June 2013
I'd had a hectic time this week so decided not to review Derren Brown's new show, Infamous, at The Palace Theatre. Looking at the reviews that have now appeared I'm torn. Part of me wishes I'd reviewed it. Part of me is glad I didn't.
I don't know a great deal about Wiley, except that he is an East London rapper, but this Twitter timeline in which he disses Glastonbury is funnier than most of the comedy I've come across this week.
I've had some particularly weird and varied gig-going this week. If you could draw a Venn Diagram I doubt if there is anybody else in London who has been to the same shows as me. Wednesday night was particularly odd. I don't think I've ever been to two more diametrically opposed events.
Do you find Mrs Brown's Boys funny? If you do I'm afraid I cannot help you. All I can say is that you are not alone. The hit sitcom is currently packing them in at the O2 Arena as part of its sell-out national tour, yet is hated with a fervour on a par with African tyrants. Its crime? Being old-fashioned.
For Hal Cruttenden's latest tour dates click here.
Dude where's your set? How do you review a show that is barely a show? That's the problem with Jake and Amir's first visit to the Soho Theatre.
Viv Groskop had a good job in journalism, nice friends, a lovely family. So why did she decide to go and spoil it all and get into stand-up comedy? This is one of the key questions she asks herself in I Laughed, I Cried, a kind of Fever Pitch for the World of Funny. And after dithering about on the stand-up fringes for a while Groskop didn't just dip her sparkly trainer-clad toes into stand-up, she decided to do 100 gigs in 100 days, putting a strain on her marriage and her health.
This year's Udderbelly Festival in London has had a lot of great one-nighters but not many good quality comedy runs. It makes up for that this week with an extended visit from The Boy With Tape on His Face. New Zealander Sam Wills has already been a massive hit at the Edinburgh Fringe and did this greatest hits show, More Tape, in the West End in December. If you haven't seen it yet, why on earth not?
How do you write about someone who defies description? Is Reggie Watts a comedian? He certainly doesn't conform to any stand-up template I'm familiar with. Is he a singer? This gig, part of Yoko Ono's Meltdown Festival, was a terrific showcase for his voice. What does he want to be? After his 75 minute set I'm still not absolutely sure. What I am sure about though is that his show was an absolute blast. Funny, soulful and deafeningly loud. At one noisy point I was almost literally blown away.
Josie Long (if you can see pictures they are by Idil Sukan at Draw HQ) was one of my favourite comedians even before she co-founded Arts Emergency to help students study arts degrees. I don't always agree with her but I admire the way that she throws herself headlong into everything she does, whether it is her pursuit of social justice or her hobby of outdoor swimming.
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