Edinburgh festival kicks off – in pictures

Photographer Murdo MacLeod has been photographing rehearsals and preparations for this year’s much-reduced programme of the Edinburgh festival, which opened on Saturday Continue reading…

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Peter Kay gets standing ovation on return to stage at charity gig

Comedian tells live Q&A in Manchester that comeback is ‘like getting in a hot bath’ Returning to the stage is like “getting in a hot bath”, Peter Kay said at a special charity gig.The Bolton-born comic received a standing ovation as he appeared on…

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Edinburgh Fringe returns with mix of in-person and online shows

Festival is part of world’s largest annual arts season which has been forced to curtail events due to CovidThe Edinburgh festival Fringe returns this weekend with a hybrid programme of nearly 800 in-person and online shows after its cancellation last y…

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Middle Eastern stand-ups: ‘People assume we only do terrorist jokes’

Tired of racism on the comedy scene, Jenan Younis started her own night Weapons of Mass Hilarity – where gags about body hair and Farsi aboundEvery comedian expects rejection when they’re starting out. But an email mix-up convinced Jenan Younis that he…

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Middle Eastern stand-ups: ‘People assume we only do terrorist jokes’

Tired of racism on the comedy scene, Jenan Younis started her own night Weapons of Mass Hilarity – where gags about body hair and Farsi aboundEvery comedian expects rejection when they’re starting out. But an email mix-up convinced Jenan Younis that he…

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Camels, clowns and sex education: what to see at Edinburgh fringe 2021

The festival has shrunk because of Covid but there are plenty of shows in person and online this summer – here’s our pick of the first to be announcedSex Education Xplorers (S.E.X.)What did they miss out in your sex ed at school? Mamoru Iriguchi fills …

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Alan Partridge takes the stage with a Stratagem to heal Britain

Steve Coogan’s blazered broadcaster promises to bring a touch of TV evangelism and hatred of speed bumps on tour next year in venues across post-Brexit UKAlan Partridge is to embark on a UK arena tour to heal a “scissored isle” that is less united than…

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Alan Partridge takes the stage with a Stratagem to heal Britain

Steve Coogan’s blazered broadcaster promises to bring a touch of TV evangelism and hatred of speed bumps on tour next year in venues across post-Brexit UKAlan Partridge is to embark on a UK arena tour to heal a “scissored isle” that is less united than…

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Love Bites review – gleeful salute to theatre’s thrilling return

York Theatre RoyalA mix of music, dance, comedy and poetry delivers a bittersweet reminder of what lockdown deprived us of – and a joyous celebration of live performanceOn the screen at the back of the stage, familiar images flicker: the river, streets…

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Comedy club pulls out of Covid safety trial after online ‘hate campaign’

Hot Water club in Liverpool received more than 4,000 angry messages after reports suggested it was part of status certification pilotCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA comedy club has pulled out of a trial to test how venues …

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