Towards the end of Tom Ward's latest show Popcorn Lung, there is a song about getting three star reviews and how dispiriting that can be. I think I know how he feels when it comes to the Edinburgh... more
Reviews
The first episode of the fourth series of this sitcom is pretty much business as usual - ie life in the Thompson household is as chaotic as ever. But things are looking up. Ken (Greg Davies) is... more
This is a review of the show at the Royal Festival Hall London in April 2018 when it was on tour. It originally appeared in the Evening Standard here. A similar version was broadcast on BBC2 on July... more
The world of comedy has been a great entry point for writing about the human condition, from John Osborne's The Entertainer through to Trevor Griffiths' Comedians to Terry Johnson's Dead Funny and... more
A number of the comedians at Latitude use the gig as an opportunity to road-test their forthcoming Edinburgh Fringe material in front of a live audience. Maybe Lolly Adefope was planning to do that... more
There was a post on Twitter suggesting that fans stormed the film tent where the World Cup Final was overrunning to demand that they turned the telly off and let Adam Buxton come on. I was there and... more
It was always going to be tough for Sacha Baron Cohen's new show to live up to the advance hype and for much of the first episode it didn't. When it didn't it was still fun in a Dom Joly/Dennis... more
When you've made your name as a master of lo-fi whimsy how to do hold the attention of a few thousand comedy fans packed into a tent at Latitude? The answer, apart from turning the volume up, is to... more
The early bird catches the worm and also Dylan Moran. One of the main comedy attractions this weekend was the acclaimed Irish comedian warming up for his forthcoming Dr Cosmos tour. The show started... more
Angela Barnes has gradually been moving up the stand-up ranks in recent months, making an impression on radio and TV shows such as Mock The Week. Her short Latitude set, partly greatest hits but... more
