Standup and be counted: Eddie Izzard and the comics who took politics by storm

Can the surreal comedy superstar parlay comedy chops into political power? Izzard certainly wouldn’t be the first standup to pivot from telling jokes to canvassing for votesFrom Eddie Izzard’s comedy we expect the incongruous. But was anything ever odd…

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To Have and to Hold review – fond family comedy from the writer of One Man, Two Guvnors

Hampstead theatre, LondonRichard Bean’s new play touches on ageing and alienation, care and family love, but focuses on making us laughYou might guess what kind of night you’re in for by To Have and to Hold’s fabulous opening: the first painstaking ent…

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Park your cynicism! Michael McIntyre is a super-relatable well-oiled joke machine

The everyman standup delivers substantial comic payloads by itemising the oddity of human behaviour. A successful formula his new tour continues to exploitAll the countries of the world have their own bread, runs one of Michael McIntyre’s routines in h…

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Laura Smyth: ‘I did my comedy show to silence – it was humbling and hilarious’

The Funny Women award-winner on her witty family, why she loves being mocked and the best heckle she’s hadHow did you get into comedy?My husband bought me a day’s writing course with Logan Murray as a wedding gift (I had confessed to him that it was my…

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Tig Notaro: Hello Again review – all the right notes, except on piano

Theatre Royal, BrightonThe comic brings an assured touch to tales of everyday humiliation, and even her terrible musicianship is endearing for a whileTig Notaro has never had an interval onstage until now – “intermissions”, in her word, not being a thi…

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Munya Chawawa review – YouTube star’s standup still a work in progress

Kentish Town Forum, LondonThis is a big stage for a streaming star who’s still a rookie standup, and at times his show feels over-engineered and effortful – but he still has enough honesty and charm to go far‘People know the content, and the characters…

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Barry Cryer: Same Time Tomorrow? review – a life full of laughter

The late comedian’s son, Bob Cryer, offers an intimate and astute portrait of his father’s skill and wit, and the vulnerability beneathI never met Barry Cryer, but I do have a memory of him, which seems characteristic of those generated by this great l…

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‘We’re all learning’: why Netflix needs Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda

A mixed bill of standups, presented by the Nanette star and due to be recorded for the streamer, is a valuable response to its Dave Chappelle controversyWhen Dave Chappelle released his Netflix special The Closer, widely condemned for its transphobia, …

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Cal Wilson, New Zealand comedian and TV host, dies aged 53

The standup, writer and actor, who co-hosted The Great Australian Bake Off and appeared as a guest on Thank God You’re Here, died after a short illness in SydneyCal Wilson, the New Zealand standup comedian who became a mainstay on Australian television…

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Foodie funnies: James Acaster and Ed Gamble’s podcast Off Menu goes on the road

As it fills the Royal Albert Hall on tour, the comedians’ ‘dream restaurant’ show questions what ingredients a live performance really needs‘I can’t believe this many people like your podcast!” That’s Elis James talking, as he and his pals James Acaste…

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