Josh Thomas: ‘If I could fight someone, I’d go big: Harry Styles. Or is Margaret Thatcher still alive?’

The Australian comedian on being tackled by 80 children, his nemesis and swapping bodies with Abbie ChatfieldIf you could change the size of any animal to keep as a pet, what would it be?Sometimes I take these too seriously, it’s the truth. Like, somet…

Continue Reading

‘Luckily, I wasn’t decapitated’: 17 comedians’ stories from 40 years of Melbourne international comedy festival

Wil Anderson, Lano and Woodley, Aaron Chen, Urzila Carlson and more share memories from 40 years at MICF, including fires, camels and weddingsFirst MICF: 1988Lano and Woodley in Space is on 4-5 April and 11 April Continue reading…

Continue Reading

Steph Tisdell’s Fat review – standup unpacks a lifetime of yo-yo dieting and disordered eating

Melbourne international comedy festivalTisdell’s first standup show in four years reveals why she made the choice to quit and why she has chosen this moment to returnGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailSteph Tisdell is Fat. It’s both the name of…

Continue Reading

Private Lives review – Noël Coward’s queasy merry-go-round of desire and spite

Royal Exchange theatre, ManchesterSparring lovers play a capricious game in Blanche McIntyre’s revival – but the cut and thrust is kept witty, rather than curdling into dangerIn director Blanche McIntyre’s take on Private Lives, love is a dizzying thin…

Continue Reading

‘The manosphere is dead and no one cares about Andrew Tate any more’: the poet taking on toxic masculinity

Sam Browne’s blend of brutal honesty and droll observation has made him a viral sensation. He talks about growing up in Southend, mental health and the healing power of poetryOn a cold night in east London, 21-year-old performance poet Sam Browne is te…

Continue Reading

Scout Boxall: God’s Favourite review – charming standup about one of the worst nights of their life

Melbourne international comedy festivalThis funny, thoughtful show is a gentle nudge to think about history’s sidelined women and embrace the nerdiest parts of yourself• Get our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIn their latest standup show God’s Favo…

Continue Reading

Harry Enfield and No Chums! review – the head of our comedy state takes a trip down memory lane

Barbican Centre, LondonFrom Stavros to Wayne Slob, Loadsamoney to DJ Dave Nice, the 64-year-old distilled whole characters and social typesTo younger audiences, Harry Enfield may be best known for his Prince-turned-King Charles in Channel 4 satirical s…

Continue Reading

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) review – this brevity is the soul of wit

Bristol Old VicThe Reduced Shakespeare Company returns with a frantic mix of pratfalls, audience participation and lightning-flash characterisationsA classical actor who appeared in a recent production of Othello told me that the cast was alarmed by th…

Continue Reading

From Hamlet at the Globe to Keir Starmer on SNL UK: the anarchic rise of George Fouracres

After years of skits and Shakespeare, the Black Country performer has found his biggest audience yet on Saturday Night Live UK. Phil Wang and others hail his ‘pure comedic instinct’A cast of unknowns, they keep saying about Saturday Night Live UK, whos…

Continue Reading

Mark Simmons: ‘A lot of brilliant comedy shows tackle world issues – that’s not what this is!’

The comedian on learning from Stewart Lee, forging gags from chats with friends and his niche joke about Magic FMWho did you look up to when you were starting out as a comedian?I wanted to learn everything at once, so I found as many DVDs and videos of…

Continue Reading