Anirban Dasgupta: Polite Provocation review – stealthy subversive satire

Soho theatre, LondonPoking fun at Indian politicians present and past, and delighting in the UK’s decline, the low-key comic delivers some bulletproof materialAnirban Dasgupta has been a standup for 10 years – almost as long as that artform has been bo…

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Bill Bailey: ‘When I met Paul McCartney, I was so nervous that I forgot how to speak’

The comedian planned to tell the Beatle ‘something eloquent’ backstage – but wound up completely thrownGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIf you could change the size of any animal to keep as a pet, what would it be?A tiny elephant, so tiny you…

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After 25 years of piss-taking Australia’s politicians, the ‘disturbingly accurate’ Wharf Revue bows out

Albanese was ‘very gracious’, Bob Hawke invited them to dinner and Tony Burke goes every year. Before their final shows, the minds behind the satire reflect on a quarter century of politics and beltersGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIt’s tim…

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Babatunde Aléshé: ‘Dipsy from the Teletubbies got me into comedy’

The comic talks heroes, his best-ever gig and why he blows raspberries for 20 minutes before going on stageWho’s your comedy hero?Eddie Murphy. How can it not be? Eddie Murphy is the greatest of all time.Do you have any preshow rituals?Just to be left …

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Maisie Adam: Appraisal review – cheery self-mockery skips lightly across the surface of life

Leicester Square theatre, LondonWhile her assessment of her life so far may feel a little insubstantial, there is no doubting the standup’s likability and skill with an audienceCrowd work at the start of a standup set is meant to warm up the audience, …

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‘Oh god I’m Sue Gray – don’t, I’m cringing’: comic Emma Sidi brings the embattled civil servant to the stage

After Starstruck and Taskmaster, the new project sees Sidi play a profane, lowbrow version of Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff. She explains why her latest comedy creation is breaking-news proofWhen Emma Sidi was in year seven, a classmate predicte…

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Elouise Eftos: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)

‘Australia’s first attractive comedian’ shares what makes her laugh, including a Showgirls parody, ‘Sweded’ films and Emma Stone on Saturday Night LiveGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailI was aware of the internet from quite a young age, maybe …

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Jerry Seinfeld says he was ‘wrong’ to blame ‘extreme left’ for killing comedy

Seventy-year-old comedian walks back contentious comments about ‘PC crap’, saying: ‘You can’t say certain words about groups. So what?’Jerry Seinfeld has backtracked on comments he made earlier this year blaming the “extreme left and PC crap” for negat…

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‘I will be hunted down for my Taylor Swift jokes!’ Rose Matafeo on her scary return to standup

She won comedy’s top award, reinvented the romcom and is now hosting Junior Taskmaster. So why does the New Zealand comic need Buddhist podcasts to get through the day?Rose Matafeo is bad at endings. So bad that, after stepping away from standup in 201…

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‘Now I only do dick jokes when I want to’: how Texan standup Kemah Bob found freedom in Britain

Their Miss Fortunate show – which takes in bipolar disorder, financial ruin and a shocking scamming in Thailand – will ‘take the charge paddles to the chest’ of a comedy career that began with an eye-gougingKemah Bob arrives wearing a stylish ensemble:…

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