
In Sam Raimi's horror classic, a man is tormented by demons and his own severed hand. All the story needed was a few tunes by the king of rock'n'roll, says Rob KempBy day, he was a mild-mann…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM[SHARE]London Palladium The standup leans too heavily on showbiz mudslinging here, but the remarkable story of the fallout from her severed-head stunt is uplifting comedy catharsis American comic K…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM[SHARE]Shows that delight in flouting conventions, like Brookes's Body of Work, make us question our expectations of standup " including whether it should all be funnyAn offstage voice announces hi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM[SHARE]Churchill theatre, BromleyRyan delivers plenty of astringent one-liners in a tart set that ranges from single parenthood to Khloé Kardashian's 'revenge body' and the musical HamiltonThe def…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:18PM[SHARE]Can funny songs change the world? Jonny & the Baptists and Grace Petrie join Josie Long for a spirited night of comedy that imagines nationalising the Queen's swans and banning Daily Mai…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:18PM[SHARE]The charismatic Whose Line Is It Anyway? star is a blithely uninhibited lord of misrule at a new improvisation night in London On the way to Slattery Night Fever, the new weekend impro night…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AM[SHARE]The Brummie comic fails to see the funny side of the Channel 4 TV series. Plus, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David go for theatrical gold and a planned Richard Pryor biopic moves a step closerOn…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:04AM[SHARE]The master comedian's off-the-cuff routine gets more laughs than most scripted standup. But he's hardly breaking sweat. Will Skinner ever pull out all the stops?Is Frank Skinner a restless s…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AM[SHARE]Soho theatre, London The charmingly self-mocking standup is not short of decent gags but appears almost devoid of strong opinions. He may not offend but he certainly exasperatesWhat do you w…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AM[SHARE]Gilded Balloon, EdinburghLast year's from-nowhere smash, this Kiwi duo has accrued a cult following that seems to include every other comedian on the fringe. You can see why: their show, Hig…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54AM[SHARE]Shepherd's Bush Empire, LondonDarby's loser act keeps him and us smiling, but some trimming of his silly storytelling would make this show a winnerOnly a comedian would wear jeans like these…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AM[SHARE]Brighton CentreEddie Izzard is on the UK leg of what's been billed as the biggest ever world standup tour, and the man himself is telling interviewers: "The key thing is making your stu…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12PM[SHARE]Hunter's followers retaliate with death threats. Plus: Russell Brand is 'double double against genocide', Jon Stewart lashes out at media and John Cleese hates today's comedyA masterclass in…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42PM[SHARE]Soho theatre, LondonThere's plenty to admire in Graham's new show, including a teenage appearance on The Weakest Link and a fresh-minted routine about the £1 coin'Push the envelope, but d…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM[SHARE]From the bumbling misadventures of Sean's Show to the jaunty misanthropy of his later standup material, Hughes " who has died aged 51 " was a master of telling messy truths There were two di…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:12AM[SHARE]The Capitol, Horsham"I'm not saying I'm perfect," says Sean Hughes, as he mocks all the things the rest of us do wrong. But part of Hughes's charm is that he does claim to be, if not perfect…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AM[SHARE]Soho theatre, LondonHis first standup set in three years works a treat as Key paints a slyly humorous and heavily ironic portrait of midlife disappointmentIt feels both apt and unlikely that…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18AM[SHARE]Royal Albert Hall, LondonTheir current BBC3 sketch show has been drubbed by the critics - and there's no improvement on that programme's lobotomised humour at this live outing, a headline pe…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42PM[SHARE]Standup Nick Coyle's new show Queen of Wolves takes a Victorian governess on a terrifying journey " and proves how humour and horror work in similar waysThe buzz around Australian standup Ni…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:33AM[SHARE]Leicester Square theatre, LondonFrom his long process, after coming out, of self-acceptance to his newfound romantic happiness, this is classic, neurotic, angst-ridden Amstell If there were …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AM[SHARE]Soho theatre, LondonI Could Have Been an Astronaut is an amusing ramble through Brand's childhood obsessions, fate and the factors that make us who we areSome comics have extraordinary stori…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:18AM[SHARE]The wig-wearing comic's new show about humdrum heroism is his best yet. But as his act strives for knockout poignancy, does the goofy get-up help or hinder?When John Kearns corpses, is he co…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM[SHARE]O2 Arena, LondonIf you've got a taste for straight-up 1970s nostalgia comedy, you'll take a lot away from comedy stalwart Micky Flanagan's latest setYou may have seen Micky Flanagan on …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:24PM[SHARE]The UK's most popular comic is taking his cockney shtick on tour but he's more than a cheeky caricature " his democratic brand of humour is smart and generousI'm not sure whether to review M…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:24PM[SHARE]The stars of the Greenwich comedy festival had to concertina their standup routines. But can the likes of Dylan Moran and Bridget Christie ruminate and rage against the clock?What is the bas…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM[SHARE]Leicester Square theatre, LondonCasting himself as a social misfit in his new show To Be Free, Amstell turns his fire, sometimes embarrassingly, on all of usWhat becomes of the neurotic come…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM[SHARE]Hamilton hits London, Bryan Cranston's news anchor goes berserk, Wayne McGregor turns his DNA into dance, Mae Martin revisits her teen addictions and Toyah Willcox is a time-travelling queen…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12AM[SHARE]The Daily Express blasts Lee Mack for his views on female comedians, a bunch of comedians take part in skirmishes, and Hello Ladies gets lacklustre reviewsYou know you're in trouble when the…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:04PM[SHARE]Now the fringe is over, comics from Desiree Burch to John Bishop are hitting the road with jokes about fertility anxiety, political correctness and life as a 'virgin dominatrix'Maybe you're …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:42PM[SHARE]Relationship breakdown and homophobia in Australia pick up a prize " or two " for John Robins and Hannah GadsbyThe longest ever shortlist. The first ever joint winners. And clearly, the most…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:18PM[SHARE]Heroes @ Monkey Barrel, EdinburghThe laughs keep coming in The Audition, a ramshackle tale of Steven Spielberg, talking robots and a bank-robbing fishThere aren't many ways that a Spencer Jo…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM[SHARE]

