Soho theatre, London The standup mines familiar comedy scenarios, but dazzling one-liners and shaggy dog stories elevate the setPierre Novellie protests that life is getting harder for observational comedians because, in these siloed times, we have so …
Continue ReadingPark theatre, LondonLeigh Douglas plays a sorority girl turned White House receptionist – as well as lecherous side characters – in a timely showThis show arrives in London in a week that US politics couldn’t be more inescapable. While on one hand, aud…
Continue ReadingNew LGBTQ+ festival included McKellen in a fiery monologue and Norton in conversation, as well as a queer ceilidh and ‘kilted yoga’Sir Ian McKellen is on stage blowing up a red balloon. For a man of 86, he has impressive lung capacity. He lets it go an…
Continue ReadingAldwych theatre, LondonJamie Eastlake’s play about two football fans mixes together song, dance, comedy and dark family drama, with incohesive resultsThis tale of two hard-up reprobates in Gateshead, who dream of getting a Newcastle United season ticke…
Continue ReadingA trip to the pantomime is a Christmas tradition but they also lift the January gloom and even run later in the yearThe Christmas decorations have been packed away, kids are back at school and new year resolutions are already forgotten. It’s the middle…
Continue ReadingFrom laying eggs on stage to coaching the Clintons in clowning, the LA performer is full of surprises. She talks about bringing back her rollercoaster solo romcom Weer and the new project that terrifies herShe’s the toast of Off-Broadway now but nothin…
Continue ReadingDaytime gigs where parents can bring their infants without fear of judgment are proving a sellout successWhen Nick Page saw the exhaustion of the new mothers arriving at his comedy gig, he suggested turning the hour-long set into a sleepover. He had be…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonThe comic targets Christian sexism head-on – while the argument is well worn, Owens’ manic physicality and dark humour keep the show fizzingWho would have thought, in 2026, that comedy would still be called upon to spoof the sexism …
Continue ReadingThe Merseyside comic used her experiences of Oxbridge to create the fringe hit Eat the Rich, but struggled in ways her well-off contemporaries didn’t. Now she’s determined to use success to bring more working-class voices into comedyJade Franks was sc…
Continue ReadingThe Londoner from Lagos wowed the fringe with a show about language, family and cross-cultural identity. She talks about dread, dreams and her bid for ‘controlled chaos’Before her first Edinburgh fringe run last summer, Ayoade Bamgboye put a question t…
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