Soho theatre, LondonAn account of a terrible gig opens ‘a silly window’ on the Mash Report comic’s mental health and the rise of nativismWhy is Nish Kumar such a bete noir for angry rightwingers everywhere? Everybody hates him, he cries from the stage …
Continue ReadingHer scathing, surreal standup wowed audiences – and when she was diagnosed as neurodivergent, it started to make more sense to her, tooIn 2018, Fern Brady’s comedy career was taking off. Fresh from supporting Frankie Boyle on tour, she filmed Live at t…
Continue ReadingLiving Record festival Noack’s attempts to compare comedy routines to evangelising would have been more persuasive with discernible jokesStandup resembles biblical preaching, according to Australian writer Anthony Noack, a case he tries to make by perf…
Continue ReadingOld Red Lion, LondonThis revival of Hanoch Levin’s odd, over-long 1970s play has minor thrills but ultimately misfiresYou might think, in our age of safe spaces and “cowering” from Covid (in Sajid Javid’s coinage), there’d be mileage in Hanoch Levin’s …
Continue ReadingShaparak Khorsandi and Esther Manito both came of age during a time when women were expect to comform to male stereotypes. To reflect, they did what they do best: wrote comedy shows about itWhen Shaparak Khorsandi’s teenage son recently discovered 90s …
Continue ReadingFresh produce is the real star of David Finnigan’s live radio play, an ‘apocalyptic romcom’ for a Sydney festival crowd not afraid to get stickyA juicy watermelon is made to sound like cunnilingus while banana and rockmelon make a potent visual and aur…
Continue ReadingAmy Adams makes her West End debut, immersive dance confronts mental health and Steve Coogan’s alter ego embarks on a rare live UK tour• Preview more cultural highlights of 2022 Continue reading…
Continue ReadingA comeback year saw standout productions up and down the country. Here’s your pick of the bestMore on the best culture of 2021Curve, LeicesterI don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it – it was so captivating I saw it twice. Forced to switch t…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonHigh-camp songs and OTT costumes grab the attention in drag duo’s cheap-and-cheerful songs-from-the-shows extravaganzaGood luck generating festive cheer on the same day your show – like every show at this venue – has been Covid-can…
Continue ReadingHe has made a career out of winding people up in everything from The Office to his Golden Globes speeches – but is the comedian’s bark worse than his bite?Ricky Gervais’s assistant leads me past a huge, empty room to the top floor of an office above a …
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