Friday, March 11, 2016
The token opening of a comedy set " even in its postmodern guise " is becoming tired and uninspired. All hail the trad crowd-work of masters like Al MurrayIt's an odd artform, standup " not …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:58AM[SHARE]Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Brighton DomeThe chipper comedian deftly juggles jokes, anecdotes and harsh facts in a fund-raising tour for her new political partyIt's been running for one year, 70 local branches have spr…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM[SHARE]Friday, March 4, 2016
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 schtick i…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:37AM[SHARE]Wednesday, March 2, 2016
G Live, GuildfordThe 'nicest man in comedy' is soft-hearted to a fault, in a set of optimistic but entirely safe and familiar routines Adam Hills is "widely referred to as 'the nicest man in…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:58AM[SHARE]Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Criterion, LondonThe comedian chucks out the art form's creepiness for a thrilling interactive set in which her most essential prop barely features"Most ventriloquists …" says Nina Conti, …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:39AM[SHARE]Thursday, February 25, 2016
Haymarket, BasingstokeOn his third solo tour, the standup retains his cynicism but there's now light amid the shade and warmth underlying the weariness Related: Romesh Ranganathan and Seann …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:22AM[SHARE]Wednesday, February 24, 2016
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 to me…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:27AM[SHARE]Thursday, February 11, 2016
Vault festival, LondonDesiree Burch invites the audience to rebut racist cliches and face up to centuries of injustice in a show that loses some impact due to its scattershot approachThe US …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:50AM[SHARE]Tuesday, February 9, 2016
There were plenty of laughs at the quick-fire punning contest hosted by Lee Nelson, but the maligned art of wordplay deserves more of a rap-battle format"Some comedians don't take puns serio…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:56AM[SHARE]Monday, February 8, 2016
The director reveals he is a 'great fan' of the US standup comic. Meanwhile, Geri Halliwell looks set to star in her own TV comedy show and London's Glee Club isn't happyWoody Allen has been…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:20PM[SHARE]Leicester Square theatre, LondonOutlandish non sequiturs stack up as the wild-eyed, broad-grinned Law works the myth of his own zaninessIt's Tony Law's ambition, he tells us, to make a solid…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:51AM[SHARE]Friday, February 5, 2016
Cambridge JunctionThe ex-Peep Show star co-opts Roy the papier-mache penguin and her Slovenian flatmate Anya in a warm and wise show about her quest for loveWe're not in unfamiliar territory…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:49AM[SHARE]Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Soho theatre, LondonThe US comedian's anecdotes are unstructured, overlong and underpowered, but he has ragged charm and there's delight to be had in his throwaway asidesYou expect comedians…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:55AM[SHARE]Thursday, January 28, 2016
Leicester Square theatre, LondonThe chronicler of society's oddest habits leads an endearing book reading-plus-debate about social media shaming " with a bonus appearance from Bridget Christ…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:49AM[SHARE]Soho theatre, LondonSloss tries to hide an uncertain stage persona in self-consciously provocative standup, but too often shoots himself in the footDaniel Sloss claims not to know what the t…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:58AM[SHARE]Sunday, January 24, 2016
With The Brain Show, Robert Newman provides a welcome counter-argument to the many comedians hymning the virtues of rational inquiryComedy and science have been intimate bedfellows these pas…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:33AM[SHARE]Thursday, January 21, 2016
Palace theatre, LondonThis erudite-magpie's tour of human history yields vintage Izzard moments of delightful silliness, yet lacks in jeopardy over two-and-a-half hours "I didn't want to bri…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:22AM[SHARE]Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Soho theatre, LondonDissing bad science, capitalists and Brian Cox, Newman's low-octane cabinet of neuroscientific curiosities has nonconformist bite Related: Rob Newman: 'Bill Hicks wanted …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM[SHARE]Monday, January 18, 2016
The gangly New Zealander trained as a clown and spent 10 years in theatre before his masterclasses in mime set tongues wagging at Edinburgh. Where next for the new king of silent comedy?Come…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:46PM[SHARE]Friday, January 15, 2016
When we set out to make a show about the baroque horror of the capital's property problem, it quickly became clear that the result would be tragicomicHow do you make theatre out of the housi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:08AM[SHARE]Sunday, January 10, 2016
Assembly RoomsAmerica's indie comedy scene has supplied some great fringe acts recently, including Perrier-winner Demetri Martin and Flight of the Conchords' Kristen Schaal. Kumail Nanjiani …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:01AM[SHARE]Monday, December 21, 2015
From newfound political awareness to a resurgence of clowning, 2015's comedy landscape was bumpy but invigoratingIn election year, it was apt that political comedy seemed to be back on the a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AM[SHARE]Saturday, December 19, 2015
The Capitol, Horsham"I'm not saying I'm perfect," says Sean Hughes, as he mocks all the things the rest of us do wrong. But part of Hughes's charm is that he does claim to be, if n…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:56PM[SHARE]Friday, December 18, 2015
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[SHARE]Thursday, December 17, 2015
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 fe…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:10AM[SHARE]Tuesday, December 15, 2015
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 on …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:22AM[SHARE]Sunday, December 13, 2015
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[SHARE]Friday, December 11, 2015
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 Bailey may be…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:39AM[SHARE]Wednesday, December 9, 2015
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 it,…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:39PM[SHARE]Monday, December 7, 2015
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 fourth…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:58AM[SHARE]Monday, November 30, 2015
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 " and i…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:28AM[SHARE] 
