Barry Cryer: a life in pictures
After a career spanning six decades, the veteran comedy writer and performer has died, aged 86. We highlight his finest hours, from The Frost Report to I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue Continue reading…
Continue ReadingTag: Television & radio
‘The godfather of alternative comedy’: Eddie Izzard, Paul Merton and more on Spike Milligan
He was the shellshocked genius who channelled his anarchic brilliance into The Goon Show. Ian Hislop and Nick Newman explain why they’ve written a play about Spike Milligan – while comedians remember a legendThe tortured lives of comedians form a biogr…
Continue ReadingRicky Gervais on offence, anger and infuriating Hollywood: ‘You have to provoke. It’s a good thing’
He 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 …
Continue ReadingTake that Fleabag! Liz Kingsman, the comic skewering the ‘messy women genre’
Chaotic life, lots of sex, little sense of purpose … the Anglo-Aussie’s hilarious takedown of Fleabag and the booming ‘messy-woman genre’ was halted by Covid. Now, after a year and a half of worry, it’s finally backGiven the content of her smash-hit co…
Continue ReadingFrom West Side Story to The Witcher: a complete guide to this week’s entertainment
Whether it’s a Spielberg musical, a global photography prize or a comedy Christmas show, our critics have your plans for the week coveredWest Side StoryOut nowSteven Spielberg takes on the classic musical (above), pitting Sharks against Jets in 1950s N…
Continue ReadingInside No 9: An Evening with Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith review – small talk, big laughs
Brighton DomeThe comedy writers behind one of the BBC’s most successful series perform an entertaining, behind-the-scenes double act ‘If you’re going to cry, cry tears of laughter,” they sing. “Your funny bone can never break in two.” The lyrics are fr…
Continue Reading‘People think my videos are real!’: meet Megan Stalter, the new queen of online cringe comedy
Pinpoint parodies of ‘weird church ladies and soccer moms’ made the Ohio comic famous during the pandemic – even if progressives mistake her for the real thingMegan Stalter put a video online recently of a churchgoer from the US midwest distressed to b…
Continue ReadingGrammy awards: controversial comedians Dave Chappelle and Louis CK receive nominations
The prominent critics of ‘cancel culture’ received nominations for best spoken word album and best comedy album, respectivelyControversial comedians Dave Chappelle and Louis CK, who have both forcefully decried so-called “cancel culture”, have received…
Continue ReadingBrian & Roger: A Highly Offensive Play review – podcast duo’s OTT exploits
Menier Chocolate Factory, LondonThe misadventures of a hapless hero led astray by his false friend are funny but don’t quite fill three dimensionsThere was a setback last month for this play inspired by a hit podcast when co-writer and performer Harry …
Continue Reading‘One of the few things that makes me angry is Abba’: Alex Horne’s honest playlist
Taskmaster’s creator is happy to belt out a tune when fronting the Horne Section. But what’s on his stereo when there’s no one around to judge him?The Loco-Motion by Kylie Minogue. My brother and I were both big Kylie fans and I still stand by it: she’…
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