Flo & Joan review – crowd-pleasing merriment as singing sisters return

Bloomsbury theatre, LondonThe comic duo offer up another entertaining set as they track their journey through dating apps, heavy drinking and moments of mortificationPrompted by the much-discussed Bros documentary, Flo & Joan’s last show fretted at…

Continue Reading

‘I don’t have penis envy. I have 12 in a drawer at home’ – the fearless female standups of the 60s

They were pigeonholed, derided – and even shot at. With The Marvelous Mrs Maisel back on TV screens, we find out what life was really like for women who dared to be funny in the postwar yearsBack in the days when they were still called comediennes, an …

Continue Reading

‘I don’t have penis envy. I have 12 in a drawer at home’ – the fearless female standups of the 60s

They were pigeonholed, derided – and even shot at. With The Marvelous Mrs Maisel back on TV screens, we find out what life was really like for women who dared to be funny in the postwar yearsBack in the days when they were still called comediennes, an …

Continue Reading

Jacqueline Novak: ‘My show is not a takedown of the penis’

Can you do a whole standup set about blowjobs? The New York comedian thinks so, but don’t assume her show is a feminist rallying cry “Even I would be irritated hearing about this show if I wasn’t me,” admits Jacqueline Novak, who is attempting to accur…

Continue Reading

Catherine Bohart review – heartbreak comedy is a keeper

Soho theatre, LondonBohart’s shift from coupledom into pandemic isolation – and plotting revenge with a drill-happy dentist – is told with relatable warmthFive years ago, Sara Pascoe and John Robins made standup shows about their breakup – both were go…

Continue Reading

‘The song I want played at my funeral? SexyBack’: Lou Sanders’s honest playlist

The comedian has fond memories of feeling grownup listening to Macy Gray, and gets Alexa to play Barry White for a laugh. But what does she listen to behind closed doors?The song that is my karaoke go-toI’m really bad at singing, but I’ll have a go any…

Continue Reading

Nigel Ng review – comedy’s viral sensation undercooks his live show

Leicester Square theatre, LondonThe comic who hit it big as Uncle Roger is a zesty stage presence but coasts into a comfort zone of easy cross-cultural wisecracksNigel Ng’s comedy career skyrocketed under lockdown, when his Uncle Roger persona, policin…

Continue Reading

This Is Going to Hurt’s Ambika Mod: ‘Whenever I did a caesarean I was buzzing!’

Playing junior doctor Shruti is a far cry from the standup’s ‘really silly’ sketch comedy but her improv background helped her find moments of levity in Adam Kay’s NHS dramaWhen Ambika Mod was cast in This Is Going to Hurt, Adam Kay’s TV adaptation of …

Continue Reading

Mo Gilligan: There’s Mo to Life review – superstar comic just keeps rising

NetflixThe terrific standup with the common touch remains an engaging everyman even as the material works in his adventures in showbizMo Gilligan performed no fewer than 10 nights at the 3,000-seat Hammersmith Apollo last autumn, a run now captured for…

Continue Reading

Tim Key review – unexpected laughs from lockdown-deferred dreams

Soho theatre, LondonKey swerves Covid cliches by recreating his professional crisis in silly poems, poignant prose and punchlines involving his five-foot teddy bear companionStruggling to adjust as pandemic restrictions end? Don’t worry, Tim Key has cr…

Continue Reading