New Red Lion Theatre, London. The New Red Lion in Islington is 'London's newest comedy venue', and on Saturday night played host to James Hamilton and his "tragi-comedy sketch bastards" Casual Violence, for the only London preview of their Edinburgh show. Having seen this group perform in the past, I was looking forward to this … Continue reading Casual Violence: Choose Death Edinburgh Preview – 4 stars

'Phantasmagoria', we are told on the front of the program, is a noun meaning 'a fantastic sequence of haphazardly associative imagery…' and Gravel Theatre Company have certainly succeeded in producing that with their latest collection of three 20-minute plays. The first one is '80 Miles East Of Nowhere', written by Ciaran Dowd and directed by … Continue reading Phantasmagoria – 4 stars

Tristan Bates Theatre, The Actor's Centre, London. The cynical amongst us might think that "a modern musical football fable" going on this month is timed to coincide with the biggest football competition in the world. I rather suspect it is, to be honest, but don't let that put you off or make you think that … Continue reading Who Ate All The Pies? – 4 stars

I was looking to seeing this show. Isy Suttie needs no introduction to anyone following the current comedy scene, or indeed any fan of The Peep Show (in which she plays Dobbie). And Ginger and Black are an act around which there has been quite a buzz at Edinburgh the last couple of years. So … Continue reading Up The Arts Comedy: Isy Suttie & Ginger and Black, Edinburgh Previews – 4 stars

In a month in which the news was filled with, amongst many other things, ominous volcanic ash clouds and stranded flights, the US and Russia signing a nuclear arms pact, not to mention our very own general election campaign, a topical news comedy show should, you would think, have rich pickings with which to entertain … Continue reading A Hard Day’s Month – 2 stars