The comedian on getting old, festival toilets and British standups’ failure to talk about inequalityHow did you get into standup?I always loved comedy, but because I didn’t know the who, what, where and when, I didn’t think it would be something I coul…
Continue ReadingThe comedian, who died in 2018, will be remembered in a new exhibition that brings together props, costumes and an interactive ‘giggle map’Tickling sticks, a Dicky Mint puppet and a Yorick skull complete with protruding teeth will go on display in Sept…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonThe Irish standup’s new show swerves from the problems with getting older to 80s nostalgia, and just about pulls it off“I’m ageing by the minute,” says Deirdre O’Kane. But there’s nothing mellow about the opening stages of Demented,…
Continue ReadingMaking seat measurements readily available and providing alternative options would enable everyone to have a nice time at theatres, cafes … and any place with chairs and peopleI have to call places before I visit them. I never know if I should say “I’m…
Continue ReadingKrystal Evans was scarred, mentally and physically, by the fire. She blocked out the memories – until she decided to write about themIn previous, shorter standup shows, Krystal Evans tried to talk about her childhood experiences, but to say it didn’t w…
Continue ReadingThe Glasgow comic on why she has to shower before a gig, taking a show about womanhood to the Edinburgh fringe and the need for more working-class voices on TVIs it true you first performed standup as a drunken dare?Yes! I went to visit a friend who’d …
Continue ReadingAs British politics has got crueller, our comedy has gone in the opposite direction, becoming a haven of decency and diversity. In this extract from his new book, Different Times, David Stubbs asks if these gentler comics are the new cutting edgeThere…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonAn AI comedian cracks jokes tailored to the audience’s internet search history in this spoof corporate presentationStreaming platforms increasingly tailor content to our own, unique tastes. Imagine if a standup could do the same? Th…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonAnything goes in this oddball show that sees the two American TV comics veer from deliberately duff jokes to tricksy absurdity‘Most comedians do one type of comedy. We do it all.” That’s the goofy boast at the top of this show by vi…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonAnything goes in this oddball show that sees the two American TV comics veer from deliberately duff jokes to tricksy absurdity‘Most comedians do one type of comedy. We do it all.” That’s the goofy boast at the top of this show by vi…
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