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Trump that: can standups keep up with a president like this?

October 1, 2018TheGuardian

In Oh Come On, David Cross matches vulgarity with vulgarity but it’s not the only way to mock a political horror show

I’m watching David Cross, but I can’t help thinking about Brett Kavanaugh. No insult intended to Cross, but the hearings were unfolding as he performed this London gig. And of course, the Arrested Development man has skin in the game. His comedy usually includes a strand of political commentary; his wife Amber Tamblyn is a co-founder of the Time’s Up movement. And right now, one year after the dawn of #MeToo, an alleged sexual abuser was about to be nominated to America’s supreme court.

What can comedy do about that? Or at least, what can Cross do? One option is escapism, but that’s not Cross’s bag – this performance, of his touring set Oh Come On, was bound to broach Trump-era politics. And so it came to pass: in the closing 20 minutes he zeroes in on Potus, with a gag-cum-tirade about penitent Trump voters, and an inventory of increasingly baroque scenarios that might lead to the president leaving office. But Cross’s Trump material comes with a caveat. People tell him: “Trump must be great for comedy, right?” But the opposite is true. He’s hard to joke about. The reality is more absurd than any joke. The president’s outrages come too thick and fast to get purchase on: they’ve been superseded before you make it to the punchline.

Lou Sanders: Shame Pig review – lurid gags from the comedians’ comedian

September 30, 2018TheGuardian

Soho theatre, London
With an abundance of eyebrow-raising anecdotes about outrageous social faux pas, the standup is terrific company

There was louder buzz around Lou Sanders’ Edinburgh fringe hour this year than her work has ever previously generated – Shame Pig was voted best show by her fellow comedians. Not only is it a fine show, from a comic with just the right distance from, and closeness to, all the self-mortifying stories she’s got to tell. But it also addresses her alcoholism and newfound sobriety. Her previous work was talked about in terms of its wildness and lack of focus. Shame Pig, by contrast, is efficient and on point, a neat hour broaching the burden of shame – as opposed to embarrassment – that Sanders (and, she argues, many women) find themselves carrying through youth and early adulthood.

At Soho theatre, London, 25-28 February.

David O’Doherty: ‘Mitch Hedberg was so funny it made me need to wee’

September 28, 2018TheGuardian

The Irish comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright on the things that make him laugh the mostI saw Mitch Hedberg in a tiny pub in Kilkenny in 1998 and it was so funny it made me need to wee. I was so afraid of missing the next joke I went with …

Trailer Park Boys: ‘Eddie Murphy got his whole routine from Richard Pryor’

September 21, 2018TheGuardian

Canadian standups Ricky, Julian and Bubbles on the things that make them laugh the most

Bubbles: Richard Pryor.
Julian: Eddie Murphy’s Delirious.
Bubbles: Yeah, and where do you think he got his whole routine from? Richard Pryor!

Bianca Del Rio: ‘Joan Rivers would make me pee with laughter’

September 14, 2018TheGuardian

The American drag queen, comedian, actor and winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race on the things that make her laugh the most

Tootsie with Dustin Hoffman from 1982 – I’m so old. If you’re a drag queen, you can relate to it, but also if you are an actor and you’re willing to do anything to get a job. It also shows a fabulous time in New York that doesn’t exist any more.

Cameron Esposito: a new kind of comedy hero

September 13, 2018TheGuardian

Esposito’s last show, Rape Jokes, was hailed as part of a new queer-friendly, woke brand of comedy for the #MeToo era. How does she follow it up?

When Hannah Gadsby’s show Nanette went supernova earlier this year, we were told that it was going to change comedy. Nothing, apparently, would be the same again. Much as I acknowledge the show’s power, I reserved judgment on all that. But, at this year’s Edinburgh fringe, I did find myself thinking about Gadsby’s show a lot – particularly when watching comics making sometimes brutal jokes at their own expense. In the past, ringleading the laughter at one’s own weaknesses or points of difference looked like (and may indeed still be) a sign of strength. But post-Nanette, it’s hard not to consider the mental-health fallout.

So, while I don’t think Gadsby has single-handedly changed comedy, she has given us a new lens though which to view it – which is achievement enough. All of which meant that anticipation ran high for the first UK headlining slots of US standup Cameron Esposito, whose most recent show was widely bracketed with Nanette as the most potent comedic expressions yet of the temper of our Time’s Up times. Rape Jokes was released on Esposito’s website in June; all proceeds went to RAINN, the United States’ largest anti-sexual violence organisation. The show addresses Esposito’s own experience of sexual assault. The Daily Beast called it “the first great standup set of the #MeToo era”.

Cameron Esposito is at Soho theatre, London, until 15 September.

Kevin Bridges review – savant of Clydebank laughs in the face of piety

September 7, 2018TheGuardian

Hammersmith Apollo, London
The 31-year-old breathes new life into well-worn observational comedy in a masterful show that scorns pretension

Kevin Bridges is in his 30s now, a time when fear of hangovers eclipses the joy of drinking, when young people start behaving mysteriously – and old friends called Craigy become grownups called Craig. “But I know you’re still in there, Craigy,” says Bridges, zooming in on the man’s Facebook photo, peering maniacally into his eyes. Judging by tonight’s gig, the Glaswegian won’t rest until he’s hunted down all our inner Craigys. Not for Bridges the conceit that we’ve civilised and matured. He’s here to scorn pretension and pounce on piety – and as ever, it’s a treat to watch him do it.

At Hammersmith Apollo, London, until 15 September. Then touring.

Katy Wix: ‘The Day Today is the funniest TV show I’ve ever seen’

September 7, 2018TheGuardian

The actor and standup comedian on the things that make her laugh the most

I can’t decide between Nomad and I, Partridge. I love Robert Popper’s books, too.

Race is still a touchy subject at the Edinburgh fringe

August 28, 2018TheGuardian

As the only brown person in the room at The Glang Show, I couldn’t shake a sense of otherness when a quip turned sour

I’m a few months into a new career as a standup comedian. I’ve had some lovely gigs, some horrific gigs and I have started to get paid for being funny. The path to comic glory is long and the only place to be in August is the Edinburgh fringe.

In the past, I have covered the festival as a theatre critic; this year I went purely to hustle for five- and 10-minute spots on live shows. On my penultimate night, I went to see The Glang Show at the Hive. It defies any sort of description, but if you picture Vic Reeves Big Night Out in a bouncy castle, on acid, you’ll be close. It is joyful, wonderful fun.

Joke’s over: why standups should refresh the tired ‘Edinburgh show’

August 28, 2018TheGuardian

The classic Edinburgh comedy show lasts an hour, with a strong narrative component and an inevitable ‘sad bit’. But this rigid template is stifling creativity

The late Sean Hughes had a reasonable claim to inventing what we now know as the “Edinburgh show”. Before 1990, wannabe comics went to the Edinburgh fringe and performed their best standup material. Hughes came along with something different: a funny monologue, set in his bedsit and containing a narrative to go with the gags. Comedy with a hint of theatre, in other words.

It worked: A One Night Stand not only won the Edinburgh comedy award (then called the Perrier), it got Hughes a Channel 4 series. And 28 years later, Hughes’s template for a 60-minute show still dominates the fringe.

So common is the ‘sad bit’ now that not only is it a cliche in comedy circles, it’s also become a cliche for standups to knowingly point it out

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