Chartreuse de Villeneuve, AvignonThere is gallows humour and unzipped ribaldry as a mischievous group share stories that are joyful, tender and sometimes eye-wateringWarning! The people in this show are likely to die at any moment, we are told. Don’t b…
Continue ReadingKyle Gass’s ill-judged Donald Trump assassination jibe has put Tenacious D on ice. Will he be for ever cancelled, or bounce back like Billy Connolly and Jo Brand?On the edge. Walking a tightrope. When we admire comedy for its outspokenness, we make it …
Continue ReadingThe comic on her standup heroes, using depression as an inspiration for laughter and stereotypes about northernersHow did you get into comedy?I’d always wanted to do it but was way too self-conscious. Then when I was very depressed, staying on my frien…
Continue ReadingFashion and music from the 90s are with us again – not to mention a Labour landslide. Next month’s Edinburgh fringe will capture the moodAs Labour swept to a landslide win on 4 July to the sound of D:Ream and chants of “Football’s Coming Home” echoing …
Continue ReadingResearchers say standups’ contribution is unsung, and hope findings will help to bolster the industry’s credibilityThe live comedy industry in the UK contributes more than £1bn to the economy every year, according to a study by Brunel University London…
Continue ReadingTestosterone-soaked clowning show Furiozo: Man Looking for Trouble spikes fun with fear – but the hooligan’s knife-edge moments of vulnerability lead us somewhere differentClowning is about vulnerability. Hyper-masculinity is about invulnerability. Wha…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonLenoir’s mischievous charm is infectious, and she plays with skill on the heartstrings and funny bonesClowning may be silly, but it is seldom, these days, insubstantial. Paulina Lenoir is performing Puella Eterna as part of the Lond…
Continue ReadingAs a veteran of the festival, Richard Gadd captures the mix of heady promise and bleak reality that awaits another influx of acts this summerNothing prepares you for performing at the Edinburgh festival fringe. It’s the largest arts festival in the wor…
Continue ReadingWith manga circus, a Jaffa Cake musical, silly science and a llama adventure, there is something to entertain audiences of all ages this summerThe jaw-dropping, dreamlike animations of 1927 linger long after the final curtain. Now, the restlessly inven…
Continue ReadingStudents on a comedy course devote their every moment to mining material for their on-stage routine in a novel that relies on how much it can make the reader laughFor any standup comedian, “material” is everything. Yes, it will require editing, fleshin…
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