Comedy
Jerry Seinfeld, O2 ArenaSaturday, 04 June 2011![]() Jerry Seinfeld, acclaimed New York stand-up and star of the eponymous American sitcom co-created with Larry David, last performed in the UK 13 years ago. He’s currently doing a brief European tour and, while keen fans were quick to snap up tickets... Read more... |
Bafta TV Awards 2011Sunday, 22 May 2011![]() Crikey, no gongs whatsoever for ITV1's Downton Abbey, but you can't grumble about Sherlock lifting the Best Drama Series award at last night's Baftas. Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss's ingenious update of Conan Doyle for BBC One was one of 2010's... Read more... |
John Cleese, TouringFriday, 13 May 2011![]() Even if you are not of an age to have watched Monty Python’s Flying Circus or Fawlty Towers when they were first broadcast by the BBC, you will have heard of John Cleese. And if you are remotely a fan of comedy, you will hold Cleese in high regard... Read more... |
Nina Conti, Menier Chocolate FactoryWednesday, 11 May 2011![]() You don’t see much ventriloquism these days. It’s a comedy form mostly associated with variety and Victorian music hall - although it goes back at least to the Greeks - and gives a lot of people the heebie-jeebies. I know several people who can’t... Read more... |
Des Bishop, Soho TheatreTuesday, 03 May 2011![]() As the audience files in, James Bond title songs accompany a looped clip from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, which was George Lazenby’s sole outing as 007. There’s a reason, as this funny, touching but wholly unsentimental show is a sort of comic... Read more... |
Q&A Special: Writer John Sullivan, 1946-2011Sunday, 24 April 2011![]() Comedy writer John Sullivan has died aged 64, writes Adam Sweeting, after spending six weeks in intensive care battling viral pneumonia. The creator of several hit comedy series for the BBC, Sullivan is guaranteed immortality for his masterpiece... Read more... |
Tim Vine, TouringThursday, 14 April 2011![]() Normally, comedy critics maintain the polite convention of not writing comics’ jokes in reviews - it spoils the fun for punters if they then see the show and already know the punchline. But even if this review was peppered with gags from Tim Vine’s... Read more... |
Micky Flanagan, touringMonday, 11 April 2011![]() Micky Flanagan was a jobbing club comic for a few years before he shot to stardom with his first full-length Edinburgh Fringe show in 2007, for which he was nominated for a newcomer award at the grand age of 42. The show, What Chance Change?,... Read more... |
Andy Parsons, O2 IndigoSunday, 10 April 2011![]() Andy Parsons can do angry, baffled, sarky. He can have a swing and hit a bullseye. Take this, Alan Sugar. Take that, Ryanair. But you wonder, is he too happy for greatness? The title of the show he’s currently touring hints at a cheery disposition... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Comedian Omid DjaliliSaturday, 09 April 2011![]() Omid Djalili is a funny man with a funny provenance. There are not many stand-ups about who speak the languages of Presidents Havel and Ahmedinejad, who have played both Muslims and Jews without being either one or the other, whose CV includes... Read more... |
Bryony Kimmings/ Shazia Mirza, Soho TheatreThursday, 07 April 2011![]() At first sight there seems to be little to connect these two comics - one a performance artist who spends much of her show in her underwear, the other a self-described 34-year-old virgin - who are touring with their 2010 Edinburgh Fringe shows,... Read more... |
Scott Agnew, The Stand, GlasgowMonday, 21 March 2011![]() Scotland certainly loves its comedy. In addition to the month-long bliss that is the Edinburgh Fringe, just along the M8 Glasgow has been providing its own few weeks of fun since 2003. Their comedy festival has a very different feel to it - less of... Read more... |
