fri 24/01/2025

Comedy reviews, news & interviews

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Theartsdesk

It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.It followed some hectic and intensive months when a disparate and eclectic team of arts and culture writers went ahead with an ambitious plan – to launch a dedicated internet site devoted to coverage of the UK arts scene.

Ben Elton, Duke of York's Theatre review - big subjects, big laughs

Veronica Lee

Ben Elton loves a scrap. The Motormouth of yesteryear, who made his name attacking Margaret Thatcher and her policies (and being attacked by the right in turn) now wades into so many frothing hot topics – gender politics, assisted dying and the age divide among them – that one has to assume he loves pushing people's buttons. 

Chris McCausland, Winchester Theatre Royal review...

Veronica Lee

By all accounts Chris McCausland had to be persuaded to take part in the most recent series of Strictly Come Dancing, which he won with his...

Gala Preview Show, De Montfort Hall review -...

Veronica Lee

Europe's biggest comedy festival, which showcases established stars, works in progress, workshops and competitions, kicks off next month, and this...

Best of 2024: Comedy

Veronica Lee

Looking back over the past 12 months, it struck me how it has been the shows fashioned from personal stories that have stayed with me. It wasn't...

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Jamie Foxx, Netflix Special review - doctors and divine intervention

Veronica Lee

Comic discusses his recovery from a stroke

Ricky Gervais, Touring review - new show, not-so new gags

Veronica Lee

Set relies on established tropes

Kemah Bob, Soho Theatre review - Thailand, massage and mental health

Veronica Lee

Texan's full-length debut is a personal story

Natalie Palamides: Weer, Soho Theatre review - a romcom of two halves

Veronica Lee

Comic plays male and female roles simultaneously

Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Brighton Dome review - a foster carer's tale

Veronica Lee

Comic skilfully melds a personal story with sharp social commentary

Rose Matafeo, Arcola Theatre review - Starstruck star muses on love

Veronica Lee

Kiwi comic on dating, phone apps and Taylor Swift

Ellen DeGeneres, Netflix Special review - no mea culpa and few jokes

Veronica Lee

Former chatshow host’s bizarre take on cancellation

Joe Rogan, Netflix Special review - US podcaster leaves the controversy - and the jokes - at home

Veronica Lee

Nothing edgy about this hour

Zoë Coombs Marr, Soho Theatre review - stock checks and spreadsheets

Veronica Lee

Australian comic's autobiographical show

Adam Sandler, Netflix Special - songs, silliness and deconstructing stand-up

Veronica Lee

The comic and director Josh Sadie have fun with the form

Blu-ray: Laurel and Hardy - The Silent Years

Graham Rickson

Always watchable, occasionally hysterical collection of silent shorts

Edinburgh Fringe 2024 review: Joe Kent-Walters

Veronica Lee

Spoof of old-school entertainment

Edinburgh Fringe 2024: Edinburgh Comedy Awards winners

Veronica Lee

Amy Gledhill wins main award

Edinburgh Fringe 2024 reviews: Grace Mulvey / John Tothill

Veronica Lee

Candid stories, and teasing the comedy gods

Edinburgh Fringe 2024 reviews: Sheeps / Mhairi Black

Veronica Lee

Sketch trio make their farewell, former MP says hello to the stage

Edinburgh Fringe 2024 reviews: Stevie Martin / Colin Hoult

Veronica Lee

Deconstructing comedy, and reflections on fatherhood and family

Edinburgh Fringe 2024 reviews: Chris Grace / Ania Magliano / Elvis McGonagall

Veronica Lee

Humour in loss, finding commitment hard, and satirical poetry

Edinburgh Fringe 2024 reviews: Emma Sidi Is Sue Gray / Sam Lake

Veronica Lee

Political satire, and a parental memoir

Edinburgh Fringe 2024 reviews: Eric Rushton / Mark Thomas

Veronica Lee

Surreal storytelling, and a bracing dose of politics

Edinburgh Fringe 2024 reviews: Anna Akana / Elliot Steel / Rosco McClelland

Veronica Lee

Dark humour, life's travails, and staring death in the face

Edinburgh Fringe 2024 reviews: Jin Hao Li / Sian Davies

Veronica Lee

Surreal stories and owning our mistakes

Rahul Subramanian, Soho Theatre review - rush-hour traffic and upsetting DJs

Veronica Lee

Observational gags from the Mumbai stand-up

Hannah Berner, Netflix Special - sex, politics and relationships

Veronica Lee

First stand-up special for American social media star

Jazz Emu, Soho Theatre review - delightfully daft musical spoof

Veronica Lee

Archie Henderson's louche creation

Footnote: a brief history of British comedy

British comedy has a honourable history, dating back to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, through Shakespeare’s and Restoration plays to Victorian and Edwardian music hall and its offspring variety, and on to Monty Python’s Flying Circus, working-men’s clubs, 1980s alternative comedy, and today's hugely popular stand-up acts in stadiums seating up to 20,000 people.

In broadcast media, the immediate decades after the Second World War marked radio’s golden age for comedy, with shows such as ITMA, The Goons, Round the Horne and Beyond Our Ken. Many radio comedy shows transferred to even greater acclaim on television - such as Hancock’s Half Hour, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Knowing Me, Knowing You, The Day Today, Red Dwarf, The League of Gentlemen, Goodness Gracious Me and Little Britain.

In television, the 1970s and 1980s were the great age of British sitcom, when shows such as Steptoe and Son, Till Death Us Do Part, Rising Damp, Dad’s Army, Porridge, Yes, Minister, Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers and Blackadder. They were marked by great writing, acting and directing, although the time should also be noted for great British dross such as On the Buses and Love Thy Neighbour.

By the 1990s, British sitcom had developed into intelligent über-comedy, with shows such as Absolutely Fabulous and The Office making dark or off-kilter (although some would say bad taste) shows such as Drop the Dead Donkey, Peep Show, Green Wing and The Inbetweeners possible. In film, British comedy has had three great ages - silent movies (Charlie Chaplin being their star), Ealing comedies (Passport to Pimlico perhaps the best ever) and Carry On films. The first are in a long tradition of daft physical humour, the second mark the dry sophistication of much British humour, and the last the bawdiness that goes back to Chaucer.

The 2000s marked the resurgence of live comedy, with acts (including Jimmy Carr, Peter Kay and Russell Howard) honing their talents at successive Edinburgh Fringes and their resulting TV, stadium tour and DVD sales making millionaires of dozens of UK comics. Comedians cross readily from TV to stand-up to film to West End comedy theatre. The British comedy industry is now a huge and growing commercial business, with star comics such as Peter Kay and Michael McIntyre grossing tens of millions of pounds from arena tours, and attendances of up to 20,000 at venues across the UK.

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