Edinburgh festival 2015: 10 comedy acts to watch by Brian Logan

I’m expecting great or unusual things on the fringe from this selection of standups and sketch trios – who’s on your list?Anticipating the Edinburgh fringe is almost as much fun as bei…

Whose Line Is It Anyway? Live review – impro that's improved with age by Brian Logan

Adelphi, LondonClive Anderson, Josie Lawrence and Greg Proops bring their Channel 4 hit to the West End – and the laughs are even bigger and better this time roundIt is striking to see imp…

Diane Chorley review – a kitsch night out with Essex's nightclub legend by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonIf you’re up for a Cinzano-fuelled dance and a giggle then this bathetic nostalgia trip with the Duchess of Canvey probably won’t disappoint“Goodnight, my babes, yo…

What China's 'morality-building' comedy boom says about standup by Brian Logan

A new generation of Chinese comedians are cracking gags about buying property in Beijing. Is it further proof that standup – which is about individual assertion rather than collective ende…

Tommy Tiernan review – fire, brimstone and gags about Clooney's sex drive by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe wild-eyed philosopher of love and life ruminates dangerously on everything from erectile dysfunction to the failings of capitalismNot many comedians generate a sense …

Bourgeois & Maurice and David Hoyle review – a biting celebration of blandness by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe trio’s tart, funny Middle of the Road show is a heavily sardonic paean to the joys of dressing down, brainlessness and the oeuvre of James BluntQueer culture is bei…

The Boy With Tape on His Face – review by Brian Logan

Duchess, LondonThe stages of Britain may be heaving this month with glitz, glitter and TV celebs, but you won't find a more reliably fun-for-all-the-family experience than the West End debut…

Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi tie the knot, while Tina Fey lets rip at Republicans by Brian Logan

In this week's roundup: illustrious actors to star in a new sitcom called Vicious Old Queens, and Fey makes her displeasure known at 'grey-faced men' sounding off about rapeHow's about this …

What German comedians think of Brits – from bad to wurst by Brian Logan

British standups have plenty of stereotypes about Germans, but is the opposite true? Yes – according to a viral clip about a Brexit from the EU on Germany’s version of The Daily ShowWatc…

Andy Parsons review – shoes can’t stop him by Brian Logan

The Mock the Week star launches a joke-rich rallying call for a better Britain Continue reading...

Aerial attack: How a new wave of broadcast comedy is shaking up the nation's living rooms by Brian Logan

John Kearns and Nick Helm are bringing their oddball humour to TV and radio, showing just how far those mediums have come in showcasing bold new talent It never stops being fascinating watch…

Andi Osho | Edinburgh comedy review by Brian Logan

Arj Barker | Comedy review by Brian Logan

Henning Wehn - review by Brian Logan

Frankie Boyle’s Election Autopsy is too hot for TV – so much the better by Brian Logan

Comedy that takes a stand with a coherent set of convictions is more compelling than satire that ridicules everybody equallyThere was doom and gloom among comedy lovers when it was announced…

Paul Merton’s Impro Chums review – this stuff couldn’t be written by Brian Logan

Richmond theatre, LondonIt follows a well-worn format, but what the show lacks in jeopardy it gains in camaraderie and offers the audience, and improvisers, a unique brand of fun“Try not t…

Reginald D Hunter review – charisma and curveballs from self-mythologising standup by Brian Logan

Richmond theatreHunter’s mercurial logic takes him into territory other comics don’t occupy … but sometimes leads him astray Continue reading...

Lee Nelson review – suited, booted and peddling sexist gags by Brian Logan

Bedford Corn ExchangeSimon Brodkin’s cheeky-chappy cliches about class, immigrants and women are arduous and screamingly predictable Continue reading...

Eddie Pepitone: What Rough Beast review – a howl of despair at life’s vacuity by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe New York comic’s rants against corporate culture and modern America are vivid and amusing – even if he does keep interrupting to say so himself Continue reading...

Heard the one about the Pakistani standup? Finding the funny in ethnicity by Brian Logan

Sami Shah jokes about being a Karachi-based funnyman in his entertaining act. But often playing on your cultural heritage can be a lazy way to get a quick laughThere’s an old Stewart Lee r…

Live at Parliament Square review – Liam Williams hosts a night of political impotence by Brian Logan

Parliament Square, LondonWilliams does a fine job as MC at Occupy London’s comedy gig, alongside cracking gags from Ahir Shah and dark sketches from Gein’s Family Giftshop Continue readi…

Sami Shah review – slick standup is ‘an atheist defending Islam from racists’ by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe Pakistani comedian riffs on prejudice, Isis and existentialism in a series of cynical routines Continue reading...

Peter Kay’s Car Share puts the comedian back in the driving seat by Brian Logan

Kay’s new un-hyped TV show is big-hearted and silly and reminds us what a terrific comic actor he can beHe was on stage recently with a live version of Phoenix Nights, which gave a reminde…

Keith Harris, Orville and the lost age of oddball comedy by Brian Logan

TV was once just a step away from musical hall – then along came alternative comedy and the standup boom. Do we now prefer authenticity to eccentricity? Continue reading...

Jonny and the Baptists review – jokes about the election, equality ... and willies by Brian Logan

Firestation, WindsorThese are comedy songs to make you vote – but too often Jonny Donahoe and Paddy Gervers sing the line of least offence Continue reading...

The wild west world of standup comedy by Brian Logan

Theatre-makers often develop their craft under the wing of caring venues. Comedians learn theirs by finding out how bad it feels to not be funny on stageI was struck by how many comedians li…

Tim Vine review – high-class Christmas-cracker gags by Brian Logan

Fairfield Halls, CroydonThe current Edinburgh’s funniest joke incumbent proves his mastery of the obscure pun – but doesn’t seem to have much personal stake in his material Continue re…

Count Arthur Strong review – the deluded Doncastrian just gets funnier by Brian Logan

Hexagon, ReadingFrom a sermon about the garden of Edam to hilariously inept ventriloquism, Steve Delaney’s alter ego is as entertaining as ever Continue reading...

Laughing all the way to the ballot: comedy’s role in a general election by Brian Logan

There’s little in this campaign’s comedy roster to suggest comedians will forcefully express any opinions about politicians – which is a missed opportunity Continue reading...

Is Trevor Noah really proof of US comedy's soft power? by Brian Logan

Apparently US comedy is so powerful and pervasive that people all over the world want to, and can, fit its template. I have some problems with that Continue reading...

Dylan Moran review – storming set from a soothsaying standup by Brian Logan

Orchard, DartfordMoran shows off his highly quotable brand of crackpot lyricism in routines about midlife travails, hipster scorn and feeling like a ‘jelly baby with money’Most standups …