The comic and podcaster on her pre-show rituals, the worst advice she’s been given and why routines about serious issues still need to make you laughHow did you get into comedy? I was a chronically shy young person who loved any kind of comedy. I used …
Continue ReadingThe former PM’s one-off onstage chat with standup Matt Forde belied his dour image. If only he’d shown more of this side of himself to the electorateWhere is the comedy, Matt Forde, in this? Where is the comedy in bringing on to the stage intellectual …
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Childhood friends and LOL Word affiliates Rachel WD and Ruby Clyde leave no assumption unturned with their deft wit and breezy musical interplayA venerable tradition in comedy once obliged anyone, on encountering an excit…
Continue ReadingAssembly Rooms, EdinburghWith Lap of Shame, the comic delivers a set of breathtakingly rude jokes and thought-provoking ghastlinessA friend of Frankie Boyle’s, he tells us, stopped watching standup because it’s either “clever but not funny, or funny bu…
Continue ReadingMonkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghFrom relationship recovery to getting her phone messages spoken out by the audience, Koch has charisma and punchlines to burnThe infamous opening notes of Shania Twain’s Man! I Feel Like a Woman! blast out across Monkey B…
Continue ReadingStand Comedy Club, EdinburghThe standup delivers a compelling show that reflects on his Strictly Come Dancing notoriety and harsh childhood experiences Many may struggle to sympathise – far less laugh – with “Strictly Come Dancing love rat” Seann Walsh…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghSikisa Bostwick-Barnes’s ebullience carries her through a debut solo show that’s punctuated with dance breaksYou can see why Sikisa Bostwick-Barnes themed her show around parties – specifically, a house party she threw to …
Continue ReadingMeasures aim to ensure safety, pay transparency and anti-harassment and discrimination policiesThe performing arts and entertainment trade union Equity has launched a comedian’s charter in an effort to ensure good working practices and the safety of pe…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghLeaving no cat-related reference unlicked, Thompson’s show is artfully clownish and funnyThe stage is set with a treadmill, yoga mat, step-up box and a big silver exercise ball for Frankie Thompson’s Catts. A suitable asso…
Continue ReadingUnderbelly Bristo Square, EdinburghMilo McCabe’s matinee-idol character initially feels at odds with his material, but it’s hard not to be won over by his enthusiasmMilo McCabe performed as aristocratic matinee idol Troy Hawke for almost a decade befor…
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