Last year Beyond The Joke talked to Josie Long about Arts Emergency, the charity she has co-founded to support students who may struggle to pay for further education. The organisation is still going... more
Previews
If you want to get ahead get a good quote on your Edinburgh Fringe advert. Al Lubel has one from Jerry Seinfeld: “Al has one of the best jokes I ever heard.” When the master of stand-up talks you pay... more
Bec Hill certainly gets around. Over the last year I’ve seen her doing whimsical illustrations to accompany songs and stories and she is also involved in the Pun Run nights where wordplay is the... more
Nothing can make you feel old as effectively as seeing a talented comedian who is hideously young. Ed Gamble is that kind of comedian. I saw him supporting Greg Davies last year and it is not easy... more
Let’s declare an interest here. Josie Long is one of my favourite comedians. If she hadn’t existed comedy would have had to have invented her. She is intelligent, enthusiastic, funny and always... more
You can’t keep a good cult comedy night down. To mark its 20th anniversary Lenny Beige is re-opening the doors of the Regency Rooms for one night only. The gig takes place on June 20 at the... more
Yesterday I wrote about comedians succumbing to the lure of name-based puns when thinking of a title for their Edinburgh show. It is to Adam Riches’ eternal credit that as far as I know he has yet to... more
Update 1pm: Romesh has had to pull out. He is replaced by Jo Lacey and Dan Ward.When I wrote a story about Romesh Ranganathan winning the Leicester Comedy Festival Comedian of the Year Award in... more
Pretty spoilt for choice at the Soho Theatre this week. As well as Stewart Lee doing yet more work-in-progress shows, there are two very different shows opening on Tuesday. I haven't seen Tom... more
Previews are a chance for performers to try things out that may not make the final cut. They should not put pressure on performers. That’s why critics do not tend to be invited. Rachel Parris is... more
