London PalladiumDawn French, Julian Clary and Alexandra Burke join an animatronic giant with a vast beanstalk in an innuendo-heavy, story-light showPantos are usually cheap and cheerful, so it’s disorientating to see millions of pounds (I’m guessing) t…
Continue ReadingEach week we ask comedians to explain what makes them laugh online. Aiden wants to share Weird Al, a Lenny Kravitz parody and the perfect comedy noiseGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailHello, the Guardian. I am Aiden Willcox and I use the inter…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonWith his Scandi-nowhere accent and cool-dude aspirations, Archie Henderson’s comic character is improbable, clever and very funny‘I’m in control,” sings Jazz Emu, while the routine (synth noodling, cool funk stylings, malfunctioning…
Continue ReadingThe disruptive artist’s new show is a boisterous evening, with her brazen persona an exhilarating challenge for audiencesLucy McCormick’s half-naked body is covered in tomato puree. The floor is littered with confetti and broken glass. Everything is sl…
Continue ReadingIt was hard not to get caught up in my own hype at the Edinburgh fringe. A heartfelt gift restored my humilityThere is no version of this article that doesn’t cast me a braggart. But I hope you’ll forgive me a spot of self-aggrandising when I tell you …
Continue ReadingHe used to upload sketches to YouTube while folding jeans in a shop. Now he gets chauffeur-driven through Hollywood. As his celebrity-studded new gameshow hits primetime, the comic shares his view from the topThe first time I interviewed the comedian –…
Continue ReadingMatthew Holness’s fictional horror author is on the road reading from his novel – prepare to be terrified at the tills while we dream of his full return to the stageWhen is a show not a show? When it’s a book tour, of course. Time was when book tours w…
Continue ReadingOnce an under-the-radar live comedy jewel, Mohammed’s alter-ego impresario is hogging the spotlight in two new stage shows. Is the character destined for TV?Any assessment of the best character acts of recent years – Colin Hoult’s Anna Mann, Zoë Coombs…
Continue ReadingApollo, ManchesterThere’s ample room in comedy to tease at woke over-earnestness but this weak and boorish set fails to engageRicky Gervais gives us a little lecture after curtain call tonight about taking offence. Laughter is always good; no one’s get…
Continue ReadingIn keeping with tradition, jokes chosen by Gold TV poll more likely to elicit groans of despair than laughterJokes about Phil Schofield, Liz Truss, and the cost of living crisis are among the best contemporary Christmas cracker jokes selected by the Br…
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