72 stories by "Julian Hall"
No point in denying it, it’s upon us: the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with all the irresistible draw of its 3,000-plus shows. A raincoat will be the first thing I pack, despite the cu…
Comedians and politicians may seem like strange bedfellows " often the most they might have in common is the likelihood they will wear suits " but comedy has received a parliamentary seal…
It may not be a consistently scorchio summer, but the comedy climate is hot with lots of events where you can get your giggles either in an al fresco setting or as near as damn…
So this was the week that was; the Python comeback. The O2 was awash with amateur knights who said ‘yay’, toy parrots and Life of Brian leftover extras; it was comedy’s clo…
O2 Arena, London: The cheese shop is open again, the dead parrot reanimated, and countless other metaphors come to mind like a horde of scuttling Terry Gilliam animations. Yes, the long-awai…
There’s a certain irony in writing about the alleged similarity between Alan Davies’ new show on Dave " As Yet Untitled, and Paul Provenza’s The Green Room that aired on Sh…
Soho Theatre, London: John Lennon once said to deliver political messages "with a little milk and honey"; if that's a test for how the arts can effectively commentate, then it…
It’s a feast of entertainment brought to us from a far off land. No, not the World Cup " the Edinburgh Festival Fringe preview season. Now is the time when a wealth of free shows…
It’s odd thing to be concerned about what one might write about in a comedy review of the year when it is only June, but 2014 hasn’t been a bumper year. At least not yet….
The magnetic pull of Edinburgh has already been felt by most of us involved. Acts, PRs, promoters, all are busy sweating over how to make the big break north of the border. It would be…
With the reprise of Whose a Line Is It Anyway? at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe festival the spotlight will fall " or should anyway " on the burgeoning improv scene. Whose Line…? …
In a world where artistic genres are constantly morphing and crossing-over, the issue of how to describe and categorise shows for the benefit of an audience becomes ever thornier. This is ce…
Sketch, sketch, sketch… where’s the finished article? Only joking. As everyone (ie some people) knows, I was cured of my fear of the sketch genre by facing it like a real phobia,…
Springtime in Brighton has an extra allure for the comedy fan, with the cornucopia of talent on offer at the Brighton Fringe. Now in its eighth year as an independent entity from the Brighto…
How to end a comedy show? When you have taken your audience on what you hope is a roller-coaster ride of giggles and belly laughs, where do you stop? I doff my cap to those…
Royal Albert Hall, London: The boyish charms of telly-friendly comic Russell Howard are stretched by his latest show, Wonderbox, the contents of which feel more arbitrary as it progresses.
R…
Creativity is like a sausage machine. Half-formed ideas go in at one end and come out in a presentable, digestible form at the other. However, some of us will comment on the shape, the size&…
Last July I wrote a piece titled ‘We must take a serious approach to comedy archives‘ which described the efforts of comedian-turned-academic Dr Oliver Double to set up a comedy …
The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that I am currently touting my wares as a PR and director for comedians going to the Edinburgh Fringe, and anywhere else where one hour shows lurk. …
For two weeks this month comedy and science have been getting along famously, with the Cambridge Science Festival diversifying their ‘curriculum’ to include funny men and women w…
Apart from ‘are you funny when you are not in stage?’, ‘do you ever switch off?’ and ‘do you get lots of groupies?’, the question stand ups often get aske…
When I wrote about Bill Hicks last week, in advance of the 20th anniversary of his death, I indicated that he was probably the best comedian I had ever seen and that I wasn’t sure...
Alexei Sayle on the state of British comedy Sadly, I wasn’t able to get to the Leicester Comedy Festival this week to hear Alexei Sayle talk about the state of the industry. Though I m…
I went to see a show in recent months that I was disappointed by. I would like to say which show, but since the promoter keeps giving me a wide berth, I had best not...
Soho Theatre, London: Around the corner from the Soho Theatre tonight, a queue for Prince's surprise gig at Ronnie Scott's was forming. Any flicker of jealousy from those of us abo…
