Reviews
Russell Brand, Bloomsbury Theatre, London
No apology, and not all that many laughs either
Inside Reviews
Eight lessons and carols for godless people, Bloomsbury Theatre, London (Rated 4/ 5 )
Monday, 22 December 2008
Rational festive cheer with the godless squad
Russell Howard, Wembley Arena, London
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
"If I pull back this curtain you can see the rest of the venue. It's massive, and at the end of it there's a big picture of Lee Evans." So went Russell Howard's self-deprecating take on a concertinaed Wembley Arena and previous comics who filled the full version. Nevertheless, the gig rounds off a sold-out 70-date tour that has included a number of nights like this where Howard's audience has topped 3,500.
Eddie Izzard: Stripped, Lyric Theatre, London
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
At the after-show party of this year's Secret Policeman's Ball, Germaine Greer led the singing of headliner Eddie Izzard's praises, comparing his imagination to that of Peter Cook, even after his so-so performance. Two years before, at the same event, a comedian incredulously asked me how Izzard could get so worked up about flies, after another so-so performance in which Izzard deliberated on the mores of the insect world.
Eddie Izzard, Lyric, Shaftesbury Avenue, London
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Return of the genius who knows how to play the Fool
Steve Coogan, Hammersmith Apollo, London
Sunday, 16 November 2008
We still love to hate the loser in the sports jacket
Steve Coogan, Hammersmith Apollo, London (Rated 3/ 5 )
Thursday, 13 November 2008
"He looks good dressed as a woman doesn't he?" says my friend with the same kind of gossipy Northern twang that the object of his comment, Steve Coogan's Pauline Calf, is adopting on stage. Steve Coogan does indeed look convincing in a dress, so much so that I check behind me to see if Jerry Hall is still there. Hall is one of the assembled luminaries, including Alan Yentob, Jimmy Carr and Rob Brydon, here to see if Coogan can shake off some of the bad publicity he's had in the early part of his tour.
First Night: We Are Most Amused, New Wimbledon Theatre, London (Rated 4/ 5 )
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Prince's kings of comedy make way for Manuel
Chris Addison, Bloomsbury Theatre, London
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Chris Addison's "smarty-pants" persona has been packaged twice on television but he was often sweating rather than swotting in this show.
Two Left Hands: Like rabbits, Etcetera Theatre, London (Rated 2/ 5 )
Monday, 10 November 2008
As French and Saunders' act played out its last throes at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, another female sketch duo started a two-week residency at the more modest Etcetera Theatre in Camden. While Charlotte Hudson and Leila Hackett (Two Left Hands) employ a more cerebral approach that has a firmer grasp on the zeitgeist, both suffer from a similar paucity of laughs.
Michael McIntyre, Hammersmith Apollo, London
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
If comedy is supposedly going to err towards the risk-averse in the post-Brand/post-Ross BBC era: then cometh the hour, cometh Michael McIntyre.
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