fri 29/03/2024

Comedy Reviews

Dave Chappelle: The Closer, Netflix review - race and class examined

Veronica Lee

Say what you like about Dave Chappelle, but if nothing else he's an equal-opportunities offender, as his latest Netflix special, The Closer, proves. The last of his six specials for the network, all of which have drawn criticism – as well as plaudits – for his uncompromising “I tell it as I see it” material has again provoked ire in some quarters.

Read more...

Jason Manford, London Palladium review - lockdown laughs and feelgood fun

Veronica Lee

Tickets for Jason Manford's Like Me went on sale in 2019 but the tour had to be put on hold as events unavoidably detained him at home. "I hope you haven't gone off me in that time – it does happen," he said. He needn't have worried as the Palladium crowd were as delighted as he was to be in a theatre, having a laugh.

Read more...

Blithe Spirit, Harold Pinter Theatre review - an amusing, if dated, revival of the Coward classic

Gary Naylor

We’re in an agreeable drawing room with an author, Charles Condomine, who is looking forward to having a bit of fun with a local spiritualist, Madame Arcati, whom he has invited over for an evening séance.

Read more...

Anuvab Pal, Soho Theatre review - Empire and Bollywood collide

Veronica Lee

Anuvab Pal may be a new name to some UK audiences (although many will know him from the global satirical podcast The Bugle), but he is well known in his native India.

Read more...

Olga Koch, Soho Theatre review - personal, political and playful

Veronica Lee

Olga Koch – born in Russia to ethnic German parents, multilingual and now living in London – might fit into the group that Theresa May once dismissed as “citizens of nowhere”, whatever that phrase means.

Read more...

Dead Ringers Live, London Wonderground review - impressionists on great form

Veronica Lee

Here's a treat for those missing Dead Ringers (created by Bill Dare) as it takes a break on Radio 4.

Read more...

Edinburgh Fringe 2021: Comedy Allstars, Underbelly review - depleted festival kicks off

Veronica Lee

At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, this year's Fringe is a much smaller beast than normal. In the face of Covid restrictions, uncertainty about when they would end and the limitations on international travel, this year many performers are staying away. There are 755 shows at 118 venues across the city, compared to 3,841 in 323 venues in 2019, the last time the Fringe was held.

Read more...

Wonderville, Palace Theatre review - magic and illusion family show

Veronica Lee

Variety is a form of entertainment most usually seen on Saturday night television these days, but Wonderville is an attempt to bring it back into the West End.

Read more...

Bo Burnham: Inside, Netflix review - a masterpiece about lockdown angst

Veronica Lee

Some people perfected their banana loaf or sourdough bread during lockdown. Others tried to learn a new language or how to play an instrument. Bo Burnham produced this masterpiece.

Read more...

Comedy Shindig, Melbourne Hall review - Jason Manford headlines opening night

Veronica Lee

What a great idea Just the Tonic's Comedy Shindig is; outdoor gigs at lovely locations under a huge awning - so who cares if the British summer turns out to be a bit wet this year? The season kicked off – in beautiful weather – in the grounds of Melbourne Hall near Derby, where a sunken Victorian walled garden provided a natural amphitheatre. Chuck in a barbecue and a bar, and it was a perfect way to enjoy an evening of comedy.

Read more...

Pages

 

latest in today

MJ The Musical, Prince Edward Theatre review - glitzy jukebo...

In a secret chamber somewhere, the producers of ...

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, Marylebone Theatre review – f...

Like all great literature, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s final, eccentric, playfully wondrous short story seems to have been written just for us – across...

Annie Jacobsen: Nuclear War: A Scenario review – on the inco...

‘[A]n unimaginably beautiful day’: this was how Kikue Shiota described the morning of the 6th of August, 1945, in Hiroshima. The day was soon to...

Bach's Easter Oratorio, OAE, Whelan, QEH review - the j...

Waiting, and hoping, may prove just as intense an experience as the fulfilment of a wish – or of a fear. Bach knew that, and infused his Easter...

Album: Jane Weaver - Love In Constant Spectacle

“Motif,” Love In Constant Spectacle’s fourth track, is the closest Jane Weaver has come in over a decade to the folk influences embraced...

First Person: author-turned-actor Lydia Higman on a play tha...

I first read Anne Gunter’s story about five years ago, when I was in my first year of university at Oxford, little knowing it would over time lead...

The Origin of Evil review - Laure Calamy stars in gripping F...

A young woman (Laure Calamy; Call my Agent!; Full Time; Her Way) is trying to pluck up the courage to call her...

Foam, Finborough Theatre review - fascism and f*cking in a G...

In a too brightly tiled Gentlemen’s public convenience (Nitin Parmar’s beautifully realised set is as much a character as any of the men we meet...

Album: Ride - Interplay

What a time to be alive it is for fans of late Eighties, early Nineties ...