All stories by Brian Logan on BroadwayStars

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Aditi Mittal review – rich people’s problems upstage lockdown laughs by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe Indian standup’s Unalive show is stronger for its satire on her native country’s super-rich than its mild, middling musings on coronavirus A show of two halves, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:25AM
Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Emma Doran review – wickedly funny tales of delinquency by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonReminiscing about her Irish upbringing, and later being wallflowered at children’s parties, Doran is an assured if reticent performer ‘One of the hottest young stars …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AM
Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Panti Bliss review – forceful account of a remarkable life by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe Irish drag queen and activist, AKA Rory O’Neill, feelingly recounts her journey in a country long hostile to difference What am I for any more? That’s the questio…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AM
Monday, May 29, 2023

Encore! Surefire shows returning for the Edinburgh festival in 2023 by Chris Wiegand, Anya Ryan, Brian Logan, Mark Fisher, Kate Wyver, Arifa Akbar and David Jays

In the run-up to the festival, our writers will choose new productions that have caught their eye – but here’s a selection of those we’ve already reviewed Richard Marsh has clearly see…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:24AM
Friday, May 26, 2023

John Kearns review – hilarious oddball marvels at the beautiful banal by Brian Logan

Komedia, BrightonThe standup delivers the finest set of his career – touching on fatherhood, bin bags and Van Gogh Lego You could watch John Kearns’ act for a long time before thinking o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AM
Monday, May 22, 2023

Phil Wang review – all kinds of funny from the super-droll standup by Brian Logan

Royal Festival Hall, LondonIn a quietly confident show with gags from the sophisticated to the stupid, the comic is consistently enjoyable There’s something for everyone in a Phil Wang sho…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Friday, May 19, 2023

Sam Morrison’s superb show about his partner’s death proves grief is not beyond comedy’s reach | Brian Logan by Brian Logan

The standup has successfully used laughter as a balm, creating a safe space for himself and the audience to engage with this most difficult of subjects The death of a loved one. It’s the l…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:36AM
Thursday, May 18, 2023

Bleak Expectations review – agreeably funny Dickensian spoof as cosy as a woollen teapot by Brian Logan

Criterion theatre, LondonCaroline Leslie’s production sends up the less problematic Victorian foibles with a terrifically spirited barrage of juicy one-liners, blunt anachronisms and pleas…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:42PM
Sunday, May 14, 2023

Babatunde Aléshé review – good vibes from the jungle escapee by Brian Logan

Arts Depot, LondonHe’s a celebrity and he got out of there, as we learn during this lively standup set with a reality TV slant – Matt Hancock gossip included Babatunde Aléshé flunked h…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM
Sunday, May 7, 2023

Judi Love review – solo tour crowns funny girl done good by Brian Logan

Hackney Empire, London You’d expect bawdy lines delivered with deadpan frankness from the rising TV comedian, but injections of knockabout physicality raise her stage showpiece to higher j…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM

Candy Gigi: Friday Night Sinner! review – all-out bid for showbiz glory by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, London Torn between wifely duty and her dream to become the Jewish Barbra Streisand, this would-be star finds an in-between world of outrageous comedy A teenage winner of Boreh…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48AM
Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Adam Brace had a magic touch for comedy and theatre – both worlds will mourn his death | Brian Logan by Brian Logan

Brace, who has died aged 43, was a hugely talented playwright, dramaturg and director who worked on a string of hits including One-Woman Show and Age Is a Feeling “The most high-profile di…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:54PM
Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Kevin Hart returns to UK to amplify the outrageous in Reality Check tour by Brian Logan

The controversial standup brings big cartoonish energy to his first tour since 2018, delivering a set of self-mockery and dismay at bizarre behaviour Kevin Hart is back in the UK on his firs…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AM
Saturday, April 22, 2023

Barry Humphries was a master of provocation and glorious grotesquerie by Brian Logan

Despite a legacy tainted by PC-baiting provocation, many will remember Humphries with affection as the carnivalesque Dame Edna and foul-mouthed Sir Les Patterson Barry Humphries, Australian …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AM
Friday, April 21, 2023

Zoe Lyons: Bald Ambition review – taking on midlife with ‘grief and relief’ by Brian Logan

The Hawth, CrawleyThe standup’s new show takes a while to get going, but squares up to hitting 50 with material finely balanced between the thoughtful and the uproarious Given how often co…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06AM
Friday, April 14, 2023

