Benefit gigs are usually crammed with acts doing quick smash-and-grab sets, partly for the cause, sometimes to try out new material and sometimes, let's not beat around the bush here, to win new fans... more
Reviews
When I interviewed Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith about their new anthology series Inside No. 9, Steve Pemberton suggested that there might have been concerns among the BBC's upper... more
Update 11/2/14: I did wonder what Peter Gabriel would make of The Life Of Rock with Brian Pern. Despite a plethora of gags at his expense it appears that he liked it (if this is genuine). Read his... more
Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong have carved out a pretty nifty niche for themselves as C4's top-notch comedy writers with Peep Show and Fresh Meat. In case you've been living under a stone without... more
For those that were sorry to see the end of the brilliant Psychoville after two series the good news is that Inside No 9 is possibly even better. Certainly just as horribly funny in places. The BBC... more
Kurt Braunohler usually comes to the UK with queen of kookery Kristen Schaal. This time round he is doing solo shows. I hope he will still be working with Schaal though, as some of their two-handers... more
There has been talk recently of stand-up producing an endless conveyor belt of identikit observational comedians with one eye on a spot on Live at the Apollo. The cynics saying this clearly don't go... more
The London International Mime Festival is a bit of an odd beast with a slightly deceptive title. There are physical theatre shows, circus acts, dance events, heck, there are even performers who... more
Give or take Caitlin Moran, Lena Dunham has pretty much cornered the market in distinctive, strong female voices that make you both laugh your head off and think long and hard about the whacked-out... more
I've got a theory that every entertainer – apart from Daniel Kitson, of course – ends up doing something very different to what they originally imagined themselves doing. Johnny Vegas ends up selling... more
