fri 10/10/2025

Comedy Reviews

Paul Foot, Soho Theatre review - how to discover the meaning of life

Veronica Lee

It's probably fair to say that Paul Foot is an acquired taste for some; his absurdist, poetic comedy isn't for everyone but he has built a strong and loyal following without the help of television exposure. And now in Dissolve, which debuted at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe, his comedy takes a more personal turn as he describes the mental health problems that have dogged him for decades.

Read more...

Jessica Fostekew, Soho Theatre review - age is just a number

Veronica Lee

Jessica Fostekew is ageing fast. Actually, she's not, but having recently reached 40 she says that's how she feels. And for an hour she describes to us the signs, from despising litterbugs to gaining a political viewpoint that may not chime with her peers.

Read more...

Fascinating Aida, London Palladium review - celebrating 40 glorious years of filth and defiance

Helen Hawkins

You don’t expect a couple of septuagenarian contraltos, aided by a spring chicken of a soprano in her fifties, to sing naughty ditties about jacksies and titties. Then again, if you are a Fascinating Aida fan, you do. 

Read more...

Frank Skinner: 30 Years of Dirt, Gielgud Theatre review - a mature master of class-A smut

Helen Hawkins

As the man himself says, he was awarded an MBE last year, despite the dirt, for services to comedy – though which services weren’t specified… On paper that isn’t a remotely risqué remark, but Skinner can milk innuendo from anything that comes out of his mouth.

Read more...

Tatty Macleod, Soho Theatre review - cross-Channel relations

Veronica Lee

Tatty Macleod, whose debut show is about the differences between the French and the English, has a confession to make: she's not French. She not even half English/half French, despite having lived her life between the two countries. But she's definitely bilingual and, as befits having a foot in both cultures, is well placed to compare her dual countrymen and women.

Read more...

Best of 2023: Comedy

Veronica Lee

From Covid-delayed dates (yes, that's still a thing) to emotional comebacks and assured debuts, 2023 had much to offer.

Read more...

Reuben Kaye, Purcell Room review - Australian gives powerhouse performance

Veronica Lee

As the panto season is in full swing, theatregoers will be expecting to hear some smut. For those who don't like the traditional artform but still like a bit of filth – with songs – then Reuben Kaye's The Butch Is Back will do nicely.

Read more...

Trevor Noah: Off the Record, O2 review - welcome return to standup for the polyglot motormouth

Helen Hawkins

The O2 has to be the K2 of comedy peaks: a vast ovoid drum of a place where those right at the back have to be content with watching magnified images on screens. And for a standup, there are no electric instruments to drown out the echoing acoustics.

Read more...

Lucy Beaumont, Touring review - Hull’s finest goes on the road

Veronica Lee

Lucy Beaumont tells some tall stories – many ridiculous and some of them true, one assumes.  But such is Beaumont’s wide-eyed delivery that you believe her, particularly if you have seen her on the current series of Taskmaster, where her confused “I don’t know what I thought would happen” approach provides great entertainment.

Read more...

Michael McIntyre, Brighton Centre review - observational everyman

Veronica Lee

It takes some chutzpah to do a substantial section of a comedy show in 2023 (and touring until mid-2024) that deals with your pandemic woes, but that’s Michael McIntyre for you – he has never been short of confidence.

Read more...

Pages

 

latest in today

'We are bowled over!' Thank you for your messages... ...
London Film Festival 2025 - crime, punishment, pop stars and...

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

The third of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out...

I Swear review - taking stock of Tourette's
People sometimes go to the movies for the violence and maybe even for the sex, but until recently they didn’t particularly buy a ticket for the...
Clarkston, Trafalgar Theatre review - two lads on a road to...

If you’re a Gen Zer, you’ve probably heard of Heartstopper’s Joe Locke. I’m pretty sure ATG’s Gen Xers in...

Album: Boz Scaggs - Detour

Boz Scaggs rarely does a less than wonderful album. His latest is an exemplary collection of smooth and soulful standard and a few other choice...

Carmen, English National Opera review - not quite dangerous

“Safe” is a word used far too often in ENO’s bizarre new version of a programme, full of uncredited articles, at least two of which look as if...

Ghost Stories, Peacock Theatre review - spirited staging but...

In the framing device, a professor (Jonathan Guy Lewis) stands at a lectern and asks if anyone has had a supernatural experience....

Emily A. Sprague realises a Japanese dream on 'Cloud Ti...

The history of experimental musicians from Europe and North America adopting Japanese aesthetics is … patchy. It got especially dodgy in the 1990s...

R:Evolution, English National Ballet, Sadler's Wells re...

As the new season opens, confidence is high at ENB, just as it...

Trio Da Kali, Milton Court review - Mali masters make the an...

Trio Da Kali are griots, and their traditional role in...