Comedy, Brian Donaldson

Omid Djalili

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

There are several downsides to modern fame. Being hassled in the street by ordinary people and getting hunted down by paparazzi when hanging out the washing are just two celebrity negatives. Having chirpy researchers from celebrity TV shows ringing up…

Profile - Mark Olver

17 Jul 2008

Who’s this fella, then? Having first taken to the mic in 1998, Mark Olver is among that triptych of fine young comics from the west country, which also includes Russell Howard and Wil Hodgson. His style is more conversational than Hodgson’s and less…

Profile - John Gordillo

3 Jul 2008

Name: John Gordillo Who’s this fella, then? You may have seen the name ‘John Gordillo’ somewhere in your house, but perhaps you just can’t quite place it. No, it’s not the name of a brand new kitchen product (the ‘Gordillo grill’ does have a certain…

5 Things you might not know about - Francesca Martinez

19 Jun 2008

Martinez first came to the public’s attention as Rachel Burns in Grange Hill and claimed that at her real school she had to use humour to make people accept that even though she had cerebral palsy, she was just a regular kid. She got into comedy when…

Profile - Wendy Wason

5 Jun 2008

Name Wendy Wason Who’s she then? An Edinburgh lass, she was educated at George Watson’s before heading west to attend Glasgow Uni. She got into acting and took roles in Taggart, High Road and some ads before dipping her toes in the film world with…

Paul Merton's Impro Chums

5 Jun 2008

IMPROVISATION Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 6 Jun The public image of Paul Merton is one of an ad libbing master who can turn the blandest of suggestion or question and turn into improvised gems. Yet this is a man who has plied his comedy trade with…

5 Things you might not know about - AL Kennedy

22 May 2008

The A stands for Alison, the L for Louise. She chose to go with the initials as she was keen on a certain degree of anonymity when starting out as a writer and her favourite authors as a kid were JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis and EE Nesbitt. She doesn’t come…

5 Things you might not know about - John Hegley

8 May 2008

As part of comedy group The Popticians, he recorded two sessions for John Peel in 1984. Being a spectacle-wearer has been one of Hegley’s long-term points of reference. Do not get him started on contact lenses. He went off to France to revisit the place…

Jimmy Carr

24 Apr 2008

STAND-UP Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Thu 24 Apr Some people out there have looked upon his stand-up and TV work and judged Jimmy Carr to be a smug, self-satisfied posh guy who would undoubtedly be prepared to eat himself were he comprised of the…

5 Things you might not know about - Nick Doody

24 Apr 2008

Nick Doody’s debut Fringe show in 2006, Before He Kills Again, kicked off with a disturbing song about clowns. So disturbing that the imagery cannot be repeated in a family publication. He shares a house with fellow stand-up Matt Kirshen. Noam Chomsky…

5 Things you might not know about - Ken Dodd

10 Apr 2008

Somewhat eccentric from his early years, he often walked backwards all the way from school to his home simply to prove that it could be done. When he tried this feat of nonsense while on his bicycle, it proved to be less successful. Legend has it that…

Comedy Central Collection

27 Mar 2008

DVD/CD (Comedy Central) For anyone who thinks that American stand-up comedy means Bill Hicks, Chris Rock and Joan Rivers, those wonderful people at Comedy Central are setting out to put you straight. A new set of DVDs and CDs should thrust you out of…

5 Things you might not know about - I'm Sorry I Haven't Got A Clue

27 Mar 2008

1 Humphrey Lyttelton had a top 20 hit in the 1950s with ‘Bad Penny Blues’ and played on Radiohead’s ‘Life in a Glasshouse’. The Humph appeared on Desert Island Discs in 2006. 2 Tim Brooke-Taylor’s grandfather was a parson who played centre-forward…

Glasgow Comedy Festival - Stewart Lee

13 Mar 2008

When a stand-up is dubbed ‘a comics’ comic’, that can usually be translated into: ‘loved by his peers and critics; not quite so loved by audiences.’ Yet, when you look at the career of Stewart Lee, the adulation of comedians and journalists may have…

