Chequer Mead, East GrinsteadAttacks on Extinction Rebellion and smashed avacado keep Dee in default pissed-off mode, but there are a few inspired momentsJack Dee speaks out of a diagonal mouth: one corner where you’d expect it to be, the other tugged d…
Continue ReadingThe Australian-American standup, political commentator and writer on the things that make him laugh the mostThe first time I saw Andrew Maxwell down at the London Comedy Store. He completely destroyed. Continue reading…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonKearns delivers a day-in-the-drab-life of a man with dreams, toting suburban existentialism in a style all his ownTime was, I’d have bet my house against Count Arthur Strong finding a mainstream audience. He seemed so niche – which …
Continue ReadingThe Guardian’s theatre critic was at the sketch group’s first show in 1960. It was the beginning of a friendship … and a satire boom that changed the worldMy first sighting of Jonathan Miller was at the Lyceum theatre in Edinburgh in August 1960. I was…
Continue ReadingChicago’s pioneering club – where comics from John Belushi to Tina Fey learned their craft – is 60 years old. We crash an improv class in search of its secretsIn the fashionable Old Town district of Chicago, I am making mooing noises and performing dee…
Continue ReadingBrighton DomeIn an endearing but gentle show, the comedian tries to leave his Father Ted alter ego behindFather Dougal casts a long shadow, Ardal O’Hanlon laments at the start of his touring show. But it’s clear that the dopey sitcom alter ego is more …
Continue ReadingO2 Arena, LondonThe comic, who doesn’t seem to have any interest in people or the world, puts on a weak show with anecdotes that ring untrueIt’s not an auspicious start to Jack Whitehall’s show when he opens with a crude mime about hard, soft and “thum…
Continue ReadingThe standup and writer on the things that make him laugh the mostVictoria Wood and Julie Walters: The Waitress sketch. The simplicity of it is amazing. One great idea, one great performer and the rest sorts itself out. Perfect. Continue reading…
Continue ReadingLarry David took the role of “Larry David” onscreen. But how close are such characters to real life? Three comics starring as versions of themselves reveal where they draw the lineFans of the Canadian standup Mae Martin could probably tell you a lot ab…
Continue ReadingFairfield Halls, LondonThe perky comic provides plenty of material and eye-rolling at how the other half live but some of the jokes flatlineSome marry for love, some for money, and some – you would be forgiven for thinking – for reliable standup materi…
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