Comedy loves misery. That’s the theory. That’s why grumpy Tony Hancock was so funny. That’s why Les Dawson made a hit out of rarely cracking a smile. And more recently Jack Dee’s perma-scowl has been... more
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Here is a picture of Foster’s Award winner John Kearns pulling a comical face. I don’t know if it was his choice or if the photographer coaxed him into it, but it feels like the kind of thing that... more
So John Kearns won the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award today. The first ever Best Newcomer to win the main prize in the following year and, perhaps more significantly, the first Free Fringe performer... more
The Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award winner is announced at lunchtime today in a ceremony starting at 12.30pm, so I guess I’d better have a crack at picking a winner. I suggested five nominees earlier... more
You can’t please everyone. That’s the conclusion I come to almost every year when the Foster’s Award nominations are announced. This year's shortlist is no exception. Despite choosing seven of the... more
To quote jokes or not to quote jokes, that is the perennial question for comedy critics. This has particularly been bothering me in the last couple of days after I ran a rave review of Bec Hill and... more
“We are currently half way through our run and as yet have had no media coverage, so we are getting a bit desperate.”“People are loving it! - 50 capacity and most days I'm full.”“Absolutely packing... more
I noticed last night that Jim Davidson had retweeted my Evening Standard review of his Edinburgh Fringe debut. I was surprised as I gave him a very qualified three stars. Then I read the reviews in... more
Before the Edinburgh Fringe Festival started officially on August 1 I couldn’t help noticing how many previews there were in London. There seemed to be more than ever before, with some acts seeming... more
I was intrigued, surprised and generally horrified to read that John Sessions is a UKIP supporter. The interview in The Guardian didn't make as big a deal out of it as I would have thought. Which was... more
