All stories by Brian Logan on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Greg Davies: Full Fat Legend review – Taskmaster manchild lists his humiliations by Brian Logan

Royal Albert Hall, LondonDavies uses his ostentatiously puerile sense of humour to fine comic effect, with a series of stories capturing his long struggle to get over himself Hold forth for …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48AM
Tuesday, June 10, 2025

‘Stupider than everyone else’: one comic’s semi-naked bid to perform dozens of Penguin novels by Brian Logan

In a riotous show, Garry Starr dons a tailcoat, flippers and little else to re-enact a bookshelf full of classics. Would you help him bring The Jungle Book to life? Comedy smash-hits come in…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:54PM
Monday, June 9, 2025

Katherine Ryan: Battleaxe review – comedy’s ice queen melts into audience agony aunt by Brian Logan

Cliffs Pavilion, SouthendIn a show of two halves, the caustic standup is at her best when rolling her eyes at the weaker sex, but her post-interval crowd-counselling doesn’t quite cut it H…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42PM
Monday, June 2, 2025

Rory Bremner review – slick satirist cosies up to Trump, Rees-Mogg and the king by Brian Logan

Assembly Rooms, EdinburghThe impressionist mixes modern politics with blasts from the past in a witty show that sticks to familiar ground Topical comedy meets a trip down memory lane at Rory…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM
Friday, May 30, 2025

John Early: The Album Tour review – a rich slice of larky self-mockery by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonChatty waiters, visiting the loo in company and overinvesting in sexual role-play are uproariously discussed alongside covers of Madonna, Britney and Dolly Parton For fan…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:02AM
Monday, May 26, 2025

Jordan Gray: Is That a C*ck in Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Here to Kill Me? review – lashings of panache by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonIt’s not as big-hitting as her debut but this sophomore comedy show proves Gray is a brilliant entertainer and wind-up merchant To say that Jordan Gray made an eye-cat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:48AM

Pop Off, Michelangelo! review – the Renaissance retold with high-camp modernity by Brian Logan

Underbelly Boulevard, LondonDylan MarcAurele’s musical comedy couldn’t be trashier but there’s fun to be had mixing twerking with 1400s Tuscany The Pope vapes, Michelangelo uses Zoom, …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:42AM
Monday, May 19, 2025

Nick Mohammed Is Mr Swallow: Show Pony review – magic meets deliriously funny reality by Brian Logan

Richmond theatre, London Ted Lasso star’s return as his camp and bumptious northern know-it-all alter ego also makes room for more of the real Mohammed The last time …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AM
Sunday, May 11, 2025

Meow Meow review – kamikaze cabaret combines clownish comedy and crooning by Brian Logan

Soho Theatre, LondonWhether singing or crawling cleavage-first over the shoulders of her crowd, the eccentric diva asks what an artist should do in such ominous times ‘I do think in 90 min…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:54PM
Monday, May 5, 2025

The Empire Strips Back review – Chewie gets jiggy in galactic burlesque parody by Brian Logan

Riverside Studios, LondonHumour abounds in this Star Wars-themed cabaret, as Boba Fett bumps and grinds while Han Solo and Chewbacca share a Backstreet Boys number Might there be an overlap …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AM
Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Search Party’s John Early: ‘You can only take a narcissistic monster for so long – it grates after 10 years’ by Brian Logan

Dropping the droll, self-obsessed character from his early standup shows, the comic and TV star is swapping millennial irony for the sincerity of song There was a time when comedians weren�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06PM
Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Salty Brine review – daring diva mashup with hella pizzazz by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe drag queen’s latest intermingling of Annie Lennox covers, southern gothic literature, Judy Garland and family anecdotes is a bravura feat of idiosyncratic connectio…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03PM
Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Steven Frayne: Up Close and Magical review – Dynamo unplugged by Brian Logan

Underbelly Boulevard, London Eschewing the customary conjuror’s hype, Frayne’s new show follows traumatic illness and delivers high excitement in an unusually low key What do you get whe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:06AM
Monday, April 7, 2025

‘I stole material from my dad’s funeral!’ Sarah Silverman on her outrageous and tender show about her parents’ demise by Brian Logan

It’s got sex jokes, Hitler gags and endless gallows humour. The comedian once famed for being ‘ignorant-arrogant’ reveals why she’s written a show about the deaths of her stepmother …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:12AM
Thursday, April 3, 2025

Mo Gilligan review – riotous red-carpet relatability from a big-hearted comic by Brian Logan

Brighton DomeUnderpinned by standup craftsmanship as effortless as it is meticulous, Gilligan continues to prove his gift for bringing everyday scenarios to life There are shaggy dog stories…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:03AM
Monday, March 31, 2025

Jenny Eclair: Jokes Jokes Jokes review – deliciously carefree and crude by Brian Logan

Queen Elizabeth Hall, LondonAt 65, Eclair has faced down adversity, her own ego, sexism and the menopause – and always found a way to keep cheerfully telling the tales Standup show or book…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06AM
Friday, March 28, 2025