5 Things you might not know about - French & Saunders

13 Mar 2008

When Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders first met in 1977 at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, they didn’t exactly hit it off. Saunders believed French was a ‘cocky upstart’ while Dawn thought Jen was ‘snooty and aloof’. French is credited…

Glasgow Comedy Festival - Omid Djalili

28 Feb 2008

There are a few things guaranteed about an Omid Djalili show. There’ll be spot-on regional accents, plentiful jokes about his Iranian roots, a slap or two in the pug ugly face of British bigotry and, the pièce de résistance, an energetic slab of…

Glasgow Comedy Festival - Fat Tongue

28 Feb 2008

Never mind creating characters, pulling off original set-ups and delivering a fine punchline, the toughest thing about being in a sketch show group must be finding a decent name. You can easily picture individuals sitting for hours in a smoke-filled…

Barry & Stuart

28 Feb 2008

Some magicians spend their lives trying to convince us that they can walk on water. Metaphorically speaking. With London-based, Aberdeenshire-raised double act Barry Jones and Stuart MacLeod, there’s one thing you should know: they actually can walk on…

5 Things you might not know about - Frank Sidebottom

28 Feb 2008

1 The man behind the big-headed Manc is one Chris Sievey. Frank was initially created to be a fan of Sievey’s group The Freshies, but he became so popular that Sievey soon focused his artistic energies on Sidebottom. 2 Among those who played with…

Jo Caulfield

14 Feb 2008

STAND-UP The Stand, Glasgow, Thu 14–Sat 16 Feb Jo Caulfield knows that it’s good to let off some steam now and again. On her website, she allows her fans to rant on her Angry and Annoyed page. Among the more recent complaints was the woman who gets…

5 Things you might not know about - Des Clarke

14 Feb 2008

1 In 2000 at the tender age of 19, Des Clarke was runner-up in the prestigious So You Think You’re Funny awards. The victor was one Drew Rokos. He’s Australian. That’s all we know about him. 2 His first major TV exposure was on ITV’s Saturday…

Tim Minchin

31 Jan 2008

Considering the few acts who are able to pull it off without being greeted by a sea of groaning, musical comedy must surely be one of the most difficult cross-pollinations in the arts. There’s Bill Bailey, Flight of the Conchords and, erm, well that’s…

Henry Rollins

31 Jan 2008

1 An introspective skinny lad at school who feared he would be humiliated on the sports field, Henry Lawrence Garfield tore into literature with relish. Charles Dickens, John Steinbeck and Dylan Thomas were among his early influences. Maybe…

Kenny - DVD review

Spoof documentary

31 Jan 2008

When a film comes billed as ‘one of Australia’s best ever comedies’, it’s difficult to know whether to be excited or petrified. From a nation who has given us the rank hospital sitcom Let the Blood Run Free and the gruesomely overrated Kath and Kim…

Pete Firman

17 Jan 2008

MAGIC The Pleasance Cabaret Bar, Edinburgh, Tue 29 Jan Can you actually imagine anything less appealing in the theatrical sphere than a magic act? All that showing off with handkerchiefs and bunny rabbits and saws and tasselled ladies is simply…

Eagle Vs Shark

17 Jan 2008

COMEDY (15) 84min (Optimum DVD rental/retail) With its sweet soul and crumbly heart, you’d think that Eagle vs Shark would only be fit for shooting out of the sky or being drowned at birth. But in the hands of writer/director Taika Waititi and…

Matt Kirshen

4 Jan 2008

STAND-UP Jongleurs, Glasgow, Fri 4 & Sat 5 Jan Reality TV has created many a pointless monster but it’s also attracted the already talented to show us what they’re made of. If you say ‘British comedian’ to the average American (whatever that may…

Moving Wallpaper/Echo Beach

4 Jan 2008

COMEDY/SOAP ITV1, Thu 10 Jan, 9pm OK, I’m confused now. Having checked and then double checked the TV schedules, it appears to be true; Moving Wallpaper and Echo Beach are on ITV1. Yes, ITV1. They’re the people who last year washed us away on a sea…

Profile - Dave Ward

4 Jan 2008

Who’s he then? A self-confessed fibber, Dave Ward has gone through quite a few career shifts. He’s been a professional golfer and a waiter at a celebrity hang-out, before spending a period of time behind bars due to his extreme gambling addictions. At…

What's Up, Tiger Lily?

4 Jan 2008

COMEDY (PG) 76min (Optimum retail) Despite insisting in the intro to his 1966 directorial debut (of sorts) that Gone With the Wind used the same strategy, this was the first film to remove the dialogue of one movie and dub a completely new stream of…

Extras

13 Dec 2007

For all his faults (and his stand-up and radio work make them plentiful), Ricky Gervais at least knows when a TV comedy should bow out. Having clocked off at The Office with 12 episodes and a Christmas special, he has opted for the same strategy with…

Review of the year - comedy

13 Dec 2007

Stewart Lee Becoming a father should be a big enough deal in anyone’s year, but British comedy’s bossman also scooped the number 41 slot in Channel 4’s stand-up comic poll. And boy, did he make hay from that, conjuring the Fringe’s comedy highlight in…

Comedy DVDs

13 Dec 2007

DVD Marcus Brigstocke: Planet Corduroy The Show The erudite satirist rails against the injustices of the world in London’s Shaw Theatre, analysing how tough it must be to live life as a corduroy-loving middle-class white chap. The Extras A stirring…

Elaine C Smith - 5 things you might not know about her

13 Dec 2007

1 In 1987, the Baillieston-born actress appeared in the kids show Dramarama in an episode entitled ‘My Mum’s a Courgette.’ 2 Her most recent Beeb appearance was in Jennifer Saunders’ ill-fated Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle. Fortunately, Smith…

Baggage

29 Nov 2007

RADIO Radio 4, Wed 5 Dec, 11.30am With the Grumpy Old Women back doing their grumpy old thing on the nation’s stages, it’s good to hear of another female comic trio who aren’t just wielding rolling pins and frying pans while moaning about the…

Profile - The Wee Man

29 Nov 2007

Who’s he then? Creation of Neil Bratchpiece, smallest comedy member of the not very tall Bratchpiece Family, The Wee Man is a pure wee basturt Burberry fiend whose stage demeanour ranges wildly from quite threatening to really very threatening…

Profile - Matt Berry

15 Nov 2007

Who’s he then? You may recognise Matt Berry from his role as aristo explorer type Dixon Bainbridge in The Mighty Boosh or for his parts in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and the recent second series of The IT Crowd. No, there’s somewhere else . . . Then…

Bill Bailey

1 Nov 2007

STAND-UP SECC, Glasgow, Wed 7–Fri 9 Nov It seems clear that Bill Bailey has never minded looking somewhat foolish in the pursuit of his chosen career path. Back in the early days when he was a mere West Country boy trying to earn a modest showbusiness…

Hitlist - The best comedy

1 Nov 2007

• Bill Bailey The self-proclaimed hippie materialist part-troll guy worms his way back into our affections with more daft musical musings. SECC, Glasgow, Wed 7–Fri 9 Nov. * Ian Rankin's choice • Mark Watson The most energetic (yet unhealthiest…

Magicians

1 Nov 2007

A film written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb: it’s Peep Show The Movie, right? Well, not quite, though the script never asks the pair to shy too far away from their small screen personae of uptight posh one and…

5 Things you might not know about - Jenny Éclair

18 Oct 2007

1 When on Room 101, she managed to get jellyfish thrown down the chute. 2 In the televised cartoon of Sid the Sexist back in 1992, hers was the voice of ‘Cilla Black’. 3 Her first dabble in showbusiness came writing punk poetry and performing…

Brendon Burns

18 Oct 2007

STAND-UP Maggie May’s, Glasgow, Fri 19 Oct When Brendon Burns was nine years old, he decided that a career in stand-up comedy was the road he wanted to travel down. While in Texas with his family, he was snuck into a comedy club through its kitchen…

Hitlist - The best comedy

18 Oct 2007

• Jim Tavare When can a bald guy with a double bass ever be funny? When he’s Jim Tavare, that’s when. The Stand, Edinburgh, Tue 23 Oct; the Stand, Glasgow, Wed 24 Oct. • Brendon Burns This year’s if.comeddie victor laps it up with a sort-of, though…

The History of the World Backwards

18 Oct 2007

COMEDY BBC4, Tue 30 Oct, 10pm Of all the survivors of The Mary Whitehouse Experience, Robert Newman has arguably been the one to escape with the largest amount of public goodwill behind him. Punt and Dennis have eased themselves into genteel…

Nick Doody

4 Oct 2007

There’s something oddly familiar about Nick Doody’s sense of outrage with the world around him. Something marginally haunting about the way he attacks the areas of life that really do need a good kicking, whether it’s religious fundamentalism or social…

TV Round-up

4 Oct 2007

The state of TV comedy has been a subject of much negativity among critics, audiences and telly executives for a long, long time. Where’s the great sitcom? What happened to the solid tradition of sketch shows? Will we ever see a programme which treats…

Hitlist - The best comedy

20 Sep 2007

• Fred MacAulay The star of telly and radio also happens to be a truly inspiring stand-up performer and this show is one of the main draws of the Merchant City Festival. The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Sat 22 Sep. • Debra-Jane Appelby The former…

Mark Thomas

20 Sep 2007

STAND-UP There’s still something horribly unfashionable about political comedy in Britain. It can’t simply be that most comics have such sensitive leftist tendencies that they find it unbearable to go hell for leather at attacking the government that…

Profile - Joe Rogan

20 Sep 2007

Name? Joe Rogan Who’s this guy then? Just having passed his 40th birthday, Rogan has built a successful career as an outspoken comic in the Doug Stanhope-ranting vein and has even landed himself the odd TV gig such as being the host of Fear Factor.

Arnab Chanda

6 Sep 2007

Be funny about things that you know is one of the most common pieces of advice that young comics are given by more experienced stand-ups. Arnab Chanda, then, should have a wealth of funny stuff at his fingertips purely from the places he’s lived during…

Alex Horne

23 Aug 2007

Alex Horne revels in trying to find comedy in the most unlikely of corners. It’s one thing to make fun out of ancient languages (the absurdities of Latin was the topic of his last full Fringe run) but he’s now moved on to the inherently unfunny pursuit…

Amsterdam Underground Comedy Collective

23 Aug 2007

If this is Dutch humour at its finest, I’m off to Germany for my laughs. The AUCC may have a cult following back home but there’s little reason to believe that their comedy travels at all well in this lame, tame hour. The supposed heavyweight talents of…

Andrew McClelland

23 Aug 2007

In one of the hottest rooms on the Fringe, this madcap Australian sweats buckets trying to get laughs from his show which is about nothing more or less ambitious than his favourite songs. You’ll either adore his mugging immediately or sit open-mouthed…

Austin Low

23 Aug 2007

This jovial Aberdonian admits to gulping a couple of litres of fizzy pop every single day. Which perhaps explains his inability to stand still or focus on his material for any given amount of time. There’s a fine show in the caffeine-happy head of Mr…

Frank Skinner

23 Aug 2007

After a decade away from the stand-up circuit, you’d think that quite a fuss would have been made of Frank Skinner’s Edinburgh return, back in the exact same room where it all started for him with his Perrier-winning year of 1991. Yet when the lights go…

Gently Progressive Behemoth

23 Aug 2007

While the sketch show may have fared rather poorly at this year’s Fringe, the oddball double act might well be having its salad days. Certainly, if the Gently Progressive Behemoth (in the shape of comically theatrical young Cambridge guns Nadia Kamil…

Hamell on Trial

23 Aug 2007

Can there be anything worse than someone banging on about how wild life was in the 60s/early 70s? Possibly not, and in The Terrorism of Everyday Life cult hero Hamell tortures the uninitiated with a string of shouty punkish anthems and marginally…

Harmon Leon

23 Aug 2007

This dreadlocked American claims to be The Infiltrator but how he managed to work his way into the comedy section of the Fringe programme is his greatest hoax. He’s on stage for perhaps ten minutes as he plays some largely pointless footage of him…

Ivan Brackenbury

23 Aug 2007

There’s something hauntingly familiar about Ivan Brackenbury. It could be the fact that this inappropriately jolly hospital radio DJ is so uncannily accurate a creation. Or it might just be that, with his headphones on, foot firmly lodged down the back…

Marc Maron & Kirk Fox

23 Aug 2007

Edinburgh debuts from experienced comics should always be a dead cert surefire hit. But often those coming from other comedic backgrounds can be left floundering in front of a Fringe audience, unsure of their material and how to unfurl it before a new…

Murray Lachlan Young

23 Aug 2007

When only one person in his audience (a polite reviewer) applauds a less than blazing entrance, Murray Lachlan Young positions himself somewhere between crestfallen and carefree. It’s a decade since he was propelled into mini-celebrity status for just…

Phil Nichol

23 Aug 2007

When a comic stands before his crowd after yet another uninspired anecdote and asks: ‘Don’t you think that was hilarious? I thought that was hilarious,’ you can only conclude that he knows he is in big trouble. With Hiro Worship, last year’s inaugural…

Runaway Lovers

23 Aug 2007

The sketch show has really struggled this Fringe and this supposedly upcoming troupe do nothing to elevate the form. There’s a recurring gag about an arts interview show with people you’d imagine to be well-spoken but aren’t (Ridley Scott: he’s a…

Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre

23 Aug 2007

There’s absolutely no doubting the effort put in here with this one-man sock puppet show, but there seems to have been more time spent on perfecting the timing between the two characters and less on any kind of script. Being billed as ‘worthy of Abbott…

Sean Hughes

23 Aug 2007

On the face of it, the stage Sean Hughes of 2007 doesn’t seem a whole lot different from the one who nabbed his first bit of fame back in 1990 as the youngest winner of the Perrier. With that boyish gaunt look still intact, he certainly doesn’t look any…

Stephen Grant

23 Aug 2007

Stephen Grant is a comic whose toil cannot be over-stated. The evidence is there on the back of his shirt which, over the course of an hour, becomes entirely drenched in sweat. Not that he’s a particularly physical comedian, but in the confines of a…

Steve Williams

23 Aug 2007

There’s something quaintly old-fashioned about the Steve Williams shtick and his Binge Thinking is all the better for it. An array of well-worn targets (the British and their attitude to queues), are given fresh hurricanes of life with his amiable and…

The Bratchpiece Family

23 Aug 2007

It’s never a good sign when the compere insists that a comedy show is a ‘two-way thing’ and if we can show the acts some love then they will make us laugh. I’d always thought the latter came before the former, but neither is in much evidence as…

Deborah Frances-White

16 Aug 2007

The bowler-hatted one is back with an advice shop for men and women on seduction techniques. You know a show is struggling when the comic takes a seat in the front row to let her audience play out the scenarios she’s dreamed up, leaving a series of…

Field Study

16 Aug 2007

A virtually laugh-free show about three scientists analysing the mechanics of comedy is an irony lost on no one. The young trio try their damndest but there simply is no material here worthy of the name as they mug their way through an hour’s tortured…

