Reviews & features: Comedy
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- Comedy
0–9
3 Gaga Heads
(24 Aug 2009)
All quite barmy- 4 Poofs and a Piano
(24 Aug 2009)
A seemingly inexhaustible supply of sexual puns - 6.0: How Heap and Pebble Took on the World and Won (13 Aug 2009)
When sport, movement, poetry and comedy collide
3 Gaga Heads
A
- Aaron Barschak
(24 Aug 2009)
A monstrosity of a show - A Betrayal of Penguins
(18 Aug 2009)
Penguin-based humour has never seemed such fun - A Big Trout in a Small Pond (11 Aug 2009)
Sketch show for the Skins generation lacks a wider outlook - Abi Roberts (24 Aug 2009)
Not much in the way of comedic writing - Abracadabra: German Humour Goes Global (18 Aug 2009)
Enjoyable, non-ironically zany knees-up - Actions Speak Louder than Birds (18 Aug 2009)
Spends too much time apologising for his limitations - Adam Hills (18 Aug 2009)
An energetic musing on modern life - Adam Riches: Rogue Males (14 Aug 2009)
A rogue's gallery of male foibles - Adams & Rea (24 Aug 2009)
Music in their blood but only mildly amusing - Aindrias de Staic - The Summer I Did The Leaving (14 Aug 2009)
For fiddle-fanciers and Hibernophiles only - Alan Francis & Barnaby Power (10 Aug 2009)
Satisfying stings and filthy finales - Alex and Helen's Radio Nowhere (21 Aug 2009)
Silly, surreal and sarcastic fun - Alex Maple (18 Aug 2009)
The exit doors become an ever appealing prospect - Alistair Barrie (24 Aug 2009)
Elicits chuckles rather than belly laughs - Alistair McGowan (21 Aug 2009)
Back to the 90s - All That Gomez (10 Aug 2009)
Brash bravado and thoughtful theatrics - Alun Cochrane
(10 Aug 2009)
The weaver of dreams hits top form again - Andrea Donovan: Regret Me Not (11 Aug 2009)
Meaningful character comedy - Andrew Lawrence: Soul Crushing Vicissitudes of Fortune! (13 Aug 2009)
A show about how luck can change our lives - Andrew Maxwell (24 Aug 2009)
Sparkles with charm and wit aplenty - Andrew O’Neill (18 Aug 2009)
Fast-talking, endlessly informative and inventive - Andrew Stanley's Comedy Mish Mash (16 Aug 2009)
The warmest welcome you'll get all August - Andrew Watts (18 Aug 2009)
Without any decent jokes - Anil Desai (12 Aug 2009)
Comedy impressions with improvised sketches - Anna & Katy (10 Aug 2009)
Inventive, anarchic, satirical sketches - Ashley Hames (10 Aug 2009)
The queasy confessions of a sex reporter - The Aspidistras (18 Aug 2009)
Spreads the laughs a little too thinly - Ava Vidal (18 Aug 2009)
A refreshingly laidback, conversational style - Axis of Awesome (18 Aug 2009)
Spoof songs and inter-band bickering aplenty
B
- Bamboozlement (1 Sep 2009)
Audience interaction with much charm and wit - Barry & Stuart (18 Aug 2009)
Mischievous manner and playful banter - Bec Hill (24 Aug 2009)
The banter and inventiveness of a burgeoning comic talent - Ben Dover (20 Aug 2009)
Penetrating tales of filth with dodgy jokes - Bethany Black: Love and a Colt 45 (11 Aug 2009)
Unwelcome self-indulgence - The Bodega Brothers (18 Aug 2009)
Laconic, self-deprecating and funny - The Boom Jennies (11 Aug 2009)
Yummy mummies sketch out society's most awkward moments - Bourgeois and Maurice (11 Aug 2009)
Sensual cabaret and acid wit - Brian Gittins (18 Aug 2009)
Largely satisfying - Bridget Christie: My Daily Mail Hell (20 Aug 2009)
Flaws in the internal logic create an objectionable experience - Bristol Revunions: We Made a Funny (11 Aug 2009)
A hit and miss of student sketches
C
- Cabaret Whore (27 Aug 2009)
Sex, revenge and Katie Price - Cardinal Burns (10 Aug 2009)
Turkish delights amid the prop failure - Carey Marx (24 Aug 2009)
Everything from global warming to fisting cows - Carl Donnelly (18 Aug 2009)
A natural gift for spontaneity - Celia Pacquola (10 Aug 2009)
Laughing it up with a messed-up stand-up - Charlie Chuck (16 Aug 2009)
A rare audience with original comedy nutjob - Chris Cox (18 Aug 2009)
One of the Fringe’s more mentally challenging shows - Chris McCausland (11 Aug 2009)
Shocking comedy, from lightning strikes to blinking - Clever Peter (18 Aug 2009)
Comes together to great effect - Colin Hoult (11 Aug 2009)
Monstrously funny - Colm O'Regan (24 Aug 2009)
An effortless talent abounding - Comedy Bitch (18 Aug 2009)
Don’t lift the bar high enough - Craig Hill (11 Aug 2009)
The brutal coupling of a sharp wit and a queen bitch attitude
D
- Daliso Chaponda (16 Aug 2009)
An unpreachy hour relating abuse and misery - Dan Antopolski (11 Aug 2009)
Daring comedy and the odd rap - Dan Atkinson: Death by One Thousand Pricks (1 Sep 2009)
Compelling and entertaining thesis on the current state of Britain - Danielle Ward (23 Aug 2009)
Self-aware yet distinctive act - Daniel Rigby (24 Aug 2009)
Frenzied and wilfully bizarre one-man character sketch show - Daniel Sloss: Teenage Kicks (10 Aug 2009)
Teaching the older generation a thing or two - The Dark Party (16 Aug 2009)
Gothic sideshow for the Top Gear set - Dave Thornton (18 Aug 2009)
Nearly as hot as a shrimp on a barbie - David Longley (12 Aug 2009)
Rants and political polemic from the intellectual comedian - David O'Doherty (18 Aug 2009)
Last year’s if.comedy winner consolidates - Dead Cat Bounce (24 Aug 2009)
The overall effect is enjoyable - Des Bishop (24 Aug 2009)
A show of empathy, if not quite originality - Des Clarke (16 Aug 2009)
Showbiz shine disappears with tired material - Die Roten Punkte (10 Aug 2009)
Otto and Astrid aim to rock your world - The Divine Comedy Hour (18 Aug 2009)
Two stand-ups dripping with niceness - Dixie's Tupperware Party (20 Aug 2009)
A hilarious and naughty time is had by all - Dog-Eared Collective (10 Aug 2009)
An apocalyptic oddity about The End - Domestic Goddi 2 (11 Aug 2009)
Delicious sketches from the female duo
E
- Edward Aczel (18 Aug 2009)
The dry meanderings of a new kind of comic - Elaine Malcolmson & Niall Browne: All Kinds of Everything (11 Aug 2009)
Cheeky N’Ireland pair do a video nation thing - Eleanor Tiernan: Trouble (11 Aug 2009)
Tommy's cousin lacks the family wit - Elis James (24 Aug 2009)
Sex, drugs and rock'n'rollercoasters - Elvis McGonagall (14 Aug 2009)
Poetically charming tartan chappie - Eric's Tales of the Sea (26 Aug 2009)
Moving, humbling, and comic - The Event (13 Aug 2009)
Brilliant deconstruction of stand-up
F
- Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience (21 Aug 2009)
Excellent impersonations but no Waldorf salad - Felicity Ward (16 Aug 2009)
Tales of poor Aussie upbringing lack bite - Fergus Craig Still Watches Neighbours (11 Aug 2009)
How soap can save your soul - Foil Arms and Hog (18 Aug 2009)
Deliriously funny and at times unexpectedly dark - Footlights (18 Aug 2009)
A lukewarm and predictable set of sketches - Fredrik Lloyd (24 Aug 2009)
Blessed with neither presence nor charisma - Frisky and Mannish (16 Aug 2009)
Simply top of the pops
G
- G3: The Ginge, the Geordie and the Geek (24 Aug 2009)
Brave and occasionally sinister - The Gadabouts (18 Aug 2009)
Their general affability is wasted on this largely disappointing show - Gary Little (24 Aug 2009)
Storytelling is not his forte - Gavin Webster (16 Aug 2009)
Surreal banter with a strong accent - Geoff Norcott (11 Aug 2009)
Former Nuts man on the more subtle differences between sexes - George Ryegold (10 Aug 2009)
Bloody fare with a rash of silver linings - Geraldine Quinn (18 Aug 2009)
Cleverly bitter material - Gerry Howell (18 Aug 2009)
Just being weird for the sake of it - Ginger and Black (18 Aug 2009)
Charmingly noncommittal and curiously unpredictable - Glenn Wool (18 Aug 2009)
Has never been funnier or more lustily discombobulated - Grandees (19 Aug 2009)
The mugging and gurning from the cast becomes migraine-inducing - Greg Behrendt (24 Aug 2009)
Predictable material - Guy Incognito (24 Aug 2009)
A muddled execution that feels unfinished
H
- Hannah Gadsby (10 Aug 2009)
Does mother really know best? - Harbingers (19 Aug 2009)
