Thursday, June 27, 2013
One of the funniest and most original comedians of the past 20 years is an incorrigible dabbler with little interest in fameTitle: HelloYear: 2007The set-up: For a long time now – in Brita…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:05AMFriday, June 21, 2013
The granddaddy of modern standup comedy is on erratic but brilliant form in his penultimate showTitle: The Lenny Bruce Performance FilmYear: 1967The setup: Lenny Bruce was not the first stan…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:51AMMonday, June 3, 2013
Behind the gurning game-show host and mother-in-law jokes was a complex comic with an unexpected past, who captured the hearts of the British TV-watching publicTitle: The Best of Les Dawson.…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AMMonday, May 27, 2013
A man who takes silliness to a new level, Teeuwen makes us look at normality anew. While doing improvised autoerotic yogaTitle: Live in LondonYear: 2008The setup: When he performs in Dutch, …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:05AMFriday, May 17, 2013
Playing a bleakly comic country singer allows Hall to take his comedy to some harsh – and hilarious – placesTitle: Otis Lee Crenshaw and the Black Liars – London, Not TennesseeYear: 20…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:33AMFriday, May 10, 2013
Whether it's loose-lipped Lurleen or dope-smoking Fontaine, Whoopi's alter egos let her go further – and be funnier – than other standup comedians might dareTitle: Back to BroadwayYear: …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:04PMThursday, April 25, 2013
Taking aim at priests and politicians, sharp-suited iconoclast Dave Allen pushed the boundaries of standup comedy while sitting downTitle: The Best of Dave AllenYear: VariousThe set-up: Dave…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:27AMTaking aim at priests and politicians, sharp-suited iconoclast Dave Allen pushed the boundaries of standup comedy while sitting down Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:27AMThursday, April 4, 2013
Three years before his breakthrough movie, Jim Carrey was a remarkable standup, displaying his originality and his brilliance at making a physical spectacle of himself Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:28PMThursday, March 28, 2013
Andy Kaufman made it appear like everything was a disaster, but his genius was to perform inside the audience's mind Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:23AMFriday, March 8, 2013
Don't let Kevin Bridges' TV series What's the Story? put you off: his standup, celebrating the grimness of life, is much funnier Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:00AMThursday, January 10, 2013
Straight-talking US comedian who's as funny attacking opponents of gay marriage as she is bawling out a 'racist' dolphin Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:33AMThursday, December 6, 2012
The great improviser lifts a conventional standup routine into something extraterrestrial in this foaming torrent of a show Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:15AMThursday, November 15, 2012
Amstell's soul-baring standup is part Samuel Beckett, part self-help manual – but entirely brilliantTitle: Do NothingDate: 2010The set up: Simon Amstell is a paradox. Here is a man, as he …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:00AMThursday, October 4, 2012
This suave, mic-wearing Canadian may look like a conference-hall shyster but he's a master of the slow-burning punchline Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:01AMThursday, September 13, 2012
Britain's best standup offers a theatrical masterclass in comic timing, baroque repetitions and sheer, barefaced bravura Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:16AMThursday, September 6, 2012
Obsessed with sex and defecation, this standup pioneer's blue routines possessed a unique earthinessTitle: On Location with Redd FoxxDate: 1978The setup: It's 21 years since John Sanford, be…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:12PMObsessed with sex and defecation, this standup pioneer's blue routines possessed a unique earthiness Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:12PMThursday, August 9, 2012
Age suits Rivers, giving her cantankerous wit an edge, and nothing is sacred, from haemorrhoids to her husband's suicideTitle: An Audience with Joan RiversDate: 2006The set-up: The best come…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:23AMAge suits Rivers, giving her cantankerous wit an edge, and nothing is sacred, from haemorrhoids to her husband's suicide Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:23AMThursday, July 19, 2012
He may not be a warrior of comedy counterculture, but don't let Bill Cosby's cosy delivery fool you: he is a master of the formTitle: Bill Cosby: HimselfDate: 1983The set-up: For a standup, …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:10PMThursday, July 5, 2012
He's better known as the big-collared star of TV Burp, but this versatile performer has done some quacking work on stageTitle: HoovesDate: 2005The setup: To me, the very greatest comedy is t…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:39AMThursday, June 14, 2012
The silky smooth Sinatra of standup is the perfect mainstream comic – this is observational comedy at its most orthodox, but at the very highest level Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:38AMThursday, May 24, 2012
An eight-minute riff during this show saw Rock take on a controversial subject close to home – and it made him a starTitle: Bring the PainDate: 1996 Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:23AMThursday, May 10, 2012
In this remarkable comeback gig, one of comedy's great survivors demonstrates her superbly polished style – and her fearless honestyTitle: Margaret Cho: I'm the One That I WantDate: 1999Th…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AMWednesday, April 4, 2012
Making childhood beatings, heart attacks, abuse and prison sentences funny is an achievement – making them this funny takes genius Continue reading...
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:29AMMonday, October 17, 2011
With the critics horrified and wondering why they came, this revival of Edward Bond's grimfest must be a successFor a certain kind of play, unanimous acclaim is not quite the ideal reaction.…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:07PMThursday, October 13, 2011
Reviews of the new pre-Beatles musical range from scathing to ecstatic, but it's slightly more Help! than A Taste of HoneyReviews don't always find a common ground; sometimes it's best to ad…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:24PMThursday, October 6, 2011
Poor Marc Warren: stuffed with boiled eggs yet still no match for Paul Newman. The critics deal a blow to the West End showPity the producers of the West End's Cool Hand Luke. The trouble is…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:15AMMonday, October 3, 2011
Robert Sheehan's performance in this Irish classic divides reviewers – but everyone agrees that they can't understand a wordOne hundred and four years ago, John Millington Synge's The Play…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:23AMThursday, September 29, 2011
Dire, repellant absurdity or infantile fun? The critics were shriller than an extended solo but didn't harmonise on this one"There's no doubt that Rock of Ages is absurd," says Kieron Tyler …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:14PM 
