Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares review – eyebrow-raising cringe comedy from a recovering people pleaser

Underbelly Boulevard Soho, LondonA grab-bag of awkward ‘lessons learned’ by a middle-aged entertainer reflecting on her journey, the US comic’s song-filled show has savour and schmaltzAmong Americans, Tony award-winner (“and four-time Tony award loser,…

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Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares review – eyebrow-raising cringe comedy from a recovering people pleaser

Underbelly Boulevard Soho, LondonA grab-bag of awkward ‘lessons learned’ by a middle-aged entertainer reflecting on her journey, the US comic’s song-filled show has savour and schmaltzAmong Americans, Tony award-winner (“and four-time Tony award loser,…

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The Jonathan Larson Project review – Rent composer’s lost songs find a glorious new home

Southwark Playhouse Borough, LondonA lesser-known selection from the composer and lyricist’s archive is full of heart and humour, swinging between cabaret blues and pop bangersHow do you measure a year? Love is one answer, according to Jonathan Larson’…

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The Jonathan Larson Project review – Rent composer’s lost songs find a glorious new home

Southwark Playhouse Borough, LondonA lesser-known selection from the composer and lyricist’s archive is full of heart and humour, swinging between cabaret blues and pop bangersHow do you measure a year? Love is one answer, according to Jonathan Larson’…

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‘I just knew it would sound incredible!’: why the Globe is giving Shakespeare some flamenco fire

Love’s Labour’s Lost offers a heady mix of passion and death – which makes the Spanish art form a perfect match, says director Indiana Lown-Collins. Our writer joins the theatre’s flamenco bootcampOn a heatwave day in London, Shakespeare’s Globe has tu…

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Aziz Ansari review – a hugely gifted comic who makes funny look easy

Royal Albert Hall, LondonShiny-suited and slick, the US standup fired off peppy and sometimes taboo-teasing gags about his cultural identity, married life and visits to a fertility clinicYou can’t say Aziz Ansari doesn’t know his audience. He begins Sa…

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‘I’m not afraid of dying any more’: comedian Eric Lampaert on his amnesia – and the memories he was happy to lose

In 2019 Lampaert woke up unable to recognise his friends, his parents, even his own name. After decades of anxiety, abandonment and bullying, was his mind just trying to shield him from his past?On the day his life changed, Eric Lampaert woke up and sa…

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‘I’m not afraid of dying any more’: comedian Eric Lampaert on his amnesia – and the memories he was happy to lose

In 2019 Lampaert woke up unable to recognise his friends, his parents, even his own name. After decades of anxiety, abandonment and bullying, was his mind just trying to shield him from his past?On the day his life changed, Eric Lampaert woke up and sa…

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What a clusterpuck! Race to parody hockey hit Heated Rivalry results in multiple musicals

The horny TV series has inspired a whopping four comedy shows this summer. Their makers explain why musical theatre and steamy action are such good bedfellows – and why there’s no rivalry between themFive minutes was all it took. The stars of Heated Ri…

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Lindsey Santoro: ‘The problems I have are my own – I’ve caused them, I’m the issue!’

The standup on bad gigs at motorway service station hotels, her nan’s reviews and the pressure to be ‘prize pig’ at the Edinburgh fringeWho did you admire when you were starting out?I loved Lee Evans because of how he ran around on stage. I want to be …

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