Cliffs Pavilion, SouthendThe standup delivers an unstructured show with autobiographical anecdotes and routines about henpecked husbands and women called FannyHow hard should a comedian try when they’re already a household name? Some still go the extra…
Continue ReadingThe pair, whose final season of the hit horror-comedy will air on the BBC this month, say the West End production will feature familiar characters and fresh surprisesAs the ninth and final series of their BBC hit Inside No 9 begins this month, Steve Pe…
Continue ReadingSpeaking at launch for West End adaptation, Cleese complains about literal-minded viewers ‘not playing with a full deck’John Cleese said that he decided to cut the N-word from a scene in his West End Fawlty Towers revival because in contemporary Britai…
Continue ReadingSpeaking at launch for West End adaptation, Cleese complains about literal-minded viewers ‘not playing with a full deck’John Cleese said that he decided to cut the N-word from a scene in his West End Fawlty Towers revival because in contemporary Britai…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonA lesser act might have struggled to follow the brilliant Sydnee Washington, but Faustin’s swaggering, gossipy shtick is superbHas Marie Faustin blundered? Support acts are supposed to be warmup funny, not red-hot funny. Faustin’s N…
Continue ReadingThe comedian’s claim that wokeness is the reason why comedy is no longer as funny is lazy – and inaccurateJerry Seinfeld is currently at saturation point, promoting his new Pop Tarts movie Unfrosted. Still a canny operator, however, Seinfeld understand…
Continue ReadingThe standup on being a vibe killer, studying Richard Pryor and why comedy isn’t for good-looking peopleWho is your comedy hero?I grew up idolising a lot of standups: Chris Rock, Maria Bamford, Bridget Christie. I followed Ross Noble around (that sounds…
Continue ReadingBrighton DomeRanganathan’s Hustle delivers laughs, but not the shock of the new. It is at its best when we glimpse something meaningful beneath the standard-issue curmudgeonliness‘I’ll be honest with you: I’m getting sick of me too.” His TV ubiquity no…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonPhil Burgers made clowning hip after winning the Edinburgh comedy award in 2012. Now older, if not wiser, his new show is a little undercooked, but his skill as a performer is undeniableClown is the hippest thing in comedy right now…
Continue ReadingThe standup comedian shares what makes her laugh online, including Gino D’Acampo getting mad, the Lonely Island and a scared man paraglidingI’m Urooj Ashfaq and I’m a standup comedian. The best way to describe my relationship to the internet is: taxing…
Continue Reading