November 2013
Everybody must surely have a fantasy version of what the perfect stand-up comedy gig would be. This is mine. A smart, funny comedian sets up shop in London somewhere. A small club, where instead of doing a one-night stand they can settle into a relaxed run and play regularly to appreciative audiences.
Caling a comedian a "safe pair of hands" might sound like a negative criticism, but in the case of seasoned campaigner Andrew Maxwell it is very much a positive. The diminutive Dubliner is the kind of comedian that walks onstage and immediately puts the audience at their ease.
Is it a play or is it comedy? That's the cry that goes up whenever New Mexico supremos Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez bring another show to London. This latest piece does little to clarify the issue. It's physical theatre, verbal and visual gags, with a bit of a narrative but probably not quite enough to call this a play.
Comedy residencies used to be three or four nights, maybe a week if you were a big attraction. This week, however, two major comedy shows kick off in London and will still be on for quite a bit longer when the Christmas decorations are taken down in January.
It is a proven scientific fact that it is impossible not to like Adam Hills. When the host of C4's The Last Leg filmed his new DVD at the Hammersmith Apollo there was a bit of a cock-up on the ticketing front which meant that the start was delayed by an hour. Most comedy fans would be grumpy and give the performer a hard time.
Jason Manford has been writing on Facebook about how two high profile critics – Veronica Lee and Julian Hall* – have quoted his jokes in their reviews of his recent Hammersmith Apollo show.
Crazy hair, controversial opinions. No, not Russell Brand, but Reginald D Hunter. The soft-spoken American hit the front pages earlier this year for using the word "nigger" during a set at the PFA's annual dinner. As Hunter said onstage at the Fairfield Halls last week, it's simply a word he uses. He is certainly an uncompromising figure, not prepared to dilute his language for fear of offending people.
It's been business as usual for Russell Brand in the last few weeks. A kerfuffle on Newsnight where Jeremy Paxman called the guest editor of The New Statesman "trivial" and had a go at him for telling people not to vote has been followed by a rant from Quentin Letts in the Mail putting the boot into him. As someone said on Twitter, Brand must be doing something right if the Mail has decided to take a pop at him. he is now in the middle of his Messiah Complex tour, which I saw on the opening night in Birmingham last month.
Pages
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by
WeebPal.
