Latest news with #standup
The Guardian
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Rory Bremner review – slick satirist cosies up to Trump, Rees-Mogg and the king
Topical comedy meets a trip down memory lane at Rory Bremner's touring show, where gags about – and impersonations of – Trump, Starmer et al rub shoulders with little parps from the far-flung past. Russell Grant, Keith Floyd and Robin Cook – remember them? Bremner does, and remembers the jokes he once told about them too. Prompted by onstage interlocutor Fred MacAulay, he summons them back to life here, in An Evening With … format that includes standup and sketch alongside chat-show banter and questions from the crowd. It's perfectly entertaining, especially for those of us who were there first time around. (MacAulay makes a running joke of the confused 17-year-old in the front row.) Bremner is nothing if not a slick raconteur. Too slick, arguably: I sometimes wished he'd answer a question from the heart rather than from his mental Rolodex of well-buffed anecdotes. He does that once, when prompted to discuss his ADHD, and his commitment to destigmatising the condition. Elsewhere, it's smooth repartee about schmoozing the king, struggling with Noel Edmonds' voice, and prank calls he once made in character as Nelson Mandela. There are treats for the locals in his native city: a cameo from Gavin Hastings and a Trump gag about the Fife village of Lower Largo that would bewilder audiences elsewhere. With little new to say about the US president, there's too much Trump in the standup portion of Bremner's show. It's not the only instance of our host treading familiar ground (on Rees-Mogg: 'he's like something out of a previous century', as if that's not been frequently observed). But there are choice moments, too: a fine quip about the names of the ex-Member for North East Somerset's kids; another about concussion protocols and the high recent turnover of British PMs. You end with an impression of a satirist with little fire left in his belly, his anecdotes suggesting cosy camaraderie with the public figures he lampoons onstage. But he remains witty, well-informed (see the set piece in which voice-of-horseracing Peter O'Sullevan commentates on modern politics) and able with a twist of those vocal chords to spring the innocent, distant past irresistibly back to life. At Gala Durham, 3 June; then touring.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Writer and comedian of hit BBC 90s show comes up north as part of tour
Rob Newman, best known for the sketch show The Mary Whitehouse Experience will be coming up north as part of a 2025/26 tour. Rob, who paired with David Baddiel for the hit comedy series will be taking to the stage in Chorley and The Lowry Theatre. The BBC 2 show won both Rob and David a legion of fans, and the duo were the first comedians to play and sell out the 12,000-seat Wembley Arena in London in 1993. They starred alongside Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis in The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the 1990s, before getting their own show, Newman and Baddiel in Pieces. Rob then pursued a literary career before returning to comedy with an added political edge. His blend of lecture and stand-up has seen him cover topics such as evolution, the war on terror and the history of oil. Rob will be embarking on his Where the Wild Things Were tour this year, heading to Chorley Theatre on January 17 and The Lowry on Sunday, February 1. The promo material for the show states: "From Rob Newman comes a barnstorming new stand-up show about where we are and where we're going. From future cities and philistine film directors to Dorothy Parker's Multiverse Diaries. Throw in Pythagorean gangsters, intellectual bingo callers and a crazy character called Arlo - and the result is a hilarious tour-de force utterly unlike anything else you will ever see anywhere else!" For tickets are more information visit the theatre websites. Rob and David went their separate ways until the two were pictured together after Rob got back in touch via Twitter in 2017, after Rob requested tickets to see David's theatre show.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Lenny Henry, review: a rusty yet thoughtful return to stand-up from a singular British talent
After a 16-year absence from stand-up, Lenny Henry 's 'triumphant return' to the stage in Perth last night consisted, in reality, of a fleeting half hour of new material, followed by a looser, more engaging Q&A. There were glimpses of the comic dynamo he once was, but this was more warm-up gig than comeback special. Performing as part of the Scottish city's Festival of the Arts, Henry's set was a mixture of personal and topical reflections on the last few years. He joked about Suella Braverman, Ozempic, and the Duke of York. None of which were groundbreaking. He was most captivating when delivering a retrospective, verbal memoir: on how humour could disarm bullies in the schoolyard, or his forthcoming film role in Noah Baumbach's Jay Kelly alongside George Clooney. Along the way, mime, songs and lively impressions of Tommy Cooper, Eddie Murphy and Denzel Washington reminded the audience what makes Henry such a singular talent. This was the 66-year-old's first stand-up outing since 2009, having spent the intervening years acting on stage and screen (as well as his charity work with Comic Relief). As he put it: 'I'd been doing stand-up since I was 15. By the time I was 40, I thought, is this it? I felt like I was slightly spinning my wheels.' Host Fred MacAulay warmed up the 1,200-strong audience, at one point asking if anybody present was under 30. There were no more than four lonely whoops. Naturally, then, Henry's quippy material about getting older – from the joy of weekend trips to the garden centre to the cuts to the winter fuel allowance – went down a treat. 'I'm usually in bed by now,' he joked at 8:15pm, met with knowing laughter from the crowd. Other material was a harder sell. 'Do you know the Jamaican nod?' was answered with a silence borne not so much from disinterest as unfamiliarity. Henry delivered his jokes using presidential-style autocue screens. Understandable, perhaps, given the long hiatus, but it robbed him of spontaneity. For someone who was once one of the most physical performers in British comedy, it was a weirdly static performance. Only three times did he step out from behind the glass to deliver terrifically surreal, well-oiled routines with the fire and pacing of old. The second half of the show, a sit-down Q&A with MacAulay, was much stronger. Between the silly questions from the audience ('Do you actually stay in Premier Inns on tour?') and baffling ones ('What have Lenny Henry, Michael Jackson, Richard Attenborough and me got in common? Answer: the same birthday!'), there were some gems. A question about whether he still visits Dudley sparked a thoughtful response about growing up near where Enoch Powell gave his 1968 Rivers of Blood speech in Wolverhampton. It was in these unscripted moments that we saw the old Lenny shine through. So, though not quite a triumphant return for this national treasure, a necessary first-step. And an answer, finally: he does indeed stay in Premier Inns. No further dates