Unable to rein their natural exuberance into anything remotely amusing - Hardeep Singh Kohli (14 Aug 2009)
Laugh-lite Glaswegian gourmet - Helen Arney (19 Aug 2009)
Charming, witty and warm with great one-liners - Helen Keen (20 Aug 2009)
Underwhelming guide to Arctic survival - Hotdoctors: The Downage (10 Aug 2009)
Slick DJs, slack comics - Hugh Hughes (11 Aug 2009)
Storytelling with humour and charm
I
- Idiots of Ants (20 Aug 2009)
Glitches mar a slick show from comedy savants - I’ll Always Think of You that Way (19 Aug 2009)
Fresh, zany and surprising - Isma Almas (16 Aug 2009)
Streams of gags keep this hour ticking over - Ivan Brackenbury (24 Aug 2009)
Often-amusing ailment-themed gags
J
- Jack Mink (19 Aug 2009)
A mesmerising spectacle - Jack Whitehall (18 Aug 2009)
A pedestrian set delivered with presence - Jamie Kilstein (18 Aug 2009)
US political comic veers away from obvious targets - Janeane Garofalo (10 Aug 2009)
Hack material just about given the right twist - Janey Godley (18 Aug 2009)
Immensely likeable - Jarlath Regan, Man of Very Little Mystery (18 Aug 2009)
Ever-cheerful delivery and friendly style - Jason Byrne (24 Aug 2009)
Life-affirming offbeat madness - Jason Cook: Fear (14 Aug 2009)
The Geordie’s honest approach falls short with Fear - Jason John Whitehead (24 Aug 2009)
This rambling show needs a little more coherence - Jimmy McGhie (24 Aug 2009)
Crowd-repelling tartan, bagpipe and clansmen stereotypes - Jim Smallman (24 Aug 2009)
Barely a punchline that registers - Joey Page (23 Aug 2009)
A distinctive voice that belongs to someone else - John Bishop (18 Aug 2009)
Master of the familiar and familial anecdote - John Gordillo (24 Aug 2009)
Application of economic principles to heterosexual relationships - Jojo Sutherland (11 Aug 2009)
An autobiographical tale of a not very interesting life - Jollie (19 Aug 2009)
Story-based songs on various countries - Jon Holmes (23 Aug 2009)
Safe and silly hour of rock’n’roll nostalgia - Jonny Sweet (18 Aug 2009)
A hilarious PowerPoint portrayal of a dead brother - Jon Richardson (24 Aug 2009)
Very funny anecdotes - Julian Clary (24 Aug 2009)
Former Joan Collins Fan Club becomes national treasure - Justin Moorhouse (21 Aug 2009)
Brash comic’s storytelling mash-up
K
- Keith Farnan (11 Aug 2009)
A natural comedic talent - Kent Valentine (24 Aug 2009)
Pleasingly energetic - Kevin Bridges (18 Aug 2009)
Scotland’s rising star strikes on his Fringe debut - Kevin Tomlinson (24 Aug 2009)
Laughs and poignant moments - Kim Noble (27 Aug 2009)
Unfettered lunacy? - Kiosk of Champions! (18 Aug 2009)
Deliberately flimsy sketches about pirates, cops and zombies
L
- Lady Garden (18 Aug 2009)
Acutely observed characters - Late Night Gimp Fight! (11 Aug 2009)
Wrong sketches that feel so right - Late 'n' Live – Gilded Balloon (18 Aug 2009)
Ever-changing comedy cabaret - Laura Solon (23 Aug 2009)
Impressive but patchy follow-up to almighty glory - The List Operators (19 Aug 2009)
Enthusiastic and frantic hosts rip through their material - Lloyd Langford (18 Aug 2009)
Obvious natural talent - Long Tooth (12 Aug 2009)
Comedy that proves both outrageous and dark - Lucy Porter (24 Aug 2009)
A performance that is assured if a little safe - Luke Toulson (24 Aug 2009)
Frequently unexpected and inventive - Luke Wright (16 Aug 2009)
His concerns may be petty but the poetry is not
M
- Mackenzie Taylor (11 Aug 2009)
Painfully funny trip through mental illness - Marcel Lucont (18 Aug 2009)
Devilishly handsome and devastatingly disdainful - Marcus Brigstocke (10 Aug 2009)
Preaching to the converted - Marigold (24 Aug 2009)
An audible dearth of jokes - Mark Thomas (8 Aug 2009)
A spontaneous manifesto crafted with perfection - Mark Walker (19 Aug 2009)
Immensely likeable and dynamic - Matt Green (24 Aug 2009)
Hard to fault any specific aspect of his act - Matt Harvey (12 Aug 2009)
Love poems for household objects, and other unusual ideas - Matt Kirshen (20 Aug 2009)
