One of the first proper plays I ever saw was an adaptation of Gogol's The Government Inspector starring Rik Mayall at the National Theatre back in (thank you Google) 1985. Alongside Mayall, already a... more
Reviews
Enjoying works in progress has become something of a side quest at the Brighton Fringe over the years, running with a good lead up to the Megaguirus that is the Edinburgh Fringe. Perfect timing to be... more
Rebel Wilson’s image has been of breaking the mould from the very first time she burst onto our international screens, in a pair with Matt Lucas, bickering as Kristen Wiig’s nightmare sibling... more
The second sitcom to launch this week that's named after an extinct beasts – see also Mammoth – is Dinosaur. It is also the second sitcom in recent weeks following Big Mood that tackles a mental... more
Typical. You wait ages for a new BBC sitcom named after a huge extinct creature and then two come along in the same week. I'll be writing about Ashley Storrie's Dinosaur later but first we must... more
At the start of An Evening With The Fast Show Charlie Higson suggested that catchphrases in themselves are not intrinsically funny. But through a combination of repetition and a talented performer... more
The most famous comedy routine about moving to the country is Stewart Lee's riff about his friends losing their marbles in the middle of bucolic splendour and asking vistors to bring cocaine. Lee's... more
This year's Sketch Off Final had me worried for a while. The line-ups are usually consistently strong and the standard is usually very high throughout. I was one of the judges* and at half-time this... more
Michael McIntyre is not really a stand-up comedian at all. He's a That's Us comedian. Or a That's Me comedian*. Or an Elbow Nudge comedian. Sitting in the stalls at the packed 02 Arena every... more
If ever there was a comedian whose career was a game of two halves it's Steve Martin. The self-styled 'wild and crazy guy' quit stand-up in 1980 in his thirties, having decided that he had acheived... more
