On his way to Sean Hughes’s funeral, the standup thought of a new joke – but who’s to say it belongs to him?‘Went to a funeral the other day. Caught the wreath.”That’s my new joke. It’s been a good year. But is it mine? Is it really? It came to me – I’…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonNocturnal is notionally about the things keeping the standup awake at night, but this cheery set shows she has nothing to worry aboutHad it been assembled by a jetpack manufacturer, Suzi Ruffell’s new show could hardly be better – o…
Continue ReadingThe Palestinian-US standup on British airports, his Netflix special The Vagabond and what he has in common with comic pals Guz Khan and Dave ChappelleThere’s an auspicious precedent for Houston comedians trying their luck in the UK: when Bill Hicks did…
Continue ReadingEuropean comics assembled for a gig about Britain’s departure from the EU – but ended up talking about sex and poultryIt’s an article of faith among remainers that Brexit has made the UK a global laughing stock, right? So as I entered the Camden Comedy…
Continue ReadingThe QI elf and No Such Thing As a Fish team member on the things that make her laugh the mostHarry and Paul’s Question Time sketch springs to mind. Their panel show sketch would also be hilarious if I didn’t work on a panel show and thus find it very o…
Continue ReadingO2 Academy, Newcastle Ill-judged jokes and a lack of wit and grit make for a tedious set from one of the queens on RuPaul’s seriesIn an interview with Rolling Stone, drag queen Trixie Mattel said she was taken aback by the positive response to her uniq…
Continue ReadingThe polymath standup, writer and painter on the things that make him laugh the mostBrian Gittins doing his show on the top deck of a bus in Edinburgh. Continue reading…
Continue ReadingBattersea Arts Centre, LondonTarget’s absurdist show Splosh! – about swimming and his childhood in Houston – cocks a quiet snook at machismoIt’s my dream with this show, says Ben Target, “to send someone in this room – myself excluded – to sleep”. Splo…
Continue ReadingWyvern theatre, SwindonCartoonish characters and an operatic vomiting routine animate conventional observations about Brits abroad, marriage and moving to the provinces A “fast, mental, neurotic bastard” is how Russell Kane describes himself – and ther…
Continue ReadingThe Britain’s Got Talent winner, who has cerebral palsy and uses a voice box in his standup act, talks about ditching his day job – and the thorny issue of being inspiringIn April 2015, Lee Ridley wrote an email to his parents and sister. “Hi family, I…
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