All stories by James Kettle on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Sara Schaefer: the breakout comic on trashing Trump and bombing on stage by James Kettle

After writing gigs on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, the American standup is heading for the big time via a show at the Edinburgh festival fringeLosing control of your bladder in a grocery st…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06AM
Monday, August 7, 2017

From Del Boy’s cap to Steve Martin’s arrow – what happened to the comedy trademark? by James Kettle

Comedians once embraced a signature quip or look, so why have such tropes fallen out of favour? Related: Stand down: when comics make unfunny big-screen comedies Imagine a museum devoted to …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:05AM
Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Jerry Sadowitz: his dark materials by James Kettle

Think Ricky Gervais and Frankie Boyle are offensive? Then you won't have the stomach for standup Jerry Sadowitz. Their vitriol is fake, he says: his is the real dealLong before Frankie Boyle…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:42AM
Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Has Keith Chegwin been stealing comedians' jokes on Twitter? | James Kettle by James Kettle

The standup community's displeasure at Cheggers recycling gags online shows how comedy's rulebook has changedOh, Cheggers. His career has taken some pretty unlikely turns (if not hairpin ben…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:09PM
Friday, April 8, 2016

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

The All-Star Stand Up Tour | What Has The News Ever Done For Me? | Elliot SteelAs Stewart Lee has frequently noted, live comedy can be a tough proposition for audiences: you’re asking some…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:13AM
Friday, April 1, 2016

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Tom Neenan: The Andromeda Paradox | Namedroppers: Reginald D Hunter On Censorship & The N Word | Foil, Arms & Hog: SkiddlywupIn a world where any hipster with a fondness for craft be…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Friday, March 25, 2016

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Tom Lucy | Jonny & The Baptists: The End Is Nigh | Brett GoldsteinIt surely won’t be long before we’re talking about the first major standup born in the new millennium. 1996 is about…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:12AM
Friday, March 18, 2016

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Bridget Christie | John Robins | Will FrankenBridget Christie is probably much too modest to claim to be the godmother of a comedy movement, but she is. While she’s far from the first to p…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:04AM
Friday, March 11, 2016

This week’s new comedy by James Kettle

Adam Riches Is Coach Coach | Richard Gadd: Waiting For Gaddot | Gein’s Family GiftshopGiven that 2011 Edinburgh comedy award-winner Adam Riches is best known for creating moments of big, b…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:58AM
Friday, March 4, 2016

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Rob Delaney: Meat | Glasgow International Comedy Festival | John KearnsA few years back, Rob Delaney used to sell out gigs in Britain purely on the basis of his enormously popular Twitter ac…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:31AM
Friday, February 26, 2016

This week’s best new comedy by James Kettle

Dane Baptiste | Russell Howard | Omid DjaliliOver in the States, talking about the supposed differences between white and black people is such a staple of stand-up that it’s become a clich…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:52AM
Friday, February 19, 2016

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Russell Kane: Right Man, Wrong Age | Sarah Kendall: A Day In October | Ed Aczel: The Random Flapping Of A Butterfly’s WingsAgeing can feel like a curse to many of us, but it must be especi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:46AM
Friday, February 12, 2016

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Richard Herring: Happy Now? | Lolly Adefope | Adam Hills: Clown HeartThe default position for a stand-up comedian is that of a surly complainer: from Billy Connolly to Josh Widdicombe, gripi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:22AM
Friday, February 5, 2016

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Romesh Ranganathan: Irrational | Wring Out The Clowns | Bowieoke CircusThere are loads of comics who do material about the struggle of coping with family life and the pressures of being a da…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AM
Friday, January 29, 2016

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Joseph Morpurgo: Soothing Sounds For Baby | 25 Years Of Reeves And Mortimer: The Poignant Moments | Sean Lock: Keep It LightNot everyone likes comedy that seeks to do something radically dif…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:10AM
Friday, January 22, 2016

