January 2013

Review: Alexander Armstrong, The Hippodrome

Here's my review of Alexander Armstrong from earlier this year. He is back in London to play the London Festival of Cabaret from Oct 28 - 31. Details here.

Opinion: The Long and the Short of a Stand-up Show

Strange goings-on at Daniel Simonsen at the Soho Theatre last night. The Foster's Award Best Newcomer was delivering his laid-back, deadpan schtick and going down pretty well when he looked at his watch. "42 minutes...I gotta do 50," he muttered. It was not a joke. He had run out of material.

Opinion: When Interviewees Bite Back

A brilliant interview with Jerry Sadowitz appeared on the British Comedy Guide website last night. Well, brilliant if you are one of the many broadminded people who have read it, maybe not so brilliant if you are Jerry Sadowitz. Though with the spleen-venting stand-up you never know what is going on under that old top hat.

Review: Rubberbandits, Soho Theatre

When I set up this website in December the idea was that live reviews would appear on the morning after the gig at the latest. I didn't allow for Limerick's Rubberbandits, who have immediately made me rush off and delete that clause in my mission statement. No other comedy act in years has taxed my critical faculties quite as much as this spoof Irish rap trio.

Opinion: The Comeback Kids Who Are No Longer Kids

David Bowie is not the only artist on the comeback trail at the moment. The comedy circuit seems to be in danger of getting clogged up with performers dusting off their funny bones, the stand-up Sinatras who cannot quite bid the banter farewell. There is something magical about stand-up that makes it hard to leave entirely behind. It's the mirth Mafia. You try to escape, but somehow you get pulled back in.

Opinion: Daniel Kitson – The Ronnie Corbett Of His Generation?

Hello Reader. There should have been a think-piece about Daniel Kitson here to tie in with his new Monday night show on Resonance FM. However, shortly after it was posted I had a message that Daniel would rather it did not run, so I've removed it and left you with pictures of some nice little flyers from past Kitson live shows. Spend the time listening to his radio show instead. But be quick.

Review: Rachel Mars, Camden People's Theatre

Great comedy minds clearly think alike. Last autumn Brian Logan, critic and co-director of the Camden People's Theatre, and myself both separately came up with the idea of press-ganging the phrase Beyond The Joke. My fiendish plan was to use it as a title for a website which takes mainstream analysis of comedy a little further than it has been before.

Classic Interview: Josh Widdicombe

Update 17/1/14. Hello, welcome to this interview with Josh Widdicombe. You have probably come to this webpage by googling "Josh Widdicombe Girlfriend" like everybody else. Please note that this is a very interesting piece about the tousle-haired rising star, but it sheds no light on the identity of Josh's girlfriend. Or if he even has one. Sorry. BD. And just to clarify, Josh is not Celebrity Big Brother star Ann Widdecombe's son or grandson if that's how you ended up here. 

 

Opinion: Small is Beautiful

It started, appropriately enough, as a joke. In autumn 2007 I was writing a review for the Evening Standard and I moaned about how difficult it was becoming to find a parking space in the centre of London. I concluded by suggesting that soon the closest space I might get would be outside my house in South London. A few days later I received a cheeky email from promoter Tom Searle, the bowl-haired whizzkid behind an organisation called Laughter in Odd Places.

Classic Interview: Miranda Hart

Ok, I confess. I can't always spot an embryonic superstar. I used to see Miranda Hart's shows at the Edinburgh Festival every year and while I always giggled I dismissed her performances as self-conscious, galumphing, knockabout fluff. One year I was due to review her show – a spoof chat show, I think – and it was cancelled at the last minute. An indication of either how haphazard she was or what a perfectionist she was and she didn't want to put something under par above the parapet.

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