Comedy Reviews
Katherine Ryan, London Palladium review - a softer comic emergesMonday, 04 April 2022![]()
A lot has happened to British-Canadian comic Katherine Ryan since she last toured and was expecting to go back on the road in 2020 – the “pandem”, which affected us all, of course, plus unexpected marriage and second-time motherhood. Updating us on that, plus her thoughts on much more, is a lot to pack in but she does so at pace in a show that barely stops for breath. Read more... |
Catherine Bohart, Soho Theatre review - anatomy of a break-upMonday, 14 March 2022![]()
Catherine Bohart had a more eventful lockdown than most, as it marked the end of a five-year relationship and what she describes as a sort of breakdown followed. To add insult to injury, the break-up came not along after she and her girlfriend, fellow comic Sarah Keyworth (whom she doesn't name in the hour), had launched You'll Do, a podcast about – you've guessed – love and relationships. Read more... |
Sarah Millican, Winter Gardens, Margate review - enjoyable filthTuesday, 01 March 2022![]()
Sarah Millican is clearly glad to be back on stage, and the noisy reception she gets at the Winter Gardens in Margate suggests her fans are glad to have her back too. Bobby Dazzler is a crowd pleaser in much the same vein as her previous shows – unflinching honesty about women's bodies, and scatological filth. Read more... |
Matt Forde: The Political Party review - topical stand-up and chatMonday, 07 February 2022![]()
Nowadays, the jokes almost write themselves. As each new revelation of the Bacchanalia at 10 Downing Street appears (with much more to come, no doubt), political comics like Matt Forde must rub their hands with glee. Read more... |
Nish Kumar, Soho Theatre review - how a bad gig turned into a terrific showMonday, 31 January 2022![]()
Nish Kumar comes on stage raring to go, and delivers 15 minutes of terrific political comedy that expertly skewers the Government and this country's leader “spraying jizz over us”. It's a barnstorming start to the show and worth the price of admission alone. Read more... |
Alan Carr, Milton Keynes Theatre review - comic keeps it relentlessly lightWednesday, 26 January 2022![]()
Lots of stand-ups plunder their personal lives for material – whether it's about friends, parents, children or partners – and many a good show has been fashioned by the telling of tales about them, or comic exaggerations at least. But sometimes real life interrupts art in the rudest possible way. Read more... |
Russell Howard, Netflix special review - joyous return to live performanceThursday, 20 January 2022![]()
In 2019, Russell Howard was all set to celebrate his 20th year in comedy by going on a world tour. Read more... |
One-Woman Show review - Liz Kingsman's spot-on spoofWednesday, 12 January 2022![]()
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, they say. I'm not sure One-Woman Show, written and performed by comic, writer and actor Liz Kingsman, is an imitation of a solo show that catapulted another female actor-writer to worldwide fame, but it's imitation-adjacent in a spot-on spoof kind of way. Read more... |
Best of 2021: ComedyWednesday, 29 December 2021![]()
Everybody in the comedy industry started out with so much hope that, finally, things could get back to normal in 2021 – and for a while they did, and there were some gems as live comedy returned to clubs and theatres. Read more... |
Shagged. Married. Annoyed. Live, O2 Arena review - popular podcast lost in translationTuesday, 07 December 2021![]()
The lengthy ovation Chris and Rosie Ramsey received when they walked on stage at the O2 showed there was a lot of love in the room, and why wouldn't there be? The married couple's podcast Shagged. Married. Annoyed. has clocked up 144 episodes and built a large and loyal following, and now here they were doing the show live. Read more... |
Pages
latest in today

It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.
It followed some...

There is so much that is right about Jonathan Kent’s new production of House of Games – the casting, the staging, the...

William Byrd, Arnold Schoenberg and their respective acolytes go cheek by jowl, crash into one another, soothe, infuriate and shine in their very...

Danish singer MØ is a paradox. Initially she appeared to be another Scandi electro-pop princess of the bangers. The monster 2015 hit “Lean On”...

There was a wonderful festal spirit at the Wigmore Hall last night, as the vocal ensemble Stile Antico ran through a Greatest Hits selection in...

According to PUP lead singer Stefan Babcock, the Toronto foursome practiced together a grand total of twice before embarking on their current UK...
Zoe Lyons knows her audience; as a few shoutouts confirmed, many of them are long-time fans, and have had lives with similar highs and...

“It is so disgraceful, what happened there,” says Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, in a comment that is the understatement of the century. She is referring...

Is Giulio Cesare in Egitto, to give the full title, Handel’s best and shapeliest opera? Glyndebourne’s revival of the legendary David...

Huw Watkins’ Concerto for Orchestra, the fourth new work of his to be commissioned and premiered by the Hallé and Sir Mark Elder, is...