Santa Claus: The Movie review – Dudley Moore sparkles like a bauble in Elf prototype
Playing an early iteration of the fish-out-of-water elf in the corporate world of New York, Moore has just enough perky charm to redeem an otherwise forgettable seasonal offering
January 2020
'Indecently funny in every way' – Peter Cook's legacy by Eddie Izzard, Lucy Porter and more
His influence is everywhere – but is the great, groundbreaking comedian being forgotten? Twenty-five years after his death, we reassess his impact
November 2019
I saw Jonathan Miller in Beyond the Fringe – and I'm still dazzled
Michael Billington
The Guardian’s theatre critic was at the sketch group’s first show in 1960. It was the beginning of a friendship … and a satire boom that changed the world
August 2018
From Beyond the Fringe to Nanette: five shows that changed the face of comedy
With the Edinburgh fringe in full flow, here are the five standup sets that catapulted their creators to fame
June 2018
Brief letters
The worst job one could ever have?
Brief letters: Amazon’s deus ex machina | Women in the boardroom | Good morning, squid | Asterix and the Aztecs | Derek and Clive
January 2018
'Fame proved toxic for the relationship': when comedy double acts split
David Baddiel, Andy Zaltzman, Richard Herring and other comics on fame, failure and friendship
January 2017
Chris Ingham Quartet: Dudley review – still dazzled by Dud
(Downhome)
June 2016
Stanley Kubrick ruined my childhood: my mum, the Hollywood publicist
Simon Booker recalls his unconventional upbringing with his mother who was a glamorous film publicist in the Mad Men era
August 2015
Derek and Clive are back – are they too much for the 21st century?
Peter Cook and Dudley Moore’s relentlessly filthy 70s albums anticipated punk, and influenced both alternative comedy and a generation of smutty teenagers. But is this re-release just too offensive for modern ears?
July 2015
Greenslade
Sunday Mirror reporter who spent a night with Frank Sinatra
In her book she tells how she got her scoop by regular visits to the bathroom
April 2015
Neil Cowley: The Other Side of Dudley Moore review – funny and moving tribute to the comic actor
The playlist
The playlist: jazz – Billie Holiday, Stan Tracey, Dudley Moore and more
Music blog
Dudley Moore – from film scores to funk
Not only but also … remembering Dudley Moