The Edinburgh comedy awards have been saved. But are they a fringe benefit? | Brian Logan

At a late hour, the former Perrier has found new sponsors. Some winners have mixed feelings about it but the prize brings attention to an art form that doesn’t get enough appreciationThe comedy industry, standups with dreams of glory and canapé waiters…

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Edinburgh festival 2023: 50 shows to see

Cracking comedy, an eclectic mix of theatre – and aerial dance in an ice rink. Our critics share their picks for the August arts extravaganzaRhod Gilbert: Work in Progress Gilded Balloon Teviot Continue reading…

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‘My reproductive life is over? That’s liberating!’ Bridget Christie on comedy, TV and the menopause

What’s it like to break into television in your 50s? The award-winning standup talks about her new series The Change, her late-blooming career and her issues with TupperwareThere is a photograph of Bridget Christie and her siblings, she says, taken in …

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Alison Spittle: ‘Think of the most shameful thing you have done, then imagine your mum watching!’

The Irish comedian on good gigs, bad gigs, her standup heroes and what makes a good soupHow did you get your start in standup?I did work experience at a radio station when I was in college. The breakfast DJ was Bernard O’Shea, a big comedian in Ireland…

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Dough: David Lescot’s play weighs a man’s life in his bank balance

We follow our loser hero from tooth fairy credits to funeral debts in a comedy of financial errors exploring money as a transactional link through all relationshipsThe award-winning French author, director and composer David Lescot’s play Dough is all …

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Encore! Surefire shows returning for the Edinburgh festival in 2023

In the run-up to the festival, our writers will choose new productions that have caught their eye – but here’s a selection of those we’ve already reviewedRichard Marsh has clearly seen Die Hard more times than he’s had Christmas dinners. He’s here in h…

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‘My instinct is to look for the gag’: Martha Watson Allpress takes Lady Dealer to the Edinburgh fringe

The writer of the acclaimed Patricia Gets Ready… returns with a lockdown-inspired comedy drama about a drug dealer having a power cutThe trigger for a play can be many things: a moral dilemma or a political event, a true-life story or a misheard anecdo…

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Adam Brace had a magic touch for comedy and theatre – both worlds will mourn his death | Brian Logan

Brace, who has died aged 43, was a hugely talented playwright, dramaturg and director who worked on a string of hits including One-Woman Show and Age Is a Feeling“The most high-profile director you’ve never heard of.” That’s what the Stage newspaper ca…

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Comedian Catherine Cohen: ‘Look, I find myself quite annoying, too’

The US comedy sensation is making up for lost time after Covid with a new show – still self-obsessed, but ‘a bit darker’ – and an opportunity for us to observe a quintessentially millennial comic grow up in publicAs long as there has been standup, comi…

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Standup success was sweet, but the review I cared about most was written on a biscuit | Jordan Gray

It was hard not to get caught up in my own hype at the Edinburgh fringe. A heartfelt gift restored my humilityThere is no version of this article that doesn’t cast me a braggart. But I hope you’ll forgive me a spot of self-aggrandising when I tell you …

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