YouTubeIn Stalter’s sharply observed, bittersweet character comedy, a string of awkward talkative types bare their souls Disastrous for many comedians, lockdown has propelled others to prominence – notably, those who’d already made a home online. Meg S…
Continue ReadingUK venues are in peril and standups can’t make a living if clubs are closed. Without support, we’ll lose talent as well as theatres I have fond memories of playing Southampton’s Nuffield theatre, which is now closing due to the pandemic – a fate likely…
Continue ReadingThe comedian and Mash Report star on Lemn Sissay’s memoir, Tank and the Bangas’ mindblowing hip-hop, and a very weird podcastComedian and musician Rachel Parris was born in 1984 in Leicester. She stars in BBC Two’s satirical news show The Mash Report, …
Continue ReadingThe late-night hub is replacing its cancelled fringe programme with new virtual offerings alongside archive footage The Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh’s uproarious palace of late-night comedy, has announced a season of work to replace its cancelled fringe p…
Continue ReadingIt’s the only place in the world where jokes about local councillors work. But is Belfast’s sharp-tongued comedy circuit becoming less hostile to outsiders?Patrick Kielty’s first Belfast standup set won him a keg of beer. It was freshers’ week 1989 at …
Continue ReadingMy standup career stalled when the pandemic arrived. But I get my kicks as a football manager on Twitch – and giving each player a storylineI began 2020 full of optimism, excited about returning to the Edinburgh fringe in August with a new show and fee…
Continue ReadingAre seatless, stroll-through shows the future of theatre? Can one-way dancing save nightclubs? Could budding indie bands storm Wembley stadium? Scientists imagine the arts after Covid-19The day before museums began closing in Britain, I saw Aubrey Bear…
Continue ReadingThe Observer’s critics recommend the best art, theatre, music and more on TV and online this weekMusicPaul WellerDelayed by the pandemic, On Sunset finally comes out this week, offering both familiarity and experimentation from the restless, evergreen …
Continue ReadingPoet laureate Simon Armitage and comedian Lolly Adefope love the buzz of performance. Here’s what we’re all missingReady, steady… Oh: Olympics, Glastonbury and Euro 2020 stars on the summer we’ve lost There can be no such thing as a socially distance…
Continue ReadingIn our series pairing veteran black artists with younger talents for a frank chat about their experiences, comedians Gina Yashere and London Hughes reveal why they both felt the need to quit Britain for the USBorn and raised in London, Gina Yashere, 46…
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