The tricky subjects of identity politics, consent and mental health make for electric shows
• The best comedy to see in Edinburgh, part one
“Unless you can say in one media-friendly soundbite exactly what it is that you’re talking about and exactly what it is that you stand for, people lose interest.”
Continue ReadingA drag queen who impersonates Nicola Sturgeon, Gujurati home life and a truly terrible novelist… we meet the comics behind the hottest Edinburgh festival shows
• The best comedy to see in Edinburgh, part two
Some of the most biting political satire at this year’s Edinburgh festival won’t come from ranting, right-on standups in sweaty basement venues. It will come from a 6ft 2in drag queen who occasionally bursts into Steps numbers.
Continue ReadingHot off the heels of launching a successful comedy and music festival in San Francisco with the second annual Clusterfest, Comedy Central is ready to do it up across the pond with a three-day stand-up fest in the UK. Jimmy Carr, Russell Howard and Katherine Ryan will headline Comedy Central Live, debuting Oct. 5-7, 2018, […]
Continue ReadingSuperstar standups, daring dance, Brexit cabaret and a Bon Jovi musical … Dive into our guide to some of the shows at the world’s biggest arts festival
Continue ReadingWhere can the Upright Citizens Brigade go after playing Carnegie Hall? Hollywood, apparently. The UCB4, as co-founders Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh and Ian Roberts are lovingly called by their students and improv comedy fans around the world, started performing ASSSSCAT in New York City in bars, former strip clubs, their own theater underneath […]
Continue ReadingThe whip-smart comic talks about mocking Piers Morgan and Donald Trump, mixing scorn with good cheer and moving from songs to satire
‘Determined cheerfulness is something I happen to do very well,” says Rachel Parris. If you’ve seen her live musical comedy shows, you won’t need telling: they present Parris as a wholesome West End Wendy forever on the verge of a nervous breakdown, performing songs that put a brave face on a chaotic life (The Gym Song) or – like her terrific X Factor spoof I’m Amazing – clothe sharp satire in faux-positivity.
No one who saw her excellent but unheralded stage shows ever doubted Parris’s talent, but it’s a big surprise that she’s now found her mainstream niche in political satire. Her whip-smart work on the BBC show The Mash Report has been adored – and deplored – by tens of millions, and she’s become one of the most prominent political comics in the UK and beyond.
Continue ReadingThe whip-smart comic talks about mocking Piers Morgan and Donald Trump, mixing scorn with good cheer and moving from songs to satire
‘Determined cheerfulness is something I happen to do very well,” says Rachel Parris. If you’ve seen her live musical comedy shows, you won’t need telling: they present Parris as a wholesome West End Wendy forever on the verge of a nervous breakdown, performing songs that put a brave face on a chaotic life (The Gym Song) or – like her terrific X Factor spoof I’m Amazing – clothe sharp satire in faux-positivity.
No one who saw her excellent but unheralded stage shows ever doubted Parris’s talent, but it’s a big surprise that she’s now found her mainstream niche in political satire. Her whip-smart work on the BBC show The Mash Report has been adored – and deplored – by tens of millions, and she’s become one of the most prominent political comics in the UK and beyond.
Continue ReadingLineup for 71st edition includes hard-hitting debuts and plenty of nostalgia
An array of provocative debuts will mix with a heavy dose of nostalgia at the 71st Edinburgh fringe festival this August, as creative takes on the #MeToo movement are performed alongside a theatrical tribute to Blue Peter, the world’s longest-running children’s TV show.
Launching the 2018 fringe programme with 3,548 shows, the most in its history, the event’s chief executive, Shona McCarthy, said: “Whether this is your first or your 50th time visiting the fringe as a performer or audience member, this is a place where new discoveries wait around every corner.”
Continue Reading“My identity in this business, for me, will always be stand up.” – Jon Stewart #Clusterfest (📸: Josh Withers) pic.twitter.com/CJgBo1FbQQ… MORE
Jon Stewart has some words of advice for Samantha Bee and faux outrage culture appeared first on The Laugh Button.
On a first trip to the fringe, she was desperate for comedy to seep into her and discovered a summer camp that became a second home
Despite having lived in London for most of my life – and being a huge fan of dancing and drinking in the street – I’ve never been to Notting Hill carnival. Instead, for the past seven years, I’ve spent August in Edinburgh, either performing or working at the fringe. Admittedly, last year was my first “fallow” year – a time for the farm (my body) to recover – but I still visited for 10 days at the end, unable to accept the fear of missing out of unjust reviews and posters of comedians scratching their heads.
The first year I visited, I lived in a flat with 20 other students. At some point during the month, a couple of people moved out, so I got a cupboard all to myself. It was heavenly. I had always wanted to do comedy, but didn’t know where to start – all I knew was that Edinburgh was where it happened. So I applied for a job giving out flyers for an improv group, and after an hour of not giving out any, I politely resigned.
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