The height of nonsense from accomplished comic - Matt Price (24 Aug 2009)
Cleverly constructed, highly personal story about love - Max and Iván (18 Aug 2009)
Great energy and slick audiovisuals - Michael Fabbri (19 Aug 2009)
Destined for a bigger stage - Mick Ferry: Comedy Final (12 Aug 2009)
Split personalities telling the same jokes - Mick Sergeant (11 Aug 2009)
From the dole to the stage - Mike Bubbins (19 Aug 2009)
Lacks punch but a natural charm just about sees him through - Mike Wozniak (18 Aug 2009)
Strained face-pulling and intentionally bad impersonations - Miles Jupp: Telling it Like it Might be (28 Aug 2009)
Mr Nice Guy is generous with the laughs - Monsieur Montpellier: Entertainer Extraordinaire! (24 Aug 2009)
Derren Brown he ain’t - The Moonfish Rhumba (19 Aug 2009)
A jarring clash between the potential and the misfiring, crude reality - The Most Important Show of the Day (10 Aug 2009)
An interactive wake-up call - Mould & Arrowsmith (18 Aug 2009)
Playful and ingeniously funny - The Muffia (19 Aug 2009)
Uncomfortable, unplanned and best avoided
N
- Nathan Caton (11 Aug 2009)
Modern life and race crop up in Caton's Fringe debut - Neil Delamere (12 Aug 2009)
Hilarious on and off his script - New Art Club (10 Aug 2009)
Balletic musings on the meaning of ‘now’ - Newsrevue (11 Aug 2009)
Easy targets are tackled with reliable aplomb - Nick Doody (10 Aug 2009)
Playing it safe with all-too reasonable show - Nick Mohammed (11 Aug 2009)
A gloriously silly and irreverent show
O
- One Man Lord of the Rings (10 Aug 2009)
Baffling speeded-up Middle Earth affair - The Oxford Revue: Etch a Sketch (10 Aug 2009)
Punchlines are disappointingly predictable
P
- Paddy Lennox (12 Aug 2009)
Tackling this family tree isn't as interesting as Who Do You Think You Are? - Pajama Men (10 Aug 2009)
Strangers on a train with gags - Pappy's Fun Club (11 Aug 2009)
Sketch favourites achieve cohesion through chaos - Patch Hyde & Adam Tempest (19 Aug 2009)
A sweet way to spend an hour - Patrick Monahan (24 Aug 2009)
Would be a pleasant quarter of an hour - Paul Foot: By the Yard (10 Aug 2009)
What a comedic meltdown looks a lot like - Paul Sinha (11 Aug 2009)
The former GP continues to disappoint his parents with his stand-up show - The Penny Dreadfuls (16 Aug 2009)
A quality spoof from hammy trio - Pete Firman (12 Aug 2009)
Jaw-dropping tricks with fast and furious gags - Pete Johansson (11 Aug 2009)
A perfomer comfortable in his skin - Phil and Phill (19 Aug 2009)
Toe-curling awkwardness - Philberto (18 Aug 2009)
Enjoyably silly - Philip Escoffey: Six More Impossible Things Before Dinner (10 Aug 2009)
How to read and blow a crowd’s mind - Phil Kay: London Aye! (24 Aug 2009)
The crowd are in hysterics from the start - Phil Nichol (16 Aug 2009)
Fringe favourite hits all the right notes - Pippa Evans (16 Aug 2009)
Wicked musical comedy in every conceivable way - Plagiarismo (19 Aug 2009)
Pootles along without anything much happening
R
- Reginald D Hunter (21 Aug 2009)
Consummate stand-up disappoints with weak material - Rhod Gilbert (18 Aug 2009)
A breakneck litany of hilarious disasters - Rhys Darby (10 Aug 2009)
Crafty characters and weird sound effects - Richard Herring: Hitler Moustache (10 Aug 2009)
Reclaiming symbols and raising standards - Rich Hall (20 Aug 2009)
Cynicism in his well-loved irascible, undermining way - Rich Hall’s Campfire Stories (18 Aug 2009)
Jokes are too few and far between - Rob Brown (10 Aug 2009)
Comedy straight outta Kabul - Rob Rouse (11 Aug 2009)
Randy dogs stories - Rosie Wilby (18 Aug 2009)
Wry and naughty - Ross Lee (24 Aug 2009)
Sometimes entertaining but mostly depressing - Rudi Lickwood (18 Aug 2009)
Old-fashioned delivery and desperately prosaic observations - Russell Kane (18 Aug 2009)
A natural jester - Russell Kane: ‘Fakespeare: The Tragicall Saveings of King Nigel’ (27 Aug 2009)
More bard theory than he's letting on?
