lofty ideals could make for great comedy – but given the best satire kicks against the strong, it could be hard to wring gags from the underdog C…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AM
Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Kevin Bridges review – mainstream comedy with very sharp elbows by Brian Logan

Hammersmith Apollo, London The Glaswegian comic’s new show may be more personal than political but he still makes for a sharp social commentatorKevin Bridges’ new show restores observati…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:56AM
Monday, September 14, 2015

Rosie's Magic Horse review – classic children's book is reined in on stage by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghRussell Hoban’s tale of an adventure to a lollipop mountain is adapted with some lively flashes but this show loses the original’s oblique charms I’m all …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:56AM
Sunday, September 13, 2015

An Inspector Calls | Theatre review by Brian Logan

Novello, LondonWhen Stephen Daldry's An Inspector Calls appeared at the National Theatre, it was lauded for its three-way timeframe. This expressionist refit was set in 1912 (when its action…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24PM
Saturday, September 12, 2015

‘If you like fairness you can be a feminist’ by Brian Logan

I’ve just left the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where Camden People’s Theatre associate artist Sh!t Theatre scored a hit with its comic tour

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:00AM
Friday, September 11, 2015

Canon and Ball: should Christianity hold communion with comedy? by Brian Logan

Veteran comic Bobby Ball has a new job teaching vicars how to be funny – but humour and religion don’t always coexist comfortablyIf you want a crash course in how to be funny in front of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AM
Tuesday, September 8, 2015

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 …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:15AM

The oversharer: Jessie Cave wants to tell you all about her boyfriend's exes by Brian Logan

‘At the end of the show I’d just hide’ … the actress-comedian’s Edinburgh fringe hit lays bare her relationship anxieties with furious inventiveness and painful honestyThere’s a …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:32AM

Comedy: the best standup gigs and tours in autumn 2015 by Brian Logan

Get ready for comedy on a grand scale: Kevin Bridges is doing a mammoth Glasgow run, two huge double acts (Harry and Paul, Vic and Bob) return, and Sara Pascoe is reinventing ChristmasNinety…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:32AM
Thursday, September 3, 2015

Ronny Chieng review – a joyless journey through everyday rage by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe Australian comedian offers technically adept set-pieces and sends up his relentless misanthropy, but it takes a long time to go from snark to laughsComedy doesn’t h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:38AM
Monday, August 31, 2015

Max and Ivan at Edinburgh festival review – vivid cast of comedy eccentrics by Brian Logan

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghThe duo’s latest multi-character show looks at what the (many) residents of Sudley-on-Sea do with their last moments on earth, in a richly enjoyable hour They’ve…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:41AM
Saturday, August 29, 2015

Sam Simmons wins the Foster's Edinburgh comedy award 2015 by Brian Logan

Australian standup takes prize for best comedy show at the fringe, while Sofie Hagen is named best newcomer and Karen Koren gets panel prizeEdinburgh comedy awards: explore all the past winn…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:00AM
Friday, August 28, 2015

Trygve Wakenshaw at Edinburgh festival review – a fine time for mime by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe angular New Zealander has the audience in raptures with his wonky physical comedy – and a brilliantly inventive finaleThere’s nothing new under the sun,…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48AM

Jena Friedman at Edinburgh festival review – intriguing faux-callous comedy by Brian Logan

Stand Comedy Club, EdinburghEdgy material about liberal concerns – Bill Cosby, Ebola – lacks the confidence required for such a bloodless deliveryIf fans of The Daily Show are seeing any…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48AM

What's the one consolation of 10 years of Tories? Some decent political comedy by Brian Logan

Political comedy used be an orthodox, tub-thumping affair. Today, it’s a far subtler art, with Nish Kumar, Sheeps, Stewart Lee and Ahir Shah all reinventing the form You can tell plenty ab…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48AM

Spencer Jones at Edinburgh festival review – something delightful by Brian Logan

Heroes @ The Hive, EdinburghThere are goofy set pieces aplenty in this exuberantly silly show in which Jones’s alter ego, The Herbert, gets a ‘proper job’From Mr Bean to Mr Tumble, the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:22AM
Thursday, August 27, 2015

Sarah Kendall: A Day in October at Edinburgh festival review – artful, slippery and engaging by Brian Logan

Assembly George Square studios, EdinburghThe comedian’s heartfelt story about the shark-infested waters of her teenage life sits uneasily with the truth, but this makes for a gripping expe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:30AM
Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Kieran Hodgson leads the race for the 2015 Edinburgh comedy award by Brian Logan

The comedian’s standout show Lance would be a worthy winner, if he can triumph over four-time nominee James Acaster and the inventive Joseph MorpurgoThe 35th Edinburgh comedy award nominee…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:30PM

Jessie Cave at Edinburgh review – a relatable scrapbook of a neurotic's psychosis by Brian Logan

Underbelly Cowgate, EdinburghLike a more manic Woody Allen, the funny standup lives out her anxieties onstage as she presents her unplanned family lifeChannel 4’s hit sitcom Catastrophe fe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM

The Story Beast at Edinburgh festival review – in-yer-face Anglo-Saxon yarns by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghJohn Henry Falle romances mermaids and roars through Beowulf in an enjoyable yet inconsistent performanceNominated this week for the Malcolm Hardee award for co…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:04AM
Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Meet Grace the Child: the 12-year-old standup wowing the Edinburgh fringe by Brian Logan

She started at eight years old and is now the youngest comedian to appear on the funniest jokes of the fringe list. But she’s taking fame and stardom in her strideGrace the Child is not ta…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:34PM

Why do online comics choose Edinburgh to go live? by Brian Logan

Some of YouTube’s comedy stars have had millions of hits, but performing on stage is a very different skill – and not all of them are up to the challengeIn any given year in Edinburgh, a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54PM

Fern Brady at Edinburgh festival review – funniest when the studied grouchiness slips by Brian Logan

Stand Comedy Club, EdinburghScorn is scattered liberally in an engaging show that also lets slip a welcome peek at the charismatic entertainer underneath“I am a horrible person,” says Fe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:57PM

John-Luke Roberts at Edinburgh festival review – filial rage fires up grotesque tribute by Brian Logan

Voodoo Rooms This show’s bracing lack of sentiment finds a new and compelling angle on the ‘dead dad’ comedy tropeThe “dead dad” comedy show is now much mocked: it’s seen as a cl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:16AM
Monday, August 24, 2015

The Pin at Edinburgh festival review – clever-clever sketch-bending by Brian Logan

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghThe droll meta-comedy duo explain what a funny sketch is – and have plenty of appealing examples of their ownMeta-comedy double act the Pin impressed on last year�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03AM

Edinburgh festival: why isn't fringe comedy more Scottish? by Brian Logan

The world’s biggest comedy festival is an awkward place for Scottish comics to perform. I wish they’d give us more material tailored to their local audienceIs the fringe a Scottish festi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:57AM
Sunday, August 23, 2015

Joe Lycett at Edinburgh festival review – he makes funny seem easy by Brian Logan

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghLycett’s scrapbook set of stories and pranks is consistently amusing and greatly enhanced by his playful, laidback mannerOnly on the fringe do you see the sam…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:02PM

Frankie Boyle gets satirical – and Two and A Half Men star says: stop watching by Brian Logan

Comedian claims satirists are pulling their punches, teen comedy actor turns on the show that made him a star and Brian Conley Gets Out of thereFrankie Boyle is back in the headlines, after …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:52AM