I’m so old I saw Terry Johnson’s warped comedy the first time round in 1994 when David Haig and Zoe Wanamaker played the main couple, whose marriage breakdown was played out against a backdrop of... more
Reviews
You would think that Nigel Farage’s life over the last few months would be ripe for satire. The BBC certainly thinks so, hence this one-off mockumentary about his post-Brexit antics. The trouble is... more
Sometimes there is a thin line between watching a stand-up comedy gig and watching somebody have a mental meltdown onstage. The latest show from Tony Law, A Law Undo His-elf What Welcome, feels like... more
It’s not often I change my mind about seeing a show. Once it drops off the reviews list it has missed its moment. I was too busy to see spoof psychic Shirley Ghostman’s “Spooktacular” opening night,... more
Comedies about stand-up comedy are difficult to pull off. How do you capture the highs and lows of performing live on film? How do you capture the buzz of the good gig, the despair of the bad gig?... more
I wasn’t sure whether Beyond The Joke should be reviewing I, Daniel Blake. I’ve already been ticked off this week by the pedantry police for reviewing Black Mirror because it is not a comedy. And Ken... more
With all the Netflix traffic seeming to go to Black Mirror at the moment it will be a shame if this first TV series for Miranda Sings, Haters Back Off, gets overlooked. It is utterly nuts, but in a... more
There was a bit of a Facebook hoo-ha about my review of the first instalment of Charlie Brooker's new Netflix series because I said it wasn't funny enough. Maybe the comments had a point. While there... more
Charlie Brooker has done pretty well for himself. His latest series of Black Mirror has been made for Netflix and the first episode of six all simultaneously released is directed by Joe ‘Atonement’... more
It is hard not to watch Mascots without thinking of other films and TV programmes. Director Christopher Guest is most famous for his involvement in the Rob Reiner-directed This Is Spinal Tap and in... more