Simon Brodkin review – famed stunt-comic ditches the alter egos by Brian Logan

The Stables, Milton KeynesThe man who shamed Trump and Blatter turns his gaze inward for an evening of self-reflective standup “Anonymous prankster” is what the media calls Simon Brodkin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Thursday, April 13, 2023

Angela Barnes: Hot Mess review – glimpses of the real Barnes shine through generic lines by Brian Logan

Leicester Square theatre, LondonThe comedian is at her best when she treats us as her confidantes rather than aiming for well-worn targets On one day in 2021 two major life events – one te…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AM
Monday, April 3, 2023

Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont: ‘All couples argue – but we put our arguments on TV’ by Brian Logan

Meet the Richardsons sees the married standups play fictional versions of themselves – but that doesn’t mean reality doesn’t creep in from time to time “We don’t stay in posh hotel…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AM
Sunday, April 2, 2023

Eshaan Akbar review – navigating the choppy waters of UK racial politics by Brian Logan

Cambridge JunctionThe Londoner is argumentative, entertaining and full of bracing good sense as he catalogues his personal experiences of racism “What’s your favourite racism?” With th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AM
Thursday, March 30, 2023

Michael Akadiri: No Scrubs review – medical comedy is upbeat and politically punchy by Brian Logan

Pleasance theatre, LondonA doctor himself, the standup delivers breezy tales along with on-the-nose points on how black medics are viewed All standups operating in the space between medicine…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AM
Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Feelgood factor: Mae Martin’s Sap on Netflix is comedic open-heart surgery by Brian Logan

In the standup’s first solo set since the huge success of their queer romcom Feel Good, we are taken on an emotional rollercoaster with confidence and charm It’s always interesting to se…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48AM
Friday, March 17, 2023

Janey Godley is a comic with the common touch – her final tour is as much communion as standup by Brian Logan

Not Dead Yet addresses the return of Godley’s ovarian cancer. But mostly it is a celebratory farewell from a performer who has welcomed the crowd into her remarkable life Not Dead Yet is J…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:17AM
Friday, March 10, 2023

Michelle Brasier: Average Bear review – standup, songs and stories of lost innocence by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonAustralian comic delivers a compelling but messy exploration of grief – but where’s the bear? The “dead dad” show has become a standup genre unto itself in recent…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00AM
Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Going out-out again: Micky Flanagan’s irresistibly unreconstructed comedy comeback by Brian Logan

After several years away, the cheeky cockney comic is doubling down on his good-old-days brand – but despite his geezerish nostalgia he’s no anti-woke crusader Micky Flanagan was worried…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:22AM
Monday, March 6, 2023

The venue’s no joke but Just for Laughs’ London festival delivered megastar standups | Brian Logan by Brian Logan

A new sibling to Montreal’s big comedy shindig has launched in the UK and despite the corporate guff there was a lot to laugh about You’ve heard of Just for Laughs Montreal: it’s one o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:24AM
Friday, March 3, 2023

Josie Long review – wild-firing misadventures in the personal and political by Brian Logan

EartH Hackney, LondonADHD, Tory supremacy and the limited appeal of ‘Sir Keir’ combine in another unrestrained report from the standup’s struggles to hang on to optimism Some comics al…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:31AM
Friday, February 24, 2023

Afghanistan Is Not Funny: the comedian transformed by the war on terror by Brian Logan

Henry Naylor travelled to Afghanistan in 2003 to research his fringe farce Finding Bin Laden. His sobering new show takes stock of the country’s fate since Was Henry Naylor’s agent right…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:37AM
Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Catherine Cohen: Come for Me review – a hilarious social-mediated psyche set loose by Brian Logan

Komedia, BrightonOutrageous comedy, self-glamorising songs and self-ironic ridiculousness in abundance from a comic with a sharp sense of her own daftness You mellow with age, they say. So w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:38AM
Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Patti Harrison review – mischievous and wildly funny standup by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe Ohio comic takes us on her narcissistic ‘therapy journey’ including ridiculous songs, played with a wickedly straight bat Patti Harrison’s last London show, sh…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:06AM
Thursday, January 26, 2023

John Mulaney review – upbeat tales of addiction and downfall by Brian Logan

Hammersmith Apollo, LondonThe standup comedian may have lost some of the gloss on his reputation after nearly destroying himself with drugs, but his good cheer remains in place ‘If you’v…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:07AM
Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Vittorio Angelone: Translations review – an eye-catching standup debut by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe Irish-Italian comic, nominated for best newcomer at the Edinburgh fringe, delivers his show with a light touch and ample self-irony It is exciting to encounter a youn…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48AM

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