After several years away, the cheeky cockney comic is doubling down on his good-old-days brand – but despite his geezerish nostalgia he’s no anti-woke crusaderMicky Flanagan was worried, he says, that audiences might have moved on. Fair enough: it has …
Continue ReadingA new sibling to Montreal’s big comedy shindig has launched in the UK and despite the corporate guff there was a lot to laugh aboutYou’ve heard of Just for Laughs Montreal: it’s one of the world’s biggest comedy festivals. But Just for Laughs London? T…
Continue ReadingRich Hardisty cut himself, Harriet Dyer numbed her pain with drugs. A new wave of comics are working out their issues in their acts. But is it really helping them? And should we be laughing?The first and maybe only rule of comedy is that it has to be f…
Continue ReadingComedian lays into victimhood, Jada Pinkett Smith and her husband during his new standup show, saying ‘she hurt him way more than he hurt me’Chris Rock has spoken at length for the first time about being slapped by Will Smith during the Oscars, almost …
Continue ReadingEartH Hackney, LondonADHD, Tory supremacy and the limited appeal of ‘Sir Keir’ combine in another unrestrained report from the standup’s struggles to hang on to optimismSome comics alight on a new theme for each show. Josie Long’s theme remains the sam…
Continue ReadingEartH Hackney, LondonADHD, Tory supremacy and the limited appeal of ‘Sir Keir’ combine in another unrestrained report from the standup’s struggles to hang on to optimismSome comics alight on a new theme for each show. Josie Long’s theme remains the sam…
Continue ReadingNew Wolsey theatre, IpswichThis riff on HG Wells’s sci-fi novella has a sharp cast but relies on a wearisome play-within-a-play concept and lacks momentumIn 2021, HG Wells fans were aghast at the Royal Mint giving the Tripods an extra leg and the Invis…
Continue ReadingThe comedian on getting permission to be silly from Eric Morecambe, meeting the Spice Girls and how Comic Relief brings people togetherWhat made you get into comedy?It seems like a scripted setup when I reflect on it now. It was as clear as day to me, …
Continue ReadingThe comedian on getting permission to be silly from Eric Morecambe, meeting the Spice Girls and how Comic Relief brings people togetherWhat made you get into comedy?It seems like a scripted setup when I reflect on it now. It was as clear as day to me, …
Continue ReadingThe Vaults, LondonKatie Arnstein’s captivating show about her mum’s treatment for cancer lies somewhere between storytelling and standupThe crowd carries you along in a marathon, says Katie Arnstein towards the end of this winning show about family and…
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