Comedy
theartsdesk Q&A: Writers Ray Galton and Alan SimpsonThursday, 14 March 2013
Is Steptoe and Son the platonic ideal of the British sitcom? Two men trapped in eternal stasis, imprisoned by class and bound together by family ties as if by hoops of steel, never to escape: it’s what half-hour comedy should be. Posterity would... Read more... |
The Mimic/Anna & Katy, Channel 4Thursday, 14 March 2013
It’s a truism of the impersonator’s art that those who can do other voices have none of their own. On Parkinson, Peter Sellers couldn’t even come down the staircase as himself. When at the end of the show Mike Yarwood said, “And this is me!” a... Read more... |
Will Franken, Soho TheatreFriday, 01 March 2013
Will Franken is an odd-bod. The American - Missouri-born, now a San Francisco resident - is a character comic and impressionist, but not in the way we understand a Rory Bremner or an Alistair McGowan. He “does” famous people, for sure, but these are... Read more... |
Harry Hill, Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-SeaFriday, 22 February 2013
There must be something about doing a medical degree. A steady stream of medics - including Jonathan Miller, Graham Chapman, Graeme Garden and Paul Sinha - have hung up their stethoscopes to plough a furrow in comedy (Phil Hammond, meanwhile,... Read more... |
Altitude Festival 2013Wednesday, 20 February 2013
The sixth Altitude Festival takes place on March 18-22. The festival of Alpine comedy started in 2008 when Marcus Brigstocke decided to combine his day job with the family's snowboarding holiday and invited a few of his comedy mates to join him in... Read more... |
theartsdesk at the London Comedy Film Festival 2013Thursday, 31 January 2013
Proving that laughter is the only sure-fire cure for the January blues, this year's London Comedy Film Festival took place over four days from Thursday 24th to Sunday 27th January. Known commonly and affectionately as LOCO, it once again showcased... Read more... |
Glasgow International Comedy Festival 2013 launchedWednesday, 30 January 2013
The line-up for this year's Glasgow International Comedy Festival has been announced. The festival, now in its 11th year, takes place 14-31 March with 411 show at 46 venues in Scotland's second city.There's a strong Scottish contingent led by Susan... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Comedian Rowan AtkinsonSaturday, 19 January 2013
The generation of alternative comedians who emerged around 30 years ago have long since elbowed their predecessors into the long grass and themselves become the establishment. Of no performer can that be said with more certainty than Rowan Atkinson... Read more... |
Black Cat CabaretThursday, 10 January 2013
A new Friday-night cabaret club opens tomorrow at the fabled Café de Paris in London's Leicester Square. The Grade II-listed venue's subterranean ballroom, where Marlene Dietrich, Frank Sinatra and Noël Coward once performed, will be home to Black... Read more... |
Burlesque buzzWednesday, 09 January 2013Read more... |
Best of 2012: Top 10 Comedy DVDsSunday, 16 December 2012
There are oodles of comedy DVDs released for the Christmas market - here's a selection of the best.Dara Ó BríainCraic DealerIn more than a decade of watching him work, I've yet to see the hugely likeable Irish comic doing anything less than a very... Read more... |
Susan Calman, Soho TheatreSaturday, 17 November 2012
Susan Calman's star has risen of late - the Glaswegian lawyer turned stand-up has been an Edinburgh Fringe favourite for some while now, but in the past two years she has become an established Radio 4 presence through the likes of The News Quiz, and... Read more... |