ABC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Celia Pacquola: I'm As Surprised As You Are
Celia Pacquola: I'm As Surprised As You Are SPECIAL Stand-Up & Sketch Comedy Australian Relationships Watch Duration: 1 hour 4 minutes 1 second 1 h 4 m Article share options Share this on Facebook Twitter Send this by Email Copy link WhatsApp Messenger This is Celia's first new stand up hour since 2018 and a lot has happened in her life, including making a quiche for the first time and also a baby. Come and have a catch up with Celia. She's got a lot to tell you.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Rhys Darby: ‘Luckily, no one's given me a full clay model of my nose'
Who did you look up to when you were starting out?I had an obsession with BBC comedy, mainly sitcoms and Monty Python. The Goodies was a big one for me. It was all sketch, absurdity, silliness. I didn't get into standup until my university days because I just didn't think it was a vocation, especially not in New Zealand. You served four years in the New Zealand army when you were a young man. Did it inform your career in comedy at all?I grew up watching Dad's Army with my mum, and that's one of the reasons I joined up. I thought all the action would be fun. I brought my sense of humour with me so got told off a lot. Turns out, it wasn't really Dad's Army but it was the New Zealand army, so it wasn't too far off. We had moments where we were literally rescuing sheep. I've taken some of the skills with me into my career: self-discipline, drive, getting up on time. Can you recall a gig so bad, it's now funny?I did a gig on an aeroplane just after 9/11 for a brand-new airline. They wanted to have me on the inaugural flight as an entertainer. It was at 8am. People started looking at me like I was a threat. I did some weird stuff about clouds and some of the airline upholstery. One thing you'd never do as a standup is go and sit with your audience if it goes badly. But I had no other choice. One guy said to me, 'Why'd you do that?' I said, 'I got paid.' No one believed it. What has inspired your latest show, The Legend Returns?It's about me fighting against artificial intelligence. Back in the day it was fun when robots were robots, but now it's actually getting quite scary. The future doesn't look good – especially in creativity. AI should just leave us alone because all it's doing is plagiarising us, stealing our stuff, and people are then taking advantage of that. It's a huge subject matter, but I do it in a very silly way, a very human way. I think there's no robot that could do what I do, and that includes all the flaws. When I screw up, when I break the fourth wall, take the mickey out of myself or laugh at myself or what I'm doing, that's very human. Do you have any pre-show rituals?I stretch because I do a lot of physical comedy. Drink water. I normally have one beer to make me remember the good old rock'n'roll days. What's one of the strangest encounters with a fan you've had?I've had a lot of things made for me. Depending on my material, they'll find something in the stories I tell. Back in the day, I said I was the freestyle dance champion of a small town called Ohakune in New Zealand. So someone knitted me a woollen jacket that had 'dance champion' on the back. Also, someone made a small bust of me once. I remember with Flight of the Conchords, Jemaine Clement once received a plaster impression of his lips. I don't know how they did it, but to present something to you that is of you is insane. Luckily, no one's given me a full clay model of my nose or anything like that. Did you have any idea when filming that Flight of the Conchords would have such lasting cultural impact?I don't think we did. And that was good, because we really felt like we were making this thing for ourselves. Because we were young and it was our first time in the States making something with their money and their brilliance, we got caught up in it all. We just concentrated on how could we be so funny that we're cracking each other up and have to redo the scene? As we had some control over the show, we could improvise and do seven or eight takes. And that was really the key, because I got funnier every take. I know that for a fact. I still say this to people when I do shows. I say give me a couple more because I'll peak on the sixth take. With Our Flag Means Death, you went from 'that guy from Flight of the Conchords' to a Tumblr sex symbol overnight. What was that like?I'm a comedy guy, not a sex symbol. [Pirate character] Stede wore some very attractive attire but is still a very insecure, bizarre, weird little man who has to try and find himself. The character was perfect for me because I like dressing up, being the captain, and I do overcompensate with authority because I really have no idea what I'm doing. There were definitely some similarities there, but I was not expecting anything on a sexual note from fans. The audience are amazing. They really come to the table, but it was a little bit too much for me. You've long had a passion for cryptozoology. What draws you to creatures like Bigfoot and Mothman?It's the mystery of the unknown. I think I've always thought of myself as someone that mysteriously shouldn't be here. I was a mistake as a child, as I was born nine years after the rest of my siblings, so I think I've always had this belief in what else is out there. I think these things are real. Not all of them, but I love the idea that we don't really know and we can search. The search for stuff that we don't know yet – I think that's one of our purposes here. Rhys Darby: The Legend Returns is on tour in the UK and Ireland until 29 June, and at Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 1-10 August
