All stories by Brian Logan on BroadwayStars

Sunday, December 10, 2023

Richard Curtis’s Christmas Actually raises the ghost of ropey light-entertainment past by Brian Logan

Festive variety show hosts Sanjeev Bhaskar and Jayde Adams are stodgier than Christmas dinner, with all the chemistry of a broken Bunsen burner To those of us of a certain age, few things a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM
Monday, December 4, 2023

Lucy Beaumont: The Trouble & Strife! review – bottomless brunches and butlers in the buff by Brian Logan

Bloomsbury theatre, LondonThe Hull comic continues to riff brilliantly on her home city’s quirks but you wish she’d reveal more of the ‘small angry woman’ she describes herself as H…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:18AM
Sunday, December 3, 2023

Jack and the Beanstalk review – a spirited panto with droll touches by Brian Logan

Theatre Royal Stratford East, LondonIt may not attempt anything new but there are eye-catching costumes, catchy songs, some sparkling performances and a droll script by Anna Jordan Mud, glor…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM
Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Eddie Izzard: The Remix review – Noah’s Ark, jazz chickens and the Death Star canteen by Brian Logan

Richmond theatre, LondonPausing her political campaigning to revisit routines that made her name, Izzard seems to be enjoying herself as much as we are Everyone wants rock stars to play thei…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AM
Friday, November 24, 2023

Trevor Noah: Off the Record review – zapping comedy cliches back to life by Brian Logan

O2 Arena, LondonRoutines about rude Parisians and airline seats should have passed their tell-by date long ago – but Noah’s skill reanimates the fun Trevor Noah opens with a joke about …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48AM
Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Ruby Wax: I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was review – wandering towards wellness by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThis one-woman play aims to dramatise Wax’s globe-trotting spiritual quest but gets sidetracked into anecdote This isn’t what she usually does, Ruby Wax confides in t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:32AM
Monday, November 20, 2023

Soho’s new home for cabaret is so slick it’s like countercultural cosplay | Brian Logan by Brian Logan

The opening shows at London’s Underbelly Boulevard – Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett and Batsu! – are less edgy than you might expect, and more pricey, but there are some impressive tu…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:12PM
Friday, November 17, 2023

Rosalie Minnitt: Clementine review – a frilly-bonneted comedy for today by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonIn this giddily inventive show, Minnitt plays a woman trying to bag a beau before her sentence to spinsterdom is declared ‘I’m starting to get hysterical,” says Ros…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM
Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Fascinating Aïda review – caustic comments and filthiness 40 years on by Brian Logan

Rose Theatre, Kingston upon ThamesFrom a killer song about cosmetic surgery to ditties on doppelgangers and dogging, Dillie Keane, Adèle Anderson and Liza Pulman are still going strong How …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:42AM
Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Standup and be counted: Eddie Izzard and the comics who took politics by storm by Brian Logan

Can the surreal comedy superstar parlay comedy chops into political power? Izzard certainly wouldn’t be the first standup to pivot from telling jokes to canvassing for votes From Eddie Izz…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AM
Tuesday, November 7, 2023

To Have and to Hold review – fond family comedy from the writer of One Man, Two Guvnors by Brian Logan

Hampstead theatre, LondonRichard Bean’s new play touches on ageing and alienation, care and family love, but focuses on making us laugh You might guess what kind of night you’re in for b…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AM
Friday, October 27, 2023

Park your cynicism! Michael McIntyre is a super-relatable well-oiled joke machine by Brian Logan

The everyman standup delivers substantial comic payloads by itemising the oddity of human behaviour. A successful formula his new tour continues to exploit All the countries of the world hav…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:25AM
Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Tig Notaro: Hello Again review – all the right notes, except on piano by Brian Logan

Theatre Royal, BrightonThe comic brings an assured touch to tales of everyday humiliation, and even her terrible musicianship is endearing for a while Tig Notaro has never had an interval on…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:07AM
Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Munya Chawawa review – YouTube star’s standup still a work in progress by Brian Logan

Kentish Town Forum, LondonThis is a big stage for a streaming star who’s still a rookie standup, and at times his show feels over-engineered and effortful – but he still has enough hones…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:13AM
Friday, October 13, 2023

‘We’re all learning’: why Netflix needs Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda by Brian Logan

A mixed bill of standups, presented by the Nanette star and due to be recorded for the streamer, is a valuable response to its Dave Chappelle controversy When Dave Chappelle released his Net…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:04AM
Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Foodie funnies: James Acaster and Ed Gamble’s podcast Off Menu goes on the road by Brian Logan

As it fills the Royal Albert Hall on tour, the comedians’ ‘dream restaurant’ show questions what ingredients a live performance really needs ‘I can’t believe this many people like …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:04AM
Friday, October 6, 2023

John Robins: Howl review – the sad hilarity of high anxiety by Brian Logan

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 11:37AM
Thursday, October 5, 2023

Rosie Jones: Triple Threat review – sly gags delivered with a wicked grin by Brian Logan

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 08:37AM
Friday, September 29, 2023

Helen Bauer: Grand Supreme Darling Princess review – cartoonishly confident comedy by Brian Logan

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 09:55AM
Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Unbelievable review – Derren Brown presents an evening of magic by proxy by Brian Logan

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 11:19AM
Sunday, September 17, 2023

Seann Walsh review – the comic returns to type as he surveys the bin-fire of hope that is middle-age by Brian Logan

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 09:13AM

Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool review – plunging into the deep end of mortality and middle-age by Brian Logan

Wyndham’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 09:13AM
Thursday, September 7, 2023

TJ & Dave review – long-form improv finds an endless fount of funny by Brian Logan

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 08:43AM
Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Kate Berlant is Kate review – wicked and winningly daft performance lives up to the hype by Brian Logan

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 09:43AM
Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Salty Brine: Bigmouth Strikes Again review – a self-made monster hit by Brian Logan

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 07:33AM
Saturday, September 2, 2023

Will the Edinburgh fringe ever return to its pre-pandemic self? I hope not | Brian Logan by Brian Logan

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 03:33AM
Monday, August 28, 2023

Adrian Bliss: Inside Everyone review – fun lucky dip of historical sketches by Brian Logan

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 03:19PM

Paul Foot: Dissolve review – a comic antidote to life’s pain by Brian Logan

Underbelly 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 10:55AM
Sunday, August 27, 2023

Darren Harriott: Roadman review – tentative steps to self-improvement by Brian Logan

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 03:19PM

Urooj Ashfaq: Oh No! review – Indian standup makes an endearing debut by Brian Logan

Assembly 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 08:37AM
Saturday, August 26, 2023

Ahir Shah arrived at Edinburgh with a work-in-progress but leaves as comedy champ by Brian Logan

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 11:55AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards