Gutter Royale
Review of the opening gala of the world’s first bouffon festival
10/10/2025 … Over the past year, The Pen Theatre in South Bermondsey has become a hub for London’s bouffons – practitioners of the French clowning form that emphasises…
Latest Reviews
Here are our reviews of comedy Gigs
Fri 10 October 2025
Thu 09 October 2025
Gary Gulman: Grandiloquent
Review of visiting American comedian and storyteller
09/10/2025 … Many a stand-up and armchair psychologist has reflected on comedians’ need for the approval of strangers – perhaps as compensation for a lack of childhood…
© Sonny Malhotra Clash Of The Comics
Review of the wrestling at Hammersmith's Eventim Apollo
09/10/2025 … They ditched the title The Wrestling for Clash Of The Comics… and for a worryingly long while during last night’s show, it seemed like they might have…
Fri 03 October 2025
© BBC/Baby Cow/Ollie Upton How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge)
03/10/2025 … Anyone who’s driven to Dundee barefoot while gorging on Toblerone probably knows a thing or two about mental illness.
Anirban Dasgupta: Cry Daddy
Review of visiting Indian comedian at London's Soho Theatre
03/10/2025 … It’s not immediately obvious what mild-mannered Kolkata-born, Mumbai-based comedian Anirban Dasgupta means when he says Cry Daddy – the second hour he’s…
Thu 02 October 2025
Dutch Barn Spirit of Comedy Award
Review of the final of the Ricky Gervais-backed competition
02/10/2025 … Can we trust the wisdom of crowds? This new competition run by Dutch Barn vodka has one of the best prizes in comedy – a £5,000 cash prize and the chance…
Wed 01 October 2025
© Marc Brenner The Importance Of Being Earnest
Review of Oscar Wilde's play in the West End, with Stephen Fry as Lady Bracknell
01/10/2025 … Lest you be in any doubt of the queer coding long assumed to lie beneath Oscar Wilde’s comedy of secret alternate lives, the National Theatre production of…
Sun 28 September 2025
Funny Women final 2025
Review of the celebration of female comedy talent
28/09/2025 … We’re used to comedy competitions featuring fresh new acts, but Funny Women has a wider window of eligibility than most – meaning half of this year’s…