Soho theatre, LondonKingsman spoofs the look-at-me egotism that sometimes animates solo shows, as she heaps meta layer upon layer in a tour de forceIt seems like five minutes ago that Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag was show-of-the-moment at this venue….
Continue ReadingStandups including Suzi Ruffell, Paul Sinha and Lee Peart reveal how hecklers, bookers and ‘the gay slot’ have affected their appearances in the spotlightThe comedian Stephen Bailey was hosting an Instagram Live earlier this year when he got a message …
Continue ReadingThe award-winning standup is known for his exuberance, but, as he writes in his memoir, he has had to dodge snobbery throughout his career. He discusses family, fame and being funnyRob Beckett is one of those comedians without whom many TV formats woul…
Continue ReadingHammersmith Apollo, LondonGilligan’s cartoonish parade of misunderstandings and manipulations have perspective and heartWhen you get rich and famous for your relatable comedy, how do you stay relatable? It’s a perennial problem, but Mo Gilligan dodges …
Continue ReadingThe comedian, 62, on growing up shy in Middlesbrough, losing his dad, meeting Vic Reeves, and the deep contentment of fishingI was quite a shy boy. Growing up in Middlesbrough, I felt a bit of an outsider. My three elder brothers are funny and boistero…
Continue ReadingThe comedian and her dad recreate a childhood photo and talk about early days in India, agoraphobia and swapping banking for comedy Born in New Delhi in 1969, Sindhu Vee spent her childhood in India and the Philippines, before throwing herself into aca…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonAmrou Al-Kadhi’s drag alter ego, poised between self-absorption and self-irony, delivers a tart, funny and swaggering tale“Too gay for Iraq, too Iraq for gay.” That’s Amrou Al-Kadhi’s predicament, and From Qur’an to Queen recounts t…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonMcGrath is smart and sardonic about the after-effects of British imperialism in Africa – even if she’s just skimming the surfaceThe Berlin Conference of 1884, the legacy of Hugh Trevor-Roper and the religious practices of Kenya’s Wa…
Continue ReadingNetflixRather than explore the blind spots within modern gender and racial thinking, the comedian’s latest special triples down on the phobia‘I’m going all the way,” is Dave Chappelle’s refrain through this last in his run of Netflix specials. It’s a b…
Continue ReadingBloomsbury theatre, LondonThe comedian is on ebullient form in a gossipy touring show about entering one’s seventh decadeYou can understand why Jenny Eclair might focus her standup on the experience of turning 60. Comedy stages are not exactly teeming …
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