From the super-sharp standup latest set to the hip-hop megastar’s mammoth tour: your at-a-glance guide to the best in culture
Bridget Christie
The queen of feminist comedy continues her two-week run in London, with a new show that faces up to our EU exasperation, before heading out on tour.
At Leicester Square Theatre, WC2, to Saturday 11 February; touring to Thursday 22 June
Every day millions of internet users ask Google life’s most difficult questions, big and small. Our writers answer some of the commonest queries
We live in a time of profound change and challenge and even though we think we know it all, there are still some big existential questions that plague mankind. And I do mean man.
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Having a fanny isn’t a barrier to being funny
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Continue ReadingThe outspoken comic talks about directing a ‘science comedy’ on the female brain, overcoming her battle with co-dependency and the cult of celebrity grief
At only 34, Whitney Cummings has packed an enormous amount of success – and a few notable failures – into her career. Named one of Variety’s “Comics to Watch” a decade ago, she went on to become a regular at Chelsea Lately and at the Comedy Central roasts. In 2011, she exploded – her sitcom Whitney premiered on NBC to withering reviews, only lasting two seasons; a short-lived talkshow would follow. At the same time, she was creating and executive-producing CBS’s 2 Broke Girls, a bona fide hit now in its sixth season.
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Continue ReadingThe singer who stunned Pharrell, the writer to rival Pynchon, the son of a stone carver making art out of his body … we choose 20 names to watch in stage, film, books, art, design, music and TV
Continue ReadingHow better to make sense of this turbulent year than through the art and literature it has produced? Our critics choose the works that sum up the last 12 months
If there is one film that holds a political key to understanding 2016, it is Ghostbusters: that funny, good-natured, easygoing female remake of the 1980s original. The movie, and the way it was received and viciously attacked online, told us something vital about the hive mind of the US’s reactionary right. It starred Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. Wiig and McCarthy were already well known; McKinnon was the upcoming SNL superstar who was later in the year to become famous for her Hillary Clinton impersonation – but it was the African-American comic Jones who became the particular object of unpleasant abuse, reminiscent of #gamergate vitriol, naturally with a racist slant, though everyone was attacked, and all for daring to remake and allegedly “spoil” the original with a gender switch.
Continue ReadingJon Bon Jovi’s key change killer, Gemma Arterton’s weep-off with Glenn Close, the weirdest thing that ever happened to Harry Shearer … here are the highlights of 2016’s culture webchats
Have you ever vomited while talking to somebody for a film? (asked by elalpineclub)
Continue ReadingFor Sarah Millican it’s the Coen brothers, while Stewart Lee laughs out loud at Festen. From the canonical to the controversial, and in no particular order, we asked 10 standups to pick 50 movies that make them giggle…
Continue ReadingHer jokes can be uncomfortable, but then they come from uncomfortable situations
Do you remember that TV channel, Trouble? In the late 90s/early 00s, it was a colourful graveyard for American teen and young adult shows of the recent past, repackaged for young British eyes. It brought me TV shows no other channels would have thought to – and is how I came to watch The Parkers, and fall for the comedian and actor Mo’Nique.
The Parkers, a sitcom about a mother and daughter attending college together, was a nice break for Mo’Nique, now 48, but it was hardly her first outing in the business. She was doing stand-up before the siren call of TV, and if you haven’t watched her (filthy, hilarious, repeat: filthy) sets, particularly her turn on The Queens Of Comedy, I urge you to. Her jokes can be uncomfortable, but then they come from uncomfortable situations, and I appreciate that edge; her riff on “skinny bitches” will always make me laugh. Her raspy voice is like a shot of something strong and oaky, and her laugh is contagious, even when you’re semi-scandalised at the joke.
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