Royal Court theatre, LiverpoolPaul Duckworth’s sweary Scrooge has romantic history with Marley’s widow in a pun-heavy festive showWhether it’s Paul Hilton at London’s Old Vic this winter or Marti Pellow in Glasgow next year, you’re never far from a Scr…
Continue ReadingRoyal Court theatre, LiverpoolPaul Duckworth’s sweary Scrooge has romantic history with Marley’s widow in a pun-heavy festive showWhether it’s Paul Hilton at London’s Old Vic this winter or Marti Pellow in Glasgow next year, you’re never far from a Scr…
Continue ReadingThe Young Ones and Blackadder creator is sharp on the workings of the comedy industry – and not shy about listing his celebrity admirersBen Elton admits he has a habit of rubbing people up the wrong way. In 1975, three weeks after his arrival at the St…
Continue ReadingThe Young Ones and Blackadder creator is sharp on the workings of the comedy industry – and not shy about listing his celebrity admirersBen Elton admits he has a habit of rubbing people up the wrong way. In 1975, three weeks after his arrival at the St…
Continue ReadingRose theatre, Kingston upon ThamesAva Pickett’s modern-day adaptation of the novel adds pop music, farce and clowning but lacks gimlet-eyed observationsAn early blast of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance sets the mood of this 21st-century take on Jane Austen’s c…
Continue ReadingPleasance Dome, EdinburghKate Ireland’s warmly delivered one-woman show considers the pressures of productivity, rules and rewards at school and beyondShe has been given 60 minutes out of her audience’s day and Kate Ireland won’t waste them, she promis…
Continue ReadingAssembly George Square Studios, Edinburgh Robert Daws stars as the great comic author in this one-man show but is let down by lukewarm humourRobert Daws has lots of previous form on PG Wodehouse: he has played in various Jeeves and Woosters through the…
Continue ReadingIn a riotous show, Garry Starr dons a tailcoat, flippers and little else to re-enact a bookshelf full of classics. Would you help him bring The Jungle Book to life?Comedy smash-hits come in all shapes and sizes. You’ve got your standup, your sketch – a…
Continue ReadingAn emergency at Butlin’s gave the children’s TV presenter an early break. He recalls his shaky start as a standup and what he learned from Bob Monkhouse and Les DawsonAfter spending the summer as a Redcoat, I arrived at Butlin’s Metropole hotel in Blac…
Continue ReadingMenier Chocolate Factory, LondonAs a gym-bunny vampire channelling Frank-N-Furter, James Daly leads a superb cast in a gender and genre-inverting romp that lacks biteBefore they took on Bram Stoker’s vampire count, co-writers Gordon Greenberg and Steve…
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