Comedy
Alex Horne: Monsieur Butterfly, Soho TheatreFriday, 08 May 2015
There are many forms of comedy – stand-up, sketch and improv among them – and now Alex Horne has introduced a new genre as he constructs his set during the hour he spends on stage. It's a kind of Heath Robinson or Rube Goldberg device (that is, a... Read more... |
Panti: High Heels in Low Places, Soho TheatreFriday, 24 April 2015
Panti Bliss is not a name on many people's lips outside Ireland, but over the past year she has gone from little-known club performer to self-described “accidental activist”, and this utterly charming, funny and touching show tells her story.Panti (... Read more... |
James Freedman: Man of Steal, Menier Chocolate FactoryWednesday, 15 April 2015
Normally comedy critics tell people not to sit in the front row, lest they're picked on by a particularly boorish comic. No such problem for audiences at James Freedman's interesting and unusual show about the art of pickpocketing and more modern... Read more... |
The Pub Landlord, TouringMonday, 23 March 2015
Al Murray is celebrating 20 years as his brilliant invention the Pub Landlord, an autodidact, xenophobic sexist with misogynistic undertones. Who better then, you may think, to run for a certain political party in the forthcoming election? You'd be... Read more... |
Nina Conti Clowning Around, BBC FourMonday, 16 March 2015
Ventriloquist Nina Conti, along with her wisecracking sidekick Monkey, has emerged as one of the sharper comedy acts of the past few years but Nina Conti Clowning Around was an uneasy, far from comic film. Embarking on a new direction, away from “... Read more... |
The 2,000 Year Old Man, JW3Monday, 16 March 2015
Well, here’s an interesting endeavour. The 2,000 Year Old Man was a series of improvised sketches performed in the 1960s by Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. Brooks played the old guy, talking about all the great names in history – Jesus, Joan of Arc... Read more... |
Dracula! (Mr Swallow - the Musical), Soho TheatreThursday, 19 February 2015
Nick Mohammed's show has had a slight change of title since it debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, where it was called Mr Swallow - the Musical, and garnered warm reviews for its shambolic silliness.The set-up is that Mohammed’s alter-ego,... Read more... |
Kim Noble, Soho TheatreSaturday, 07 February 2015
The Soho Theatre's lawyer was in the night I saw Kim Noble's new show, and that's no surprise as it pushes a few boundaries – public decency and legality being just two. In many ways it's typical of Noble's output as it plays with the audience's... Read more... |
Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, Manchester ArenaMonday, 02 February 2015
Due to unfortunate circumstances I am unable to give a star rating to this show; 15 minutes into the second half a cast member collapsed on stage and the performance was cancelled. At the time of posting Ted Robbins (extreme right in the picture... Read more... |
Glasgow International Comedy Festival 2015 launchTuesday, 27 January 2015
The Glasgow International Comedy Festival was launched last night (the day after Burns Night) at the Leicester Square Theatre in London, with Stewart Lee, Rob Deering, Simon Munnery, Janey Godley and others giving a taster of what's to come in... Read more... |
Best of 2014: ComedyMonday, 29 December 2014
It may not have been the most stellar year for comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe, but 2014 was made memorable not just by a long-awaited reunion, but also by witnessing a fine solo debut of a performer we're more used to seeing as part of a terrific... Read more... |
Dara Ó Bríain, TouringWednesday, 26 November 2014
It's always an education to see a comic – now a part of the British comedy establishment – performing a gig in his own backyard. And Dara Ó Bríain, at the Royal Theatre in Castlebar, Co Mayo, was just that; he had, as ever, done his... Read more... |
