Comedy Reviews
Jayde Adams, Soho Theatre review - witty celebrity takedownMonday, 03 February 2020
No more glitzy and glam musical shows for Jayde Adams, the comic tells us at the top of the hour. Now, after a few years in the business, she wants to be taken seriously (or seriously enough to host Crazy Delicious on Channel 4), so the sequinned Spandex has gone into storage – “no more camel toes” – and she's popped on jeans and a black turtleneck. Read more... |
Matt Forde, Soho Theatre review - Brexit and beyondFriday, 24 January 2020
Matt Forde sets out his stall in Brexit: Pursued by a Bear from the first line: “We meet in diabolical circumstances.” These aren't good times, he says, with two major leaders in the Western world whose relationship with the truth is merely that of passing acquaintance. Read more... |
Flo & Joan, Soho Theatre review - entertaining wit and whimsyMonday, 20 January 2020
Musical comedy siblings Nicola and Rosie Dempsey (Flo and Joan were their grandmother and great-aunt's names) get along very well – even being mistaken for lovers by one Paris hotel who gave them a double bed – and certainly their chat between songs, where they politely interrupt each other and finish each other's sentences, is testimony to that. Read more... |
Frank Skinner, Garrick Theatre review - a masterclass in owning the roomThursday, 16 January 2020
When Frank Skinner did a London run of new material last year, the show was billed as a taster of a longer touring version. Read more... |
Leicester Comedy Festival Gala Preview Show, De Montfort Hall review - mixed bag in mixed billMonday, 13 January 2020
A mixed bill rarely pleases all comedy tastes – whether in style or content – and so it proved at the launch of the Leicester Comedy Festival, which starts next month. In a line-up of eight comics that had few star names, the best came last – but more of that later. Read more... |
Best of 2019: ComedySaturday, 28 December 2019
It was a year in which we welcomed some big, big names back on stage, including Ben Elton, Clive Anderson and Jack Dee. Read more... |
Adam Kay, Bloomsbury Theatre review - festive tales from the NHS coalfaceMonday, 09 December 2019
Medic-turned-comic Adam Kay had been performing for some years before he wrote his 2016 Edinburgh Fringe show Fingering a Minor at the Piano. It had a personal addendum – about why he left medicine – and was a call to arms to save the NHS. Read more... |
Andy Parsons, Stamford Corn Exchange review - politics and the art of persuasionMonday, 02 December 2019
Andy Parsons is a comic known to like a good old rant, particularly on a political issue. Read more... |
Jack Whitehall, O2 Arena - a mix of posh and puerileTuesday, 26 November 2019
Jack Whitehall is hardly ever off the telly, appearing on gameshows or jollying around with his father, Michael, presenting the BRIT Awards and proving to be a decent actor in dramas such as Decline and Fall. Read more... |
Ivo Graham: The Game of Life, Soho Theatre review - privilege and parentingThursday, 21 November 2019
Ivo Graham's latest show The Game of Life follows on from his previous hour, in which he talked about passing a milestone in life and the prospect of starting a family. Read more... |
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