Jimmy Tingle

16 Aug 2007

As the US satirist launches his Presidential campaign, not in the States but in Scotland, it’s all too clear that it’s doomed to the same failure as Doug Stanhope’s bid. Despite having some original/wacko ideas, when it comes to getting this across in…

Mark Watson

16 Aug 2007

Mark Watson deserves his moment. Having proved to be one of the true innovators on the Fringe with his marathon comedy sessions, off-the-cuff novel writing and participation in daft quizzes, his solo hour of stand-up has grown in stature and scope in…

Miles Jupp

16 Aug 2007

There are few things in life quite so satisfying than seeing a posh person throwing a bit of a wobbler. And so it’s with great pleasure that Miles Jupp brings us Everyday Rage and Dinner Party Chit Chat, a perusal of the moments in life when Jupp…

The Mercer Island Rodeo

16 Aug 2007

Apparently, this Irish troupe are an award-winning sketch team. Best Irish sketch show with the word ‘Rodeo’ in the title is the only thing I could imagine they’ve won. The energy is there, but slack writing lets it all down. Still, there’s plenty of…

Victor

16 Aug 2007

Victor Legit is a zealot of the Federation Against Copyright Theft, steadfast in his mission to stem the tide of Korean-influenced DVD piracy. With a smart script and near-flawless delivery, the subtle details are embellished with some gory FX and a…

Jimmy Carr

9 Aug 2007

With his short sharp shocks, Jimmy Carr has outraged and amused audiences around the world. He tells Brian Donaldson why no one has the right to be hurt by a bit of wordplay

Adam Hills

9 Aug 2007

Bantering with the front row always seems like a great idea in the sweaty confines of a comedy club but in one of grandest chandelier-happy rooms on the Fringe, it’s a pointless, excluding exercise. Inviting a Rocky Horror-esque audience-stomping finale…

Bridget Christie

9 Aug 2007

And here comes Stewart Lee’s missus as he indulges in her long-held obsession with Charles II, influenced by the fact they share the same hair and a love of oranges. Endearingly quirky and historically offbeat, the set loses steam rather quickly but…

Frankie Boyle

9 Aug 2007

In some ways it would be difficult to imagine an encounter between Frankie Boyle and Jimmy Carr, what with them being, arguably, the two finest gag tellers in contemporary British stand-up comedy. How, you wonder, can they have a chat when they must be…

Greedy

9 Aug 2007

There’s little doubting the acting skill and vibrant energy of this quartet, but they are let down by writing which flounders on the majority of their skits. Recurring routines about dinosaurs and a pesky lothario called Whistling Martin work best but…

House of Windsor

Regal sketches with crowning glories to come

9 Aug 2007

With last year’s debut as the Future, Jonny Sweet and Joe Thomas received some rave reviews and an awards nomination before ending the summer being ensnared by one of the country’s powerhouse comedy PR companies. This year that soaring promise will…

Isy Suttie

9 Aug 2007

Initially, on reading that Isy Suttie was once a Daily Telegraph Young Jazz Competition regional winner, I thought it might have been a joke. Yet, on hearing her impersonation of Amy Winehouse falling down a well, allied to her general ability to get a…

Keith Carter

9 Aug 2007

Coming over like some Greatest Hits tour, Liverpudlian Carter rolls out three of his longstanding creations (the addled Nige, the driver to the stars Gerald and electro-ponce Colin) adding Ronnie the racist to the mix but leaving loyal admirers feeling…

Kristen Schall

Whispering genius cobbles together a hit

9 Aug 2007

The Assembly Rooms appears to have been putting up a determined campaign the last few years to platform a string of quirky female American comics with offbeat dispositions all of their own. Wendy Spero and Maria Bamford made inroads with varying success…

