Bruce Dessau
Update 17/6 – Following Richard Herring's innovative, generous Edinburgh Fringe offer below, serial maverick Lewis Schaffer has decided to get in on the act and has just made the following announcement:
Ah well, there goes another one. The death of Bill Pertwee, aka ARP Warden Hodges from Dad's Army has died, aged 86. Cue tributes, trending on Twitter and Tweets which are variations on the theme of his light being finally put out in honour of his famous "Put that light out!" catchphrase.
The London comedy scene goes global this week with two shows from visitors from the colonies. Australian comedian Wil Anderson opens at the Soho Theatre on Monday and is there until June 8. Back home Anderson is a pretty big star – slick, smart and very witty, though not entirely averse to dick jokes.
1. Don't forget your notebook.
Normally at a comedy gig I feel self-conscious whipping out my notebook. But Robert Newman's modestly-titled New Theory of Evolution is not a normal comedy show. At times it feels so much like a lecture that taking notes feels perfectly natural.
I went to see Gina Yashere at the Udderbelly last night. Good fun, never less then entertaining, discussing everything from the Woolwich killing and the Ohio hostages to needing reading glasses and hovering above the toilet seat to avoid nasty germs. But being the pedant that I am I had one major gripe. The programme said that the show started at 9pm and the running time was 60 minutes.
Update 3/6/13 Just heard today that comedian Joe Lycett has been cast as Dustin Gee in this project below. This is interesting – Gee was the double act partner of Les Dennis and died of a heart attack in 1986. Spookily Dustin Gee and Les Dennis had been the act due to follow Cooper on Live From Her Majesty's, the show Cooper died on in 1984. No news of whether Les Dennis will be portrayed in the Cooper biopic. But if he does, will Les Dennis play himself?
It's comedy, but not as we know it. Brian Gittins has been on the circuit for a few years now, but his popularity has gained some purchase recently, thanks to his appearance in the Ricky Gervais series Derek as sad, sex-obsessed loser Kev. He might be playing a small room in the Soho Theatre but he has just extended his run. I recommend you go, but I also recommend you get there early enough to grab a seat at the back.
OK, let's not beat around the bush, let's talk money. When reviewing comedy shows critics review the performance and try to keep everything else – the weather, their mood, the neighbour munching Cheesy Wotsits – out of their mind. But if a review is all about giving a punter an idea of whether they should go and see a show there is one thing a critic doesn't mention which is highly relevant. Ticket prices.
I haven't quite worked out the purpose of YouTube's first ever Comedy Week yet. If it is about trying to get more people to watch YouTube that would seem like a fairly futile exercise. A bit like a TV advert saying "Eat Food" or "Please Remember to Breathe". Everybody does it anyway.
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