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Kieran Hodgson: Lance | Tony Law: Frillemorphesis | Tom Stade: You’re WelcomeThis one-man character comedy show about a young boy’s deep and abiding love of Lance Armstrong was one of th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AM
Friday, January 15, 2016

This week’s new comedy by James Kettle

Isy Suttie: The Actual One | Ivo Graham: No Filter | Tiff Stevenson: Mad MenFor years, Isy Suttie was one of the London circuit’s hidden treasures – an unassuming, occasionally guitar-wi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:01AM
Friday, January 8, 2016

This week’s new comedy by James Kettle

Gary Delaney: There’s Something About Gary | Mark Watson | The Noise Next DoorBending comedy into new shapes is all very well, but you may feel that there was nothing all that wrong with t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:04AM
Saturday, January 2, 2016

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Seymour Mace: Niche As F*ck | Arthur Smith: Mindlessness For Beginners | Jason ByrneAs you can tell from the title, Seymour Mace revels in the fact that his act is not for everyone: if you c…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:07AM
Friday, December 18, 2015

This week’s new comedy by James Kettle

Freeze! | New Year’s Eve | Funz & Gamez ToozTom Basden and Tim Key are a phenomenal comedy double act. When they get the chance to be, that is: both are obliged to spend far more time …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:34AM
Friday, December 11, 2015

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Margaret Cho | Jen Brister | Sara Pascoe’s Christmas AssemblyThere are lots of different ways that comedians use filth. Sometimes it’s just about shock: thinking of the worst thing you c…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:49AM
Friday, December 4, 2015

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Henning Wehn: Authentic German Christmas Do | The Geekatorium | Johnny Vegas: Nottingham Xmas ShowThere are many things the Germans do better than us: football, beer, economic growth. They�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:55AM
Friday, November 27, 2015

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Phil Wang | Dan Evans | Jessie CaveTalented up-and-comer Phil Wang has a deeply unorthodox performance style. He has the awkward physicality of a gawky teenager, and his offbeat speech patte…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:34AM
Friday, November 20, 2015

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Hal Cruttenden: Straight Outta Cruttenden | An Evening With Noel Fielding | Angela BarnesYou’d think we’d have had enough of the upper classes, given the way they dominate UK politics, b…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:34AM
Friday, November 13, 2015

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Mike Wozniak: One Man Dad Cat Band | Daniel Sloss: Dark | Fern Brady: People Are IdiotsHe might not be engaging in elaborate French-influenced physical clowning or offering Stewart Lee-esque…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:28AM
Friday, November 6, 2015

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Spencer Jones Presents: The Herbert In Proper Job | Kevin Eldon | Andy Hamilton: Change ManagementYou might think that Corbynism is the most popular religion among stand-ups these days, but …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:34AM
Friday, October 30, 2015

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Bill Bailey | Séance Fiction: The Improvised Haunting | BeardymanHe may not be as constant a presence on TV as he was in the heyday of his Never Mind The Buzzcocks captaincy and turn as Dyl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:13AM
Friday, October 23, 2015

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Festival Of The Spoken Nerd: Just For Graphs | Sarah Millican: Outsider | Harry Enfield & Paul Whitehouse: Legends!While it might have seemed appropriate when they started out, the name …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:22AM
Friday, October 16, 2015

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Robert Newman: The Brain Show | Paul Foot: A Retrospective | Roisin Conaty: Work In ProgressEvery time Rob Newman comes up with a new live show, it is beholden on all observers of comedy to …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:15AM
Friday, October 9, 2015

This week’s best live comedy by James Kettle

Laugh4Rory | Joe Lycett | Sean HughesWaldenström’s Macroglobulinemia sounds like the sort of fictitious disease you’d find in the works of Chris Morris, but in fact it’s a rare fo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:31AM
Friday, October 2, 2015

This week’s new live comedy by James Kettle

Sam Simmons: Spaghetti For Breakfast | Mark Thomas: Trespass | Comedy CoupletsSometimes, the Edinburgh comedy award goes to an emerging talent who is clearly destined for great things. At ot…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:25AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards