Friday, October 6, 2023
Assembly Hall theatre, Tunbridge Wells Heartfelt two-act show revels in the manic, painful and sometimes amusing fallout of recovering from alcoholism
Has the advent of trauma-comedy been a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:37AMThursday, October 5, 2023
Soho theatre, LondonThe comedian launches her campaign to become a national treasure with a show that has charm, smut, irony and laughs in equal measure
Rosie Jones was going to write a gag-…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:37AMFriday, September 29, 2023
Soho theatre, LondonThe standup’s loud and proud show about female self-sufficiency presents her as an attention-hogging misfit parading her indignities for our delight
Aged 32, Helen Baue…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:55AMWednesday, September 27, 2023
Criterion theatre, LondonThere’s plenty to enjoy here as a cast of non-magicians subvert conjuring convention with song, dance and synchronised skill
As if a career confounding audiences i…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:19AMSunday, September 17, 2023
Hackney Empire, LondonAs the dust settles on his recent tabloid notoriety, Walsh contrasts the domestic landscape of maturity with his wild youth
We had a fun night, says Seann Walsh – “…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:13AMWyndham’s theatre, LondonWhere other midlife male standups splash in the shallows of domesticity, dinner parties and feeling tired, Birbiglia dives right into family, death and the meaning…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:13AMThursday, September 7, 2023
Soho Theatre, LondonAs they craft their extended sketches off the cuff, TJ Jagodowski and Dave Pasquesi deliver laughs with a surprisingly moving emotional twist
Nothing in comedy defines ex…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:43AMWednesday, September 6, 2023
Soho theatre, LondonThe electrifying Berlant recounts her fictional life in this sharp and silly show directed by Bo Burnham
Comedies don’t come hipper than this New York transfer from Kat…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:43AMTuesday, September 5, 2023
Soho theatre, LondonThe Smiths’ songs are transplanted on to the gothic horror of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – and it works
A lifelong fan of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the New Yo…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33AMSaturday, September 2, 2023
Fresh from this year’s jubilant festival, I’m not the only one hoping that it has given up its addiction to growth
“Ticket sales still 19% down on 2019.” “Can the Edinburgh fringe …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:33AMMonday, August 28, 2023
Pleasance Dome, EdinburghThe TikTok star follows an atom through time, via a dinosaur, Julius Caesar’s lunch and Van Gogh’s ear, in an uncynical show with an excess of scene changes
Inju…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:19PMUnderbelly Cowgate, EdinburghAstute, well-built set about suffering and its surprise elimination is charmingly at odds with other festival narratives
We’ve seen shows about trauma, depress…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:55AMSunday, August 27, 2023
Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh The comic pores over the insecurities that attended his twisty journey from Black Country boyhood to TV celebrity
This isn’t the first of Darren Harriott’s…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:19PMAssembly George Square, Edinburgh Material about Hindu-Muslim relations aside, this award-winning performer’s gags covers familiar confessional ground, delivered with engaging skill and gr…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:37AMSaturday, August 26, 2023
The Edinburgh comedy award-winning show Ends is a superb set about Shah’s grandfather, the standup’s imminent wedding and multicultural Britain
The cliche about Edinburgh fringe comedy …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:55AMMonkey Barrel Comedy at The Hive, EdinburghThe Edinburgh comedy award nominee dials up the silly to 11 as he delivers a series of shambolic gags
There is no more uproarious opening sequence …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:33AMFriday, August 25, 2023
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe comic’s material on years lost to drugs, booze and drama school is delivered with energy but this show lacks context and heft
You know you’re in trouble…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:13PMPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghHer material may be crude but there is no denying the bawdy Brummie comedian’s craft, nor her gift for getting the audience onside
The defining routine of Lin…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:07PMThursday, August 24, 2023
Monkey Barrel at The Tron, EdinburghIn an act mining similar territory to Rhod Gilbert, Smith flounders in everyday life and revels in being the butt of the joke
The little guy floundering a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:34PMMonkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghWritten in the shadow of grief and nominated for the Edinburgh comedy award, this barnstorming set takes in race, class and migration
Quite the fringe journey …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:13PMUnderbelly Bristo Square, EdinburghNominated for best newcomer at last year’s fringe, Sonubi is a warm performer but this leisurely new show lacks shape
‘I never asked to be so goddam gi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:07AMWednesday, August 23, 2023
Julia Masli, Ahir Shah and Janine Harouni are on the eight-strong shortlist for the coveted £10,000 prize at the festival
A clown-therapy show that takes place in the middle of the night. A…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:37PMPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe duo, doing separate shows for children and adults at the fringe, have hit on a winner – their daft pranks bring the young audience right in
It’s a thing…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:13AMPatsy Ferran takes on Eliza in Pygmalion, Andrew Scott plays multiple characters from Uncle Vanya and Mlima’s Tale tells a powerful tale of the ivory trade. Here’s what’s in store on s…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:55AMTuesday, August 22, 2023
Assembly George Square, EdinburghThe Australian comedian makes it immediately clear you are in safe hands with a show of sketches and characters
It’s a thrill when a comic you’re seeing …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:13AMPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghSchoolteacher-by-day Tothill’s foppish persona is a delight and his thesis, that hedonism died with the Reformation, is convincing
There are newcomers on the …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:07AMPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe conceit in the comic’s fringe debut is that his sleazebag persona has been #MeTooed and returns with a barrage of bad-taste jokes
“Too dark and weird f…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:55AMMonday, August 21, 2023
Pleasance Dome, EdinburghRamoso delivers an irresistible show featuring dozens of characters in sketches, improv and a comic play
Sketch is usually a team game – and you could believe ther…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:43PMPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghAbdulrashid is emerging as one of comedy’s most honest chroniclers of life’s complexities and contradictions
There are few acts in Edinburgh right now quite…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:55AMSunday, August 20, 2023
Gilded Balloon, EdinburghThe physical assault Deol underwent in the US informs a set that comes alive when the audience join her search for agency
Who wouldn’t want to hold the fate of tho…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:49PMSaturday, August 19, 2023
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe standup makes his fringe debut with songs, set-pieces and self-acceptance in a winning show
Do we need more gay heroes? Daniel Foxx thinks so. If you are wa…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:13PM 
