Reviews

Doug Stanhope, Hammersmith Apollo, London (Rated 5/ 5 )

Just hours after Doug Stanhope left the stage of the Hammersmith Apollo, completing what could be considered a breakthrough gig, the man he tonight described as his only ever "hero", Charlie Sheen, was to play the first date of his ludicrously titled tour, My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Death Is Not an Option, at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. Sheen's evening would turn out to be a disaster, Stanhope's had ended a triumph.

Inside Reviews

War on Want Comedy Gig, Shepherd's Bush Empire, London (Rated 3/ 5 )

Monday, 4 April 2011

Comic Relief may be over, but the relationship between charity and comedy continues apace. In the last two weeks there have been three major charity galas, including this event that celebrated 60 years of the movement founded by humanitarian Victor Gollancz.

Micky Flanagan: The Out Out Tour, Hammersmith Apollo, London (Rated 4/ 5 )

Tuesday, 29 March 2011

There's good reason for the extra spring in the step of Micky Flanagan's signature Cockney walk this evening. After nearly 15 years in comedy, and jobs before that which have included fish-packer and dishwasher, the Bethnal Green-bred 46-year-old was strutting out on to the stage of a venue that seats over 3,500 people and is synonymous with career ascendancy.

Aziz Ansari, Soho Theatre, London

Sunday, 6 March 2011

A superstar in the making – even if he does shoot puppies

First Night: Aziz Ansari, Soho theatre, London (Rated 4/ 5 )

Monday, 28 February 2011

Slick, polished and smart, Ansari's stand-up delivers.

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

Thursday, 17 February 2011

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.

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.

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