Comedy Reviews
Natalie Palamides, Soho Theatre - challenging show about consentFriday, 16 November 2018![]()
The #MeToo movement is barely a year old, but it is already prompting some clever and insightful comedy – from standalone jokes or set-pieces in several comics’ shows, or, here, a very funny but frequently discomfiting hour that delves deep into the subjects of gender, relationships and toxic masculinity. Read more... |
Ayesha Hazarika, Soho Theatre review - feminism examinedMonday, 29 October 2018![]()
As a former adviser to Harriet Harman and Ed Miliband – and a woman who has put her name forward to be a Labour Party candidate at a Westminster election – Ayesha Hazarika certainly knows her politics from the inside. Read more... |
Ciarán Dowd, Soho Theatre review - terrific spoof swordsman taleMonday, 15 October 2018![]()
The Edinburgh Fringe does throw up some oddities – in comedy shows, of course, but also in its dishing out of awards. And so it was that Ciarán Dowd's marvellous Don Rodolfo deservedly gained the Edinburgh Comedy Award for best newcomer, even though he's an old Fringe hand. Read more... |
Ivo Graham, Soho Theatre review - the perils of growing upMonday, 08 October 2018![]()
Considering where Motion Sickness ends up, Ivo Graham's new show begins a million miles away, as he talks about his love of trains and his favourite train company, Chiltern – or “The Chilt”. But don't be fooled by this quotidian fare; what begins as a seemingly aimless wander down a path of nothing very much packs an emotional punch by the end of the hour. Read more... |
Nish Kumar, Soho Theatre review - the state we're inFriday, 05 October 2018![]()
Blimey, Nish Kumar is angry. Angry about Donald Trump, angry about misogyny, angry about racism, angry about Brexit – angry about a lot of things. Read more... |
Katherine Ryan, Garrick Theatre review - feminism with extra sassFriday, 21 September 2018![]()
Katherine Ryan was making her West End debut – a big moment in any comic’s career – but she made her entrance on stage at the Garrick unannounced. Yet if the opening to Glitter Room was strangely underwhelming, it wasn’t long before the Canadian’s trademark waspish style was to the fore and the sass kicked in. Read more... |
The League of Gentlemen Live Again!, Sunderland Empire review - going local for local peopleTuesday, 28 August 2018![]()
When the League of Gentlemen – Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, plus non-performing writer Jeremy Dyson – reformed for an excellent series to update us on events in Royston Vasey (“portal to another world, or just a shit hole?”) for the BBC last year, they enjoyed it so much that they announced a tour for 2018, their first live show since late 2005. Read more... |
Edinburgh Fringe 2018: Rose Matafeo reviewMonday, 27 August 2018![]()
As we enter the venue, Rose Matafeo is playing a game of mini table tennis with a member of the audience. Nothing that follows seems to relate to this “just a bit of fun to start the show” – but, trust me, it's one of the cleverest bits of misdirection you will ever see. Read more... |
Edinburgh Fringe 2018 reviews: Rosie Jones/ Marcus Brigstocke/ Alice SneddenFriday, 17 August 2018![]()
Rosie Jones ★★★★ Read more... |
Edinburgh Fringe 2018: Luisa Omielan/ Brennan Reece/ Olga KochWednesday, 15 August 2018![]()
Luisa Omielan ★★★★ |
Pages
latest in today

It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.
It followed some...

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven. Or words to that effect. This quote from Milton’s ...

The London Choral Sinfonia are a very impressive group, a professional choir who are churning out terrific recordings at a breakneck pace – I...

It’s hard to think of anyone even half as persistent as William Forsythe in changing the conversation around ballet. The American...

As you might expect from a Manic Street Preachers gig, literary influences were never far away. A DH Lawrence quote was prominently displayed on...

A longshot of transgender Elvira (Volker Spengler) circled by gay men, assignation turning to assault as dawn mist rises from Frankfurt’s Main...

It had begun to seem that Jon Hamm, whatever other roles he might appear in, was destined to be forever remembered exclusively as Mad Men...

Víkingur Ólafsson had something to prove at the Wigmore Hall. And prove it he did, even if, this time, his Goldberg Variations left a few features...

The writer Amy Ng has made a sterling effort in digging up the true story behind her new play at the Kiln, Shanghai Dolls, but...