Sunday, June 11, 2017
Pleasance, EdinburghAt certain phrases, the heart sinks. "We all love that celebrity stuff, don't we?" says jolly Gina Yashere. Er, no, we don't. How rude Anne Robinson is, how great it woul…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:24PMFriday, June 9, 2017
Standup is supposedly a leftie haven. But from what I saw this week, the scene offered little support for the Labour leader – and, despite some droll insights, a lack of real debateWhere w…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AMThursday, June 8, 2017
Sara Pascoe looks at life after a breakup, Trygve Wakenshaw brings his baby on stage, and Alexei Sayle, Ruby Wax and talkshow king Craig Ferguson all return to the fringe this yearIn recent …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48AMWednesday, June 7, 2017
Soho theatre, LondonThe self-deprecating US comedian delivers a set littered with droll remarks about life in New York but the show is hamstrung by her uneaseFrom Master of None to Inside Am…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:04PMThe freestyle standup and bandleader on The Late Late Show is in London for a gig and has no idea what he’ll perform. Improv, he says, can free the mind – and maybe silliness can help sa…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AMFriday, June 2, 2017
From disrupting dam-building to toppling dictators, comedy has shown itself to be a global force for good. Here’s what ‘laughtivism’ could do for British politicsAt a protest to mark t…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AMWednesday, May 31, 2017
Soho theatre, LondonThe standup takes on relationships and parenthood with eloquence and wit, but he plays it too safeIn Edinburgh this August, Stuart Goldsmith will perform the world’s fi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:33PMSunday, May 28, 2017
Gilded Balloon, EdinburghLast year, he failed to deliver a lecture on "Egyptologics". This year, it's the story of the Bible that Count Arthur Strong is finding frustratingly difficult to te…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54PMLondon PalladiumThe malapropisms and garbled logic, plus a near-fatal encounter with Benedict Cumberbatch’s name, make Steve Delaney’s comedy character a giddying delightNot the least of…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12AMFriday, May 19, 2017
Luisa Omielan is aiming to be as big in standup as the inspiration for her show, Beyoncé, is in pop"You're going to think I'm a dick," says Luisa Omielan, "but I've always wanted …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12PMSoho theatre, LondonLuisa Omielan secured a best newcomer nomination at last year's Edinburgh comedy awards for a show on the Free Fringe, far from the festival's main stages. I doubt she'll…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:05PMTuesday, May 16, 2017
In tune with our sceptical times, magicians debunk the supernatural. But are they really as rationalist as they claim?Richard Dawkins may or may not approve, but I was reading my daughter a …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48PMMonday, May 15, 2017
As Radio 4 seems unable to find enough comics to offset its left-wing output, Comic Relief says sorry for offence caused by Frankie Boyle at Russell Brand's Give It Up eventChristmas comes e…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:33AMHe’s a likable performer capitalising on the idea that most of his fellow comedians are lefties. So is Norcott’s show Conswervative more wind-up than battle cry?“Have I got any Tories …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AMThursday, May 11, 2017
Soho theatre, London Ludicrous tights, crude puppetry and dialogues with a chattering toilet brush make Jones’s alter ego The Herbert irresistibly daft We should probably forgive Spencer J…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:05AMMonday, May 8, 2017
Orchard, DartfordThe standup considers kinky sex, politics and Angela Merkel’s alter ego but his new touring show is seldom strikingYou might have heard I’m controversial, Reginald D Hun…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AMFriday, April 28, 2017
Fed up with heckles, hostility and predatory promoters, Kiri Pritchard-McLean set out to detail the industry’s misogyny in a raucous, revelatory performanceAre women funny? At a time when …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AMWednesday, April 26, 2017
Polka, London The dotty TV duo and their friend Scarf Lady become puppets in a touring stage show that should satisfy ardent fans aged three to sixSome swoon at the gentle dottiness of CBeeb…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AMSoho theatre, LondonFlashes of tenacious positivity illuminate a gleeful set that ranges over Willan’s troubled early years in care, from teenage delinquency to a run-in with SantaRebellio…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:54AMFriday, April 21, 2017
Richmond theatreHunter’s mercurial logic takes him into territory other comics don’t occupy … but sometimes leads him astrayReginald D Hunter begins with an apology to audiences who kn…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:18AMThursday, April 20, 2017
South Hill Park, BracknellSkype sex and confetti cannons are harnessed to full effect by a likable performer who breathes new life into a time-honoured persona‘Who here saw me on I’m a C…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:02AMWednesday, April 12, 2017
Soho theatre, London The Chicago pair show they are masters of their art with an off-the-cuff performance that is as poignant and sharply observed as any scripted showMost writers and comics…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:02AMTuesday, April 11, 2017
Soho theatre, LondonAs well as diagnosing the entertaining eccentricities of patients, musical comic Kay issues an electrifying clarion call on behalf of NHS staffMusical comic Adam Kay is a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AMTuesday, April 4, 2017
Pleasance, LondonThis lovably stupid group breathe fresh air into traditional material – even the throwaway jokes are hilariousI’m all for the shock of the new – but sometimes the old,…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:42AMMonday, April 3, 2017
Hammersmith Apollo, LondonChappelle kicks off with gleeful, scorching indelicacy, but his cock-of-the-walk comedy doesn’t always match his considerable charisma You’d think it was a rock…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:24PMThe onstage returns of Ricky Gervais and Dave Chappelle have both brought criticism of their jokes about trans people. Can their approach of tackling taboos with a sledgehammer ever work or …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:18PMFriday, March 31, 2017
Leicester Square theatre, LondonIn his upbeat new show, Westphalia Is Not an Option, the playful standup tackles the EU referendum resultIn the age of Brexit, is self-styled German comedy am…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:18AMMonday, March 27, 2017
Nuffield, SouthamptonParsons’ cynicism about comedy’s transformative potential doesn’t stop him impaling his political targets with some smart barbsSatire has minimal effect, Andy Pars…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AMThursday, March 23, 2017
Soho theatre, LondonLight-hearted but trenchant, Ilyas’s show Made in Britain keeps the audience on their toes as he focuses on what unites, rather than divides usAfter the EU referendum r…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AMTuesday, March 21, 2017
Soho theatre, LondonThe US standup takes a bull-in-a-china-shop approach to social anthropology – and riffs on the horrors of sleeping with someone born in the 90sAmerican comedian and the…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:18AMSaturday, March 18, 2017
The US actor sparks a fresh debate about racial jokes – and isn't the only one. Meanwhile, could Ricky Gervais swing a record deal for David Brent? And Spotify launches a comedy appComedia…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:32PM 
