Michelle De Swarte: The Afters review – blazing gags from a comic who says what she sees

Brighton Corn Exchange The fantastically confident standup is a blast from the start with her takes on menopause, parenting and her upbringingModel, actor, journalist, comedian: no doubting Michelle De Swarte is a jack of all trades, but is she a maste…

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‘I’m a big bear. I lumber’: showbiz superstar Richard Kind on delivering performances you can see from space

The first time Kind starred in Nazi-spoof The Producers, he lost 30lb. Is he – and the West End – ready for his return? And why is he so worried about his old flatmate George Clooney?Richard Kind has played everything from a child’s imaginary friend in…

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Claire Hooper: ‘People have different forms of therapy. Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age is mine’

The comedian, TV presenter and Bake Off alum gushes about the joy of silence, an awkward encounter with Shane Warne, and getting recognised during a colonoscopyGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailThe premise of your new standup show, Fun Show xx…

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‘How could this be anything other than funny?!’ Behind the scenes of Saturday Night Live UK

SNL is a US comedy institution – can a British version rise to the challenge of finding the funny in our comparatively beige politicians every week? We speak to the team hand-picked to do just thatIt is the calm before the storm. The storm being the im…

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Hannah Gadsby: ‘The Obamas watched Nanette as a family. I apologise for ruining their evening’

The Australian comedian on why they became a sock puppet, a message in a potato, and meeting Anna KendrickYou recently released a free standup special, Woof!, where you are a sock puppet. I guess the question would be – why?I just got sick of being see…

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Fatiha El-Ghorri: ‘I was mortified by my heckler – but it turned out he wanted to see my trainers’

The comic on cleaning up her language for family audiences, writing her debut novel and praying before taking the stageHow did you get into comedy?After my second divorce, I was online looking for a walking group in my local area and I got a pop-up tha…

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‘Four teens in their 30s!’ Lovable New York comedy gang Simple Town land in London

They wowed the Edinburgh fringe with whip-smart sketches about Nasa engineers and what their audience were thinking. Now the slacker troupe are back on stage – but a long way from TV screensWhen a “New York cult favourite sketch group” (as per the blur…

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James Acaster review – standup in terrific form with tangled tribute act to himself

Clapham Grand, LondonIn his touring show, Acaster introduces a new alter ego, adding even more layers to his material, along with some trenchant political gags‘I’m the UK’s No 1 James Acaster tribute act!” says Craig Simons, bounding on stage in sparkl…

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The Legend of Davie McKenzie review – Butch, Sundance and the ultimate cinematic send-off

Òran Mór, GlasgowCovering friendship, addiction and death, this dark comedy from the team behind Dancing Shoes celebrates one man’s life and his passion for filmThe title is ironic. There is nothing legendary about Davie McKenzie. Scarcely out of priso…

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Melbourne comedy festival turns 40: tell us your most chaotic stories – from the audience or the stage

We want to hear about the funniest, strangest or most disastrous moments in 40 years of MICF history – whether you are a punter, crew member or comedianThe Melbourne international comedy festival takes over the city from 25 March: the world’s largest d…

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