Hannah Adcock

Hal Cruttenden

14 Aug 2008

For a man apparently obsessed by the little things in life, Cruttenden tackles some pretty weighty subjects: the Irish troubles, WWII, death. He also worries about his big face, blokey physique and girly voice, wanting to be political, but unable 'to be…

Ian Stone

Wry, meandering voyage around existence

7 Aug 2008

Life's an uphill struggle. It's easier going down a hill than up. A platitude of course, but after berating a harmless walker for suggesting such a thing, Ian Stone got to thinking that it's true. The good bit is that you're not alone, as everyone is…

The Arab, the Jew and the Chicken

7 Aug 2008

Billed as a fun, fast and feisty exploration of the Middle East conflict, this is a smart show with some great sketches. Pinching and pulling various views and prejudices, these guys prove that the Gaza Strip can be a barrel of laughs. And there's a…

Tommy and the Weeks

7 Aug 2008

Ed Weeks and Tom Bell are an almost insanely energetic double act, whose 'power show' features emotional monologues, bad music and high drama. Ed is a large-faced, smooth-skinned dictator, whilst Tom looks like 'a drowned Elizabethan'. Expect an amusing…

Biyi Bandele

23 Aug 2007

Biyi Bandele is a London-based playwright, poet and author. His adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s classic African novel, Things Fall Apart, has been published as a Penguin Classic and his plays have been performed at top venues, including the National…

Julian Baggini

16 Aug 2007

Julian Baggini is certainly not afraid to engage with popular culture. He recently wrote this on BBC online: ‘Matt Groening is the true heir of Plato, Aristotle and Kant’. Although this article landed Baggini a mention in Private Eye, he talks of the…

Joanna Neary

16 Aug 2007

A consummate mistress of the quick change, over-stretched smile and rolling eyeballs, Joanna Neary cascades from one monologue to another with a very British kind of grace. Full of quirky imagination and charming clowning, she brings to life such varied…

Nina Conti

A tender display of an ancient art

9 Aug 2007

If your idea of ventriloquism involves slightly strange men jamming their hands up fluffy toys, then think again. Nina Conti is an eminently presentable young woman, with a simian sidekick more at home with muttering depressed asides (‘oh sweet…

Skinner & Bell

9 Aug 2007

Having given up on Narnia, Dave and Dave hole up in Uncle Brian’s country house. There, they inadvertently encourage a cow to ‘moo-icide’ and discover a motley assortment of people and creatures, including a man who stuffs animals and a…