Fortune Feimster: ‘The stage was a crate, the sound system was a karaoke machine. No one enjoyed the show’

The standup on playing a beaver in Zootropolis 2, being inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger and why her mother is a great source of comedyWhat is the best advice you’ve ever been given?I used to be quite the worrywart. Especially in this business, there …

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Bronwyn Kuss: Bronwyn & Sons review – parchingly dry comedy about success in your late 30s

Melbourne international comedy festivalA show about coming to terms with the fact that you might not have children, delivered with a deadpan humour that feels specifically AustralianGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailA drunk witch once told Bro…

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Hit New Zealand comedy duo Flight of the Conchords reunion gigs sell out in minutes

Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement announce four shows at Wellington venue Meow Nui from next week – their first gigs since 2018New Zealand’s self-described “fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo-a cappella-rap-funk-comedy-folk duo” Flight of the …

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Dan Rath: Help Me Please review – you won’t find another standup with more jokes a minute

Melbourne international comedy festivalBuckle up: the comedian doesn’t give his audience a moment to relax as he delivers a relentless string of one-liners in a show that never hits everyone all at onceGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailDon’t c…

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‘Just so cheeky!’ Kemah Bob on FOC Fest, the celebration for femmes of colour in comedy

The standup is taking their club night to new heights with an all-day extravaganza. They talk about new talent, learning to laugh in hard times and ‘performative activism’Kemah Bob’s face lights up when they tell me about their “passion project that ha…

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Aisling Bea review – glamourpuss meets accidental mum in a scatty show that revels in immaturity

Hammersmith Apollo, LondonThe sitcom star and Taskmaster stalwart is on commanding form as she embarks on Older Than Jesus, her first – and deeply daft – standup tourThat staple realisation of early midlife, that one has now lived longer than Jesus did…

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Josh Thomas: ‘If I could fight someone, I’d go big: Harry Styles. Or is Margaret Thatcher still alive?’

The Australian comedian on being tackled by 80 children, his nemesis and swapping bodies with Abbie ChatfieldIf you could change the size of any animal to keep as a pet, what would it be?Sometimes I take these too seriously, it’s the truth. Like, somet…

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‘Luckily, I wasn’t decapitated’: 17 comedians’ stories from 40 years of Melbourne international comedy festival

Wil Anderson, Lano and Woodley, Aaron Chen, Urzila Carlson and more share memories from 40 years at MICF, including fires, camels and weddingsFirst MICF: 1988Lano and Woodley in Space is on 4-5 April and 11 April Continue reading…

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Steph Tisdell’s Fat review – standup unpacks a lifetime of yo-yo dieting and disordered eating

Melbourne international comedy festivalTisdell’s first standup show in four years reveals why she made the choice to quit and why she has chosen this moment to returnGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailSteph Tisdell is Fat. It’s both the name of…

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Private Lives review – Noël Coward’s queasy merry-go-round of desire and spite

Royal Exchange theatre, ManchesterSparring lovers play a capricious game in Blanche McIntyre’s revival – but the cut and thrust is kept witty, rather than curdling into dangerIn director Blanche McIntyre’s take on Private Lives, love is a dizzying thin…

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