Comedy Reviews

Shaparak Khorsandi, touring review - sex, drugs and rock'n'roll

Veronica Lee Wednesday, 27 April 2022

Shaparak Khorsandi has reverted to her given name since she last toured (she used to be known as Shappi) but other than that not much has changed in her brand of feelgood comedy, and her new show, It Was the 90s!, is an amusing look back at her youth from the perspective of middle age.

String v SPITTA, Soho Theatre review - rival children's entertainers battle it out

Veronica Lee Monday, 11 April 2022

Spoofs of children's entertainment is a rich area for comics – whether it's the permanently drunk Jeremy Lion (Justin Edwards), or the permanently disappointed Funz and Gamez (Phil Ellis) – as they create adult fun in a seemingly innocent world. And now Ed MacArthur and Kiell Smith-Bynoe take an interesting new tack with String v SPITTA.

Katherine Ryan, London Palladium review - a softer comic emerges

Veronica Lee Monday, 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.

Catherine Bohart, Soho Theatre review - anatomy of a break-up

Veronica Lee Monday, 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.

Comment

Sarah Millican, Winter Gardens, Margate review - enjoyable filth

Veronica Lee Tuesday, 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.

Matt Forde: The Political Party review - topical stand-up and chat

Veronica Lee Monday, 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.

Nish Kumar, Soho Theatre review - how a bad gig turned into a terrific show

Veronica Lee Monday, 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.

Alan Carr, Milton Keynes Theatre review - comic keeps it relentlessly light

Veronica Lee Wednesday, 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.

Russell Howard, Netflix special review - joyous return to live performance

Veronica Lee Thursday, 20 January 2022

In 2019, Russell Howard was all set to celebrate his 20th year in comedy by going on a world tour.

One-Woman Show review - Liz Kingsman's spot-on spoof

Veronica Lee Wednesday, 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.