Reviews

The Horne Section, Lyric Theatre, London (Rated 3/ 5 )

There seems to be no end to the contexts in which people stage comedy. You can now have your laughs pretty much any which way: by the sea, in the air (BA are trying for a world record for highest comedy gig for Comic Relief) or, as well as all manner of site-specific events, merged with an array of musical stylings.

Inside Reviews

Limmy: New king of angry comedy

Friday, 11 February 2011

There are lots of angry young men out there who are fed up with being ignored by terrestrial television. They don't want celebrity, stupidity or faux bonhomie; they don't want phone-ins and nostalgia; they want honesty. Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights should have delivered, but it failed. It was unfunny and smacked of him being given a chance and not knowing what to do with it.

Sandra Bernhard: Whatever It Takes, Leicester Square Theatre, London (Rated 3/ 5 )

Friday, 11 February 2011

"When will I see you again?"... So sings the self-styled diva and raconteur Sandra Bernhard, acknowledging that the answer is probably in about two years' time given her biennial visits to the UK in recent years.

Lenny Henry: From Cradle to Rave, New Theatre, Oxford (Rated 3/ 5 )

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

Lenny Henry, who re-entered the comedy world when he appeared on Live at the Apollo last autumn, is bona fide heritage material.

Nick Helm: Keep Hold of the Gold, Soho Theatre, London (Rated 3/ 5 )

Friday, 4 February 2011

Nick Helm's brash and bullish show, which broadly depicts a clumsy, heart-on-sleeve romantic having a meltdown, was one of the finds of last year's Edinburgh festival. The antics of a man resembling Nick Frost playing a sergeant

Burns Night Comedy Gala, Leicester Square Theatre, London (Rated 3/ 5 )

Friday, 28 January 2011

The London launch for the Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival offered stars past and present, reflecting a programme that will run from veterans such as Frank Carson to bright young thing Russell Kane.

Luke Wright's Cynical Ballads, Leicester Square Theatre, London (Rated 3/ 5 )

Tuesday, 25 January 2011

"It was the fault of the government," barks Mark E Smith on The Fall's version of "Jerusalem" that is played before and after Luke Wright's new show. The 29-year-old poet's series of ballads, structured verses for Broken Britain, are similarly blunt in their assault on the national malaise, with media manipulation and the pursuit of easy fame among the other ills that Wright sees as afflicting our senses and sensibilities.

Barbershopera: Apocalypse No!, Trafalgar Studios, London (Rated 4/ 5 )

Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Since their last outing, this harmonious four-piece comedy a capella outfit have gone up a scale and, to a certain extent, eased themselves away from the controlled irreverence I'd previously ascribed to them. This has been achieved by getting silly on a grand scale.

The Fitzrovia Radio Hour, Trafalgar Studios, London (Rated 2/ 5 )

Tuesday, 18 January 2011

The new show from this troupe of bright young things brings forth three more pastiches of 1940s radio plays, each cut in half and served up on rotation and each accompanied by the sight of sound effects being created using a range of objects including mallets, cabbages doorknobs, crisps and a pair of rubber gloves doubling as bats.

Punt & Dennis: They Should Get Out More, Palace Theatre, Watford (Rated 2/ 5 )

Monday, 17 January 2011

After a break of over three years, these two stalwarts of BBC radio comedy are back on the road, pointing to the title of their show as their motivation.

Kieran & the Joes in Success: a Success Story, Leicester Square Theatre, London (Rated 3/ 5 )

Thursday, 13 January 2011

Three young men wearing white shirts and ties acting out themed scenes while their relationship dynamic changes through petty jealousies and annoyances sounds par for the course for the sketch genre, but there's enough of a twinkle in the eyes of performers Kieran Hodgson, Joe Parham and Joe Markham, and in the lines crafted by the cast and co-writer Tom Meltzer, that make this show a little above the average fare.

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