S
- Sammy J: 1999 (20 Aug 2009)
Swapping puppets for pubescence - Sammy J in the Forest of Dreams (20 Aug 2009)
Aussie puppeteers pull our strings - Sam Simmons (19 Aug 2009)
Lacking in spontaneity but his methods are inventive - Sarah Bennetto (24 Aug 2009)
Rarely sparks hilarity - Sarah Millican (8 Aug 2009)
Facing up to gender politics and the elements - School for Scandal (13 Aug 2009)
School for vandals - Sean Hughes (24 Aug 2009)
Sex, anti-depressants and rock’n’roll - Serate Bastarde (19 Aug 2009)
Subversive, shocking, clever and utterly nuts comedy - Seymour Mace (10 Aug 2009)
Weird and wonderful game show antics - Seymour Mace and Peter Slater: Sundayland (23 Aug 2009)
Fake news, wacky characters and biscuits - Shed Simove (24 Aug 2009)
Intriguing subject, awkward performance - Shirley & Shirley (24 Aug 2009)
Can't fault either of the performances - Short Circuit Comedy (21 Aug 2009)
Short of comedy - Simon Amstell (20 Aug 2009)
How to Do Nothing in a very funny way - Simon Donald and Maff Brown (24 Aug 2009)
The funniness of the sketches quickly faded - Simon Feilder and Sy Thomas (11 Aug 2009)
Slick and affable comedy from the flatmates - Simon Munnery (18 Aug 2009)
A comfortingly familiar Fringe fixture - Sirqus Alfon (24 Aug 2009)
An hour of sheer lunacy - Socially Retarded (11 Aug 2009)
And comedically challenged - Sound and Fury: Sherlock Holmes and the Saline Solution (10 Aug 2009)
American comedy trio take on Victorian London - Stephen Carlin (19 Aug 2009)
A fierce invention at play - Stephen K Amos: The Feelgood Factor (10 Aug 2009)
Or maybe not... - The Sticky Bivouac (12 Aug 2009)
Ill-judged, inconsistent variety - The Sunday Defensive (12 Aug 2009)
Unfulfilled geek potential - Susan Calman: The Last Woman on Earth (13 Aug 2009)
A warm show from a friendly talent - Susan Harrison (19 Aug 2009)
The writing and chosen subjects let her down badly
T
- TeakShow (19 Aug 2009)
More absurd than funny - Thankless Child (11 Aug 2009)
Amusing tales are found amongst the wackiness - Tiani Ghosh (24 Aug 2009)
Deeply irritating sketch show - Tiernan Douieb (11 Aug 2009)
Unthreatening, inoffensive stand-up that also lacks a punch line - Tiffany Stevenson (12 Aug 2009)
Promising stand-up debut from the one-time wannabe actress - Tim Key (20 Aug 2009)
Poetry corner gets kind of busy - Tom Basden (24 Aug 2009)
Damn fine, damn funny show - Tom Craine (18 Aug 2009)
One of life’s worriers - Tom Deacon (20 Aug 2009)
Fairly ordinary romp through an indecisive mind - Tom Wrigglesworth (11 Aug 2009)
Anecdotes from a comic who cares - Trevor Lock: Some Kind of Fool (10 Aug 2009)
Mischievous, circuitous, bumbling affair - Two Episodes of MASH (18 Aug 2009)
Little substance to turn good ideas into a worthy show - Two Left Hands (11 Aug 2009)
Experienced TV types lack a live touch
U
- The Umbrella Birds (18 Aug 2009)
Sketches set in the changing room of a clothes shop - Unsupervised Detention (19 Aug 2009)
Tight sketch comedy by gifted young players
V
W
- Warren & Hanbury: All to Bare (13 Aug 2009)
Comedy sketch show in the flesh - Wil Anderson (11 Aug 2009)
Australian comedy striving to find the good in us all - Wil Hodgson (18 Aug 2009)
The nicest pink-haired ex-punk on earth - William Andrews (24 Aug 2009)
A techno treat and funnybone fondling fiesta - Wilson Dixon (24 Aug 2009)
Wryly amusing and peppered with plain silly songs - WitTank (18 Aug 2009)
Badly in need of a rewrite
