The comedy writers, radio presenters and standup double act on the things that make them laugh the mostMax: Ivan is obsessed with Too Many Cooks – and not just because he finds it easy to learn the words to the song.Ivan: That’s how the Hare Krishnas l…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonThe standup’s new show, Backward, dissects the pitfalls of fame but her joyfully undercutting humour hasn’t suffered Rosie Jones appeared eight times, she specifies, on telly last year – and her show Backward is about how her life h…
Continue ReadingThe gameshow star and former GP on how he wrote his ‘career best’ standup material after getting married – and being diagnosed with Parkinson’s‘You don’t expect the most eventful year of your life to be in your late 40s,” says Paul Sinha. “No one expec…
Continue ReadingJones was uninhibited, energetic, kind, curious – and a great person to spend time with, says the comedian Read Peter Bradshaw’s appreciation of Terry JonesI was quite young when Monty Python came down the airwaves into my brain. When the Python casset…
Continue ReadingSouthbank Centre, LondonThis devised drama about relationships between young men moves from grim violence to understandingPhysical theatre company The PappyShow devises its material through workshops, games and role-playing for its racially diverse ens…
Continue ReadingThe Kiwi comedian and mime on the things that make him laugh the mostThe Flat by the Umbilical Brothers. It’s timeless, perfectly formed, surprising, ridiculous, emotional. I would say, it is the PERFECT comedy sketch. Continue reading…
Continue ReadingGarrick theatre, LondonHis scattergun style leaves little room for depth, but the veteran gagsmith is still wonderful company as he tackles middle ageThere’s a pleasure to watching Frank Skinner that you don’t get with many other comics: you can approa…
Continue ReadingWilton’s Music Hall, LondonA transatlantic voyage in 1910, with the silent stars onboard, is the basis of Told By An Idiot’s beguiling comedyCharlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel shared a boat from the UK to New York in 1910, as part of Fred Karno’s music ha…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonThe charming musical misfits are funniest at their most absurd, serving up numbers that range from klezmer to folderol folkMost of us watched the Bros documentary and laughed; Nicola and Rosie Dempsey (AKA Flo & Joan) saw in it …
Continue ReadingWhen her trainer called muscly women ‘unfeminine’, the standup turned her outrage into a hilarious show full of sweat, barbells, chalk and childbirthJessica Fostekew felt nervous yesterday, very nervous. So she went to lift some weights. “I was at peak…
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