Thursday, January 26, 2017
Soho theatre, LondonThe Iranian-born comic, marking 40 years since her arrival in the UK, makes a compelling argument for the multifaceted nature of nationhoodThe first 10 minutes of Shappi …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48AMWednesday, January 25, 2017
As suppers are held for Robert Burns’ birthday, here’s a toast to the standups of Scotland whose attitudes and accents are perfectly suited to comedyWhen I saw Scottish standup Scott Gib…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18AMTuesday, January 24, 2017
Soho theatre, LondonAt one point in Jack Whitehall's new show, he stops shouting, and addresses his recent encounter with the News of the World, who photographed him using cocaine. The ears …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:36AMCorn Exchange, CambridgeThe foppish comedian is a terrific performer but his tightly scripted comedy doesn’t compensate for the dearth of anything real or insightful to say‘God, these st…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AMThursday, January 19, 2017
Comedian's response to US anti-abortion law no laughing matter for Republicans. Elsewhere, Stewart Lee blasts elitism in comedy and Lenny Henry's thespian thunder rages onNot for the first t…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:48AMMonday, January 16, 2017
Leicester Square theatre, LondonThe US standup star covers his love of junk food and his fear of doctors in a self-mocking set that shows off his voice as a well-tuned comic instrument Good,…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AMFriday, January 13, 2017
Soho theatre, LondonThe outre comedian, who was shortlisted for the best newcomer award at Edinburgh, is an engaging host as he reflects on adolescence and family lifeOn the basis of Nath Va…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:33AMSaturday, January 7, 2017
Hilarity to come this year includes Bridget Christie battering Brexit, Sue Perkins’ post-Bake Off trip to Leicester comedy festival and a breathtaking bout of escapologyUnmissable Theatre …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:18AMFriday, January 6, 2017
Soho theatre, LondonThe Anglo-Iranian comedian ranges entertainingly from racism to combative encounters at the school gateIt’s not easy being a single mum on a council estate, but it’s …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12PMWednesday, January 4, 2017
After undergoing brain surgery, call-centre worker Scott Gibson quit his job to have a crack at comedy – and ended up storming EdinburghEight years ago, while returning home from a stag do…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:36PMGold TV has polled the professionals about their favourite comedy. But even the funniest of the funny can’t easily be reduced to scenes and one-linersSurveys of Britain’s favourite comed…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AMMonday, January 2, 2017
Laughing Horse @ the Cellar Monkey, EdinburghThe Yorkshire standup's free show Capitalism is an extraordinary cri de coeur about the shallowness of modern life• Liam Williams: 'I've had ne…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:24AMFriday, December 30, 2016
A crack cast of millennial comics deliver social satire amid the poo jokes and spoof songs in an alt-panto created by Liam Williams and Daran JohnsonThe “all-age family entertainment” of…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:04AMHow better to make sense of this turbulent year than through the art and literature it has produced? Our critics choose the works that sum up the last 12 monthsIf there is one film that hold…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36AMSunday, December 18, 2016
Royal Albert Hall, LondonRating: ** More reviews"Well, you did it," says Victoria Wood to her crowd. "You got out of the house." This is a performer who knows her audience. Her 10-show resid…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42PMFriday, December 16, 2016
For more than 40 years, Barry Crimmins has honed his political skewering of the American dream to a fine artFrustratingly, I missed veteran US standup Barry Crimmins when he performed his de…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18AMTuesday, December 13, 2016
Seinfeld’s rant about advertising is an astonishing feat of comedy and raises an important question – whither satire when its targets laugh so hard?Usually when I see a comedian fronting…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12PMMr Swallow camped it up as Houdini, Isy Suttie looked for Mr Right, while Brexit brought out the angry best in Bridget Christie and Stewart Lee. Our critic picks the year’s best comedy• …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12AMFriday, December 9, 2016
Battersea Arts Centre, LondonComedian Kearns celebrates the pain and joy of a family Christmas with wit, whimsy and wistful silencesHow do you sustain a loser persona after winning the most …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AMThursday, December 8, 2016
O2, LondonIn the opening sequence of Michael McIntyre's new show, a video portrays him as some sort of machine: a standup Terminator, assembled backstage by hi-tech gadgetry. It's a revealin…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48PMAs another standup is exposed for his seriousness about getting rich, over in the US Louis CK kicks out the middlemanYou'll have been forgiven this week for not noticing anything else happen…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:36PMWednesday, December 7, 2016
Soho theatre, London The Australian comic’s stories and mickey-takes spin along well, but there’s a stale cynicism to the material“Modish crap” was Michael Gove’s verdict on Turner…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AMMonday, December 5, 2016
Soho theatreKearns's comic armoury of distracted pauses, eccentric antics and daydreamer philosophy starts brilliantly before tailing off"Imagine I couldn't do this," ruminates John Kearns a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PMThe UK Jewish Comedy festival’s salute to the Borscht Belt comedy of Woody Allen and Joan Rivers is poised awkwardly between tribute and parodyYou could argue that standup was born in the …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PMFour months after opening its archive about the comedy great without including his famous bonnet, the V&A has added one to its collectionWhen the V&A launched its Tommy Cooper archiv…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AMSunday, December 4, 2016
O2 Arena, LondonThe physical foolery is fine, but some of Evans’ jokes are not very nice at allLee Evans is one of the great clowns of the age, but on his new arena tour, Monsters, the sla…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:02PMFriday, December 2, 2016
In her podcast, Cariad Lloyd talks to other comics about death, a subject that standups rarely deal with directly on stageUntil this year’s Edinburgh fringe, where comedians grappled on st…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:18AMThursday, December 1, 2016
The Britain's Got Talent judge says she was attacked by an unnamed comic, 21st-century comics grapple with homosexuality, and David Brent realises his rock-god dreamsNot much to laugh about …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:24PMTuesday, November 29, 2016
Gilded Balloon, EdinburghTruscott has some funny, transgressive material but technical glitches and a lack of polish disrupt the flow of this setNot many acts enter fringe legend with their …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54PMSaturday, November 26, 2016
In Whitehall's routines, poshness is a depoliticised quirk, like being tall. You can only laugh at his jokes if you think disadvantage isn't worth getting upset about• Jack Whitehall inter…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36AMThursday, November 24, 2016
Soho theatre, London‘America’s Next Drag Superstar’ presents Unwrapped, a tinsel-fringed riot of inappropriate Santa gags, Miley Cyrus covers and jaundiced humourJinkx Monsoon, the 201…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM 