Lovespring International

Sky One, Sun 12 Aug, 10.30pm

9 Aug 2007

COMEDY Ricky Gervais can be criticised for many things, such as his mad cackle and the popularity of Karl Pilkington. And here’s a third thing. Lovespring International would most likely never have been made had the US not fallen in love with The…

Micky Flanagan

9 Aug 2007

Stand-up at the Fringe may be viewed by some as a young person’s game, but there’s surely room for the more senior of our comedy talents to shuffle on to Edinburgh’s stages. At the tender age of 44, Micky Flanagan isn’t ready for his Zimmer frame quite…

Russel Howard

9 Aug 2007

Russell Howard shows a remarkable amount of restraint against what appears to be a natural inclination to gab with his audience. Other than to mock the odd crazy laugh, he concentrates on his material, which is an ability which the crowd requires in…

Stewart Lee

Confrontational comic getting grief from his mum

9 Aug 2007

It’s almost impossible to imagine that once upon a time Stewart Lee was in a creative and critical bunker. But after doing the Fringe for two decades he can look back on those days with wistful fondness, even remarking during this set that he half…

The Leeds Tealights

9 Aug 2007

We troop in to the sight of four young chaps dressed in white shirts, braces and dark trousers gyrating on stage and leave in a desperate hurry almost an hour later. A sketch show which flounders on its own cloying surrealism, there is some talent in…

Tom Basden

9 Aug 2007

With a show entitled Tom Basden Won’t Say Anything , I had partially been expecting this to be on the same lines as last year’s Oh: A Cut-Throat Comedy by Claire Hooper where she literally uttered not a single word until the very last moment. But here…

Punch Lines

1 Aug 2007

Jim Jeffries isn’t the only comic on the receiving end of trouble from their audience. Brian Donaldson compiles some tales of terror. At a late-night Spank! show, Andrew Lawrence (pictured) foolishly challenged a heckler to a duel. As Lawrence unpopped…

Different strokes

1 Aug 2007

Having written one of the UK’s finest ever sitcoms, Sean Lock is back pounding the beat on the stand-up stage. Brian Donaldson talks to the man who has finally left bitterness behind

Holland sauce

1 Aug 2007

While Germany is still perceived as humourless, its neighbour is rocking with laughter. The Amsterdam Underground Comedy Collective tell Brian Donaldson about anal sex, racism and hookers

Out of Their Box

1 Aug 2007

Think you’ve seen that person before? Then they’re probably off the telly. Brian Donaldson picks five folk going from screen to stage

Rebel ink

1 Aug 2007

With his first book due out and the premier league of poets joining him at the Fringe, Luke Wright tells Brian Donaldson that the key to more success is having a rapport

Richard Herring

1 Aug 2007

Life may be said to begin at 40, but judging by the pained expression upon Richard Herring’s face on the poster for this year’s show (entitled Oh Fuck, I’m 40), he may be entering his next decade with some degree of scepticism.

Rebecca Drysdale

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

19 Jul 2007

Edinburgh Festival Fringe Bits & pieces An award-winning show with nudity, lesbianism and racial politics sounds like pretty standard Fringe fare these days. But Brian Donaldson reckons Rebecca Drysdale has quite a few cheeky tricks up her sleeve

Ricky Gervais

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

19 Jul 2007

Edinburgh Festival Fringe Take a letter Ricky Gervais has gone from being part of a failed New Romantic duo to achieving distinction as the first British writer to have scripted a Simpsons episode. Along the way he only went and created one of TV’s…

Stewart Lee

16 Jul 2007

STAND-UP STEWART LEE Love him or hate him - and everyone from fundamentalist Christians to Ben Elton’s mum must have a voodoo doll with a sagging quiff lying about their house - Stewart Lee is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. It…

Franz Kafka Big Band

2 Jul 2007

RADIO SHOW There’s no such thing as bad publicity, as the old adage more or less goes. So, when the papers got wind of the Franz Kafka Big Band’s proposed radio sketches, the most controversial of which was dreaming up a scenario where Rolf Harris…