Sabrage review – this slick cabaret with saucy pillow fights is good unclean fun by Brian Logan

Lafayette, LondonAn irreverent mix of erotic trapeze, penis tricks and audience participation won’t disappoint groups out for a laugh – and a gasp If anything needs its own word, surely …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:18AM
Friday, March 14, 2025

Shabaz Ali: I’m Rich, You’re Poor review – TikTok taunts getting a little threadbare by Brian Logan

Glee Club, GlasgowThe hugely popular ‘King of the Povvos’ is a charismatic host, but is yet to prove that he can make his online material strong enough for the stage ‘Does anyone not k…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48AM
Friday, March 7, 2025

A spoof universally acknowledged: comic Rosalie Minnitt on her bonnet-crazed Jane Austen parody by Brian Logan

The standup is hitting new heights of pastiche with Clementine, a riotous one-woman show about a Regency belle seeking a tailcoated beau. As the Edinburgh hit goes on tour, Minnitt explains …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:36AM
Sunday, March 2, 2025

Harry Hill: New Bits and Greatest Hits review – a truly silly comedy craftsman by Brian Logan

Capitol theatre, HorshamHill at 60 remains so joyful and daft that you will never stop chuckling for long Some people’s art evolves over time. If you’re waiting for Harry Hill’s to do …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:42AM
Wednesday, February 26, 2025

The Last Laugh review – Eric Morecambe, Tommy Cooper and Bob Monkhouse’s antic triple act by Brian Logan

Theatre Royal BrightonBob Golding, Simon Cartwright and Damian Williams, who have played the comedy giants before, summon them like spirits to the stage in this tribute ‘You tell ’em a j…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48PM
Wednesday, February 12, 2025

‘There was a nastiness’: has Peter Kay thrown out his cuddly image along with his ‘garlic bread’ hecklers? by Brian Logan

The chummy everyman seemed to let his facade slip as he brutally ejected two hecklers from a recent gig – a misstep that showed he’s out of touch with the current cut-and-thrust of stand…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:32AM
Friday, February 7, 2025

Stewart Lee Vs the Man-Wulf review - fur flies as the beast is unleashed by Brian Logan

Oxford PlayhouseMorphing from shock-jock lupine to hand-wringing liberal, Lee lambasts the comedy of cruelty in scathing, slapstick style ‘Sick of comedy, sick of me, sick of my own though…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:24PM
Sunday, February 2, 2025

Rob Auton: The Eyes Open and Shut Show review – eccentric observation and wonderment by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe Yorkshireman’s half-banal half-profound ruminations on the subject of sight won me over A career that might be more successful if only he could describe to people w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM
Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Inside No 9: Stage/Fright review – slick chills in Shearsmith and Pemberton’s creepy West End comedy by Brian Logan

Wyndham’s theatre, LondonThe double act transfer their TV hit to the stage in an ingenious edge-of-your-seat, one-step-ahead show which is in love with old theatres and their ghosts ‘We …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:48PM
Monday, January 27, 2025

Demi Adejuyigbe’s must-see comedy backflip: ‘It’s kind of Evel Knievel!’ by Brian Logan

The Good Place writer didn’t know there were prizes at the Edinburgh fringe until his acrobatic debut show earned him a nomination. Now he hopes to spring similar surprises If you wanted a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:32PM
Wednesday, January 22, 2025

‘I’ve finally realised I like John Shuttleworth!’ Graham Fellows on 40 years with his organ-plonking alter ego by Brian Logan

He has notched up tours, albums, books and a sitcom. Why is he tortured by feelings of under-achievement? As Fellows hits the road, he pops an aniseed ball and discusses his new song – abo…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:54PM
Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Nina Conti: Whose Face Is It Anyway? review – masterful ventriloquist’s sublime silliness by Brian Logan

Apollo theatre, LondonConti is in supreme command of her comedy chaos, devising voices, ad hoc songs and daft scenarios The early phase of Nina Conti’s career was marked by restless bounda…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Monday, January 20, 2025

Chris McCausland: ‘Yonks!’ review – mischievous Strictly winner goes back to the day job by Brian Logan

Waterside theatre, AylesburyThe TV star’s tour covers childhood delinquency, celebrity encounters and a rectal examination – without ever getting especially personal ‘Twenty one years …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM
Sunday, January 19, 2025

Kate Cheka: A Messiah Comes review – barbed jokes and trenchant anecdotes by Brian Logan

Soho theatre, LondonThe Funny Women award-winner’s debut tour combines the personal and the political with varying success – but always with enthusiasm and charm Should Kate Cheka be sav…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54AM
Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Tony Slattery: the generous improv great whose successes masked his suffering by Brian Logan

He was a wonderful team player in Whose Line Is It Anyway? and affection for him grew when he disclosed the severe pain and distress he was trying to keep at bay• Comedian Tony Slattery di…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24PM