It was hard not to get caught up in my own hype at the Edinburgh fringe. A heartfelt gift restored my humilityThere is no version of this article that doesn’t cast me a braggart. But I hope you’ll forgive me a spot of self-aggrandising when I tell you …
Continue ReadingHe used to upload sketches to YouTube while folding jeans in a shop. Now he gets chauffeur-driven through Hollywood. As his celebrity-studded new gameshow hits primetime, the comic shares his view from the topThe first time I interviewed the comedian –…
Continue ReadingMatthew Holness’s fictional horror author is on the road reading from his novel – prepare to be terrified at the tills while we dream of his full return to the stageWhen is a show not a show? When it’s a book tour, of course. Time was when book tours w…
Continue ReadingOnce an under-the-radar live comedy jewel, Mohammed’s alter-ego impresario is hogging the spotlight in two new stage shows. Is the character destined for TV?Any assessment of the best character acts of recent years – Colin Hoult’s Anna Mann, Zoë Coombs…
Continue ReadingApollo, ManchesterThere’s ample room in comedy to tease at woke over-earnestness but this weak and boorish set fails to engageRicky Gervais gives us a little lecture after curtain call tonight about taking offence. Laughter is always good; no one’s get…
Continue ReadingIn keeping with tradition, jokes chosen by Gold TV poll more likely to elicit groans of despair than laughterJokes about Phil Schofield, Liz Truss, and the cost of living crisis are among the best contemporary Christmas cracker jokes selected by the Br…
Continue ReadingComedian appeared overwhelmed by reception as he took to stage at start of first comedy tour in 12 yearsPeter Kay was moved to tears on the opening night of his first live comedy tour in 12 years.The comedian received a rapturous standing ovation that …
Continue ReadingManchester ArenaAfter 12 years away from the stage, the slimmed-down entertainer is more unapologetically nostalgic than everNo hotcake ever sold in greater quantity than tickets for Peter Kay’s new tour: at one stage in my own bid for access, I was nu…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonEven when the grouchy wannabe game-show host’s set is buffering he still delivers a winning formula of hi-tech comedy and twisty jokesIn Danger Money, we find Mat Ewins hacked off that he can’t catch a telly break. The annoyance cou…
Continue ReadingThe character comedian and TV star on meeting angry fans, his first UK tour as megalomaniac magician Mr Swallow and taking inspiration from Torvill and DeanWho did you look up to when you were starting out?French and Saunders were probably the most ins…
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