Chills, chuckles and Cate Blanchett in Chekhov: the best theatre, dance and comedy coming in 2025

Gary Oldman’s tackling Beckett, Strictly winner Chris McCausland is on a huge standup tour – and mods can rev their scooters to a dance Quadrophenia Continue reading…

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Adam Riches and John Kearns ARE Ball & Boe review – a deliciously silly sendup

Soho theatre, London Impersonating chart-topping singing duo Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, the comics trade trills and gags as showbiz egos clash and simmering tension comes to the boil“The most successful double act no one you know has ever seen,” is ho…

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Standing Up review – autism gets sappy treatment in didactic family road movie

Familiar worries about how to raise a neurodiverse child are played out with empathy but little subtletyWhile normally I’m a soft touch for any film about autistic children, one just can’t let something as sappy and annoyingly didactic as this road mov…

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The best theatre, comedy and dance of 2024

Sarah Snook put Succession behind her, Hofesh Shechter found horror in Albion and Rhod Gilbert was ecstatic to be alive, in our critics’ picks of the best stage shows of the year• More on the best culture of 202410. Please Right Back This dark, psyched…

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Hold on to Your Butts review – Jurassic Park redone with DIY dinos

Arcola theatre, LondonThis recreation of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 classic is frenetic fun, with the dinosaurs brought to life using physical comedy – and traffic conesHold on to your … what? Your enjoyment of this show may well depend on whether you rec…

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Le Gateau Chocolat: Musicals Mayhem review – dazzling charisma and thundering sonic richness

Soho theatre, London The major showman takes a solo stroll through show tunes, sing alongs and seasonal hits with vocal highlights that leave you gasping for breathSome Christmasses ago, Le Gateau Chocolat and Jonny Woo teamed up for a cabaret double a…

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Ben Elton: ‘I fancied Olivia Newton-John. It’s alright to say that about a third cousin, right?’

The standup talks about tensions behind the scenes of Blackadder, his Wiggles movie that never happened and his opinions on hecklersOf all the things you’ve written, what gets quoted at you the most?It’d be something from my three series of Blackadder …

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Jenny Eclair looks back: ‘Anorexia is difficult to get out of. I can joke about it now, because I’m overweight’

The comedian and novelist on the stress of sudden success, her disordered relationship with food, and how hobbies have replaced her libidoBorn in Kuala Lumpur in 1960, Jenny Eclair is a comedian, actor and author. The daughter of a major in the British…

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Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was … review – a star is born again

Reflecting on the stroke he had in 2023, the standup and actor delivers a mix of religion, repentance, wisecracks and tears in his Netflix specialIt’s quite the document, this new Jamie Foxx special, in which the Oscar- and Grammy-winner opens up about…

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Comfort and joy! Merry gentlemen Sheeps deliver the ultimate Christmas album

With A Very Sheeps Christmas, featuring songs such as Hoo Hoo Daddy X, the comic trio and guests including Rose Matafeo pastiche all manner of festive tunesAre any two forms of artistic expression more widely maligned than musical comedy and the Christ…

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