Comedy
graeme.thomson
“Marc Wootton is playing characters in real situations with real people” read the message that followed the opening credits of La La Land, as though Wootton were a comedic Archimedes unveiling his Eureka moment, rather than simply the latest “provocative” British wit to go panning for comedy gold in the murky waters of American embarrassment. La La Land premiered in January on US channel Showtime to fair-to-middling reviews and a thumbs-up from Larry David, and has now been given an Anglicised voiceover by Mighty Boosh star Julian Barratt and sent out to battle on BBC Three.The six-parter Read more ...
Veronica Lee
It’s not a good thing to be at a comedy gig fit to punch the wall, but I must confess I entered the auditorium for Shappi Khorsandi’s show last night in a less than Zen state. Not that I had arrived up for it, mind; I may be a sarf London girl but prefer to conduct myself as if I am a true-born daughter of the Home Counties. I had arrived in good time, full of the joys of spring, looking forward to a well-earned first-of-the-day libation before I took my seat for a show I was looking forward to. Unfortunately the staggering incompetence of the Blackheath Halls’ staff (who denied any knowledge Read more ...
Veronica Lee
This is the first gig I have attended where a sign at the door states: “First act - long. Second act - even longer”. So we have been warned, and as soon as Ken Dodd takes to the stage he refers to his (by now) legendary ultra-lengthy shows. “This evening will be a test of bladder strength,” he tells us, and proceeds to entertain almost non-stop for the next four hours (he has been known to do five or six).
Dodd certainly has extraordinary staying power. He’s 82 and celebrating 55 years in show business - and clearly still loves performing as much now as he did when he first started, as a Read more ...
Veronica Lee
Sean Lock, as well as being an acclaimed stand-up for many years, has also written for other comics, including Bill Bailey, Lee Evans and Mark Lamarr, and his profile has risen hugely through his stints as team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats on Channel 4 and regular guest appearances on other panel shows, including QI and Mock the Week. His fans, including me, recall with fondness his sitcom 15 Storeys High, which ran for two series on BBC TV (and which was developed from the equally funny Radio 4 show Sean Lock’s 15 Minutes of Misery).So it’s nice to see him back on tour with Lockipedia, which Read more ...
Jasper Rees
Next month a concert celebrating the unique career of Humphrey Lyttelton, the great jazzer, broadcaster and quizmaster, will take place at HMV Apollo in Hammersmith, west London. The show, which takes place on 25 April, has been constructed about Lyttelton’s twin talents: blowing a trumpet and giving people silly things to do. All proceeds will go to a new charity known as the Humph Trust. Its aim will be to help develop the careers of young jazz musicians. To give the Humph Trust’s efforts a focus, the Royal Academy of Music is introducing an annual gong known as the Humphrey Lyttelton Read more ...
Veronica Lee
Udderbelly's 2010 season at London's Southbank has been announced and the line-up has some gems. American comic Rob Schneider, veteran of Saturday Night Live, will be the main overseas draw and The Wire fans will be rushing to An Evening With Clarke Peters. Irish comic Tommy Tiernan makes a rare UK appearance, while Sandi Toksvig returns to stand-up after a long absence and Alexei Sayle is doing a book reading and Q&A. Others appearing in the upturned purple cow are Ardal O'Hanlon, Alun Cochrane and Jack Whitehall. Last year's launch season was a hit with comedy fans, as Udderbelly @ Read more ...
Veronica Lee
What a joy to welcome Dara O Briain back into the stand-up fold. The Irishman has been away from live performance for five years because he has been busy hosting the panel show Mock the Week and mucking about in boats on various Three Men... series, both on the BBC, and writing a travelogue, Tickling the English, which is about to be released in paperback. His hunger to interact with an audience is almost palpable as he strides to the front of the stage.O Briain is one of the brightest and most quick-witted comics around as the first half of this show (which I saw at the glorious Winter Read more ...
Jasper Rees
How far is too far? That’s the question which underlies the nihilistic versifying of Bobby Spade, white-suited barfly bard, the laureate of oedipal self-loathing who swims in a miasma of misogyny. Spade is the deeply strange, deeply funny creation of Phil Nichol. In this show the no doubt decent Nichol doesn’t get a look in. Where Rich Hall brings on his alter-ego Otis Lee Crenshaw in the second half, Nichol comes on as Spade and goes off as Spade. And, boy, does he go off.It’s hard to credit that Spade bubbled up in the head of a Canadian comedian. Without wishing to stereotype, you expect Read more ...
Veronica Lee
theartsdesk has previously written about concerns felt by many about UK libel laws. Now comedian Robin Ince has organised a fundraising comedy gig (which he will host) to raise awareness about scientist and author Simon Singh, who is being sued by the British Chiropractic Association. It will be held at the Palace Theatre in London on Sunday 14 March and the line-up includes Dara Ó Briain, Tim Minchin, Marcus Brigstocke, Robin Ince, Ed Byrne and Shappi Khorsandi, while scientists Simon Singh and Dr Ben Goldacre will speak. Funds raised from The Big Libel Gig will be donated to the Coalition Read more ...
Veronica Lee
Comic and reality TV star Jason Wood has died at the age of 38. Wood was a genuinely popular comic among fans and within the industry, and was for many years an Edinburgh Fringe staple. His comedy relied on his distinctive voice and astonishingly accurate impressions of male and female divas - from Dame Shirley Bassey and Barbra Streisand to Johnny Mathis and Neil Diamond. In 2004 he had the dubious honour of being the first participant to be voted off the first series of Strictly Come Dancing, which was later won by Natasha Kaplinksy. But Jason liked to turn setbacks to his advantage: he was Read more ...
Veronica Lee
Dave Gorman, it could be said, invented a genre of comedy. His reality-based documentary tales - about hunting down people with the same name or finding unique Google searches - were meticulously researched and generously illustrated; he was the king of PowerPoint. But here he has returned to his stand-up roots and while the show has a title - Sit Down, Pedal, Pedal, Stop and Stand Up- it has no central theme and is not, like those before, delivered almost as a lecture. It refers to the fact that earlier in the tour, in more clement weather, he was cycling between gigs; here, he merely cycles Read more ...
Veronica Lee
Keen comedy fans could never understand why Chris Addison, now 38 and marking 15 years in the business, didn’t have the breakthrough to national fame he deserved sooner. His quick, sometimes caustic but always intelligent humour played to sold-out venues at the Edinburgh Fringe each year, critics heaped praise on him and he received three prestigious Perrier award nominations. And his radio and television work - including The Department, Dotcomedy and Lab Rats - never quite propelled him to where his talent deserved. But then came The Thick of It.In Armando Iannucci’s brilliantly written Read more ...