Hindsight is a wonderful thing. The news that I Can’t Sing! is to close after only two months has been swiftly followed by people saying that they are not surprised that it did not turn out to... more
Blog
A few years ago I wrote a book about the history of comedians, homing in on the “sad clown” phenomenon and wondering why so many comedy greats from Grimaldi to Hancock and beyond seemed to be... more
I'm really looking forward to Not Like That, Like This on Monday. I wrote about the subject of the drama, Tommy Cooper, in Beyond A Joke, my study of comedy's flawed heroes. As I discovered during my... more
I see Pam Ann got a, how shall we put it, mixed review in the Guardian this week. Brian Logan gave the show at the Leicester Square Theatre two stars and called it "the comedy of casual smut and... more
The world seems determined to laugh at itself at the moment. Co-producer Simon Cowell is sending himself up rotten in I Can’t Sing! while the BBC is ensuring that it is the butt of the joke in W1A on... more
Update: Following the publication of this piece I was told about an Alcohol Concern charity gig at the Leicester Square Theatre on September 17. Dry Humour's line-up includes Stewart Lee, Miles... more
The Mail Online has excelled itself with an article about Harry Styles and Jack Whitehall's girlfriend Gemma Chan. The story says that the One Direction star was snapped leaving a London hotel in... more
Well, what a week for quitters. First David Letterman, 66, announces that he is retiring from The Late Show and then Bruce Forsyth, 86, announces that he is leaving Strictly Come Dancing. It is not... more
Wouldn’t it be great if Louis CK replaced David Letterman when the veteran host steps down from The Late Show in 2015. American television is so mainstream, so smooth. It would be a wonderful shock... more
What must it be like to be the brain of Ricky Gervais? I’ve just seen the first episode of the new series of Derek and if the first series had a sentimental edge, with its Capra-esque “kindness is... more
