Cancelled! Cancelled! Cancelled! Stars on the shows that couldn’t go on

How does it feel to see a show you’ve spent years working on being pulled? From Love Islanders to Foals, Laura Wade and Wayne McGregor, artists reveal their darkest days – and deepest worriesIain Stirling, voice of Love Island, standup comedianIf this …

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Patton Oswalt/Bob Rubin review – cuddly curmudgeon finds midlife bliss

Available on Netflix★★★☆☆/★★☆☆☆Oswalt’s frothy set about ageing, Jesus and fitness freaks keeps the laughs coming, while a barking Rubin delivers something much harder to swallowThe American standup Patton Oswalt’s last special, Annihilation …

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Hannah Gadsby: ‘You don’t do a show like Nanette without a tough shell’

The Australian standup feared she would spook audiences with her frank examination of trauma, but it made her a star. With new show Douglas on Netflix, she’s taking risks of a different kindSoon after she opens her new standup comedy show, Douglas, the…

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Liam Williams: ‘I like saying poem to rhyme with home’

The comedian, actor, and writer on the things that make him laugh the mostHonours even between Neil Hamburger and Kate Berlant, both US comedians. I like loads of British acts just as much for their intelligence, soulfulness, artistry and so on, but I’…

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Hannah Gadsby: Douglas review – crusading comedy with great gags

Available on NetflixGadsby follows up her hit show Nanette with a swaggering set that blazes with well-earned confidenceHottest front-room seats: the best theatre and dance onlineThe last time Hannah Gadsby released a Netflix special, it changed h…

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‘I’d love to see their parents’ bank accounts’: corona and comedy’s class divide

From care work to shelf-stacking, many standups have taken up jobs to survive lockdown – highlighting how privilege has created a two-tier system in comedyOn 16 March, when Boris Johnson advised people to avoid pubs and theatres, the effect on live com…

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Lenny Bruce is Out Again review – the sound of distilled provocation

Audio downloadSixty years on, the taboo-busting comic can seem incoherent and insensitive but there’s no doubting his masterful wordplayHe may be the least listened-to of standup icons. No one denies Lenny Bruce’s significance: he’s listed third among …

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Comedy Without Borders review – globe-straddling quarantine comedy

Available on YouTubeEddie Izzard and standups from India, Australia and beyond roast fake news and bust coronavirus taboos in an entertaining if patchy webcam variety fundraiser for frontline medicsA global pandemic calls for a global comic response. T…

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Actor and comedian Jerry Stiller – a life in pictures

Stiller, who formed an entertainment duo with his wife, Anne Meara, has died aged 92. Here’s a look back on his roles, including those alongside his son, Ben Stiller Continue reading…

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Jerry Stiller, star of Seinfeld and father of Ben, dies aged 92

Comedian who formed a popular duo with his wife, Anne Meara, has died of natural causesThe comedian Jerry Stiller has died at the age of 92. His death was announced on Monday on Twitter by the actor Ben Stiller, who called him “a great dad and grandfat…

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