The big-haired, sleepy-eyed standup is an Oscar-winner, one of America's best-loved comedians and 'a car that has no gears'. Now, his deadpan style has won him a perfect role in The Emoji Mo…
When critics analyse a standup routine it's considered pedantic and joyless " what's wrong with being serious about comedy?Theatre critics are seldom called pedants for analysing how a stage…
In a long-running tour, the supercilious standup brings back old gags, leaving a bad smell " and a loveless worldview " in his wake'I'm jealous of bands," Jimmy Carr told the NME when his cu…
The star of Catastrophe brings carnality, the elusive Kitson attempts to 'alter language', Sara Pascoe goes dating, while Hannah Gadsby goes out with a bangPenn and TellerLas Vegas's loss is…
The black comedy circuit is booming, with packed crowds and a host of stars. So why aren't there more on TV or at mainstream venues? Brian Logan talks to performers about cowardly producers,…
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…
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 wer…
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 …
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…
The 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 save t…
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 the ina…
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 firs…
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…
London 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 the…
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 …
Soho 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…
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 …
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…
He'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 in?" G…
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 Jon…
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 Hunter …
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 so…
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…
Soho 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 SantaRebellious…
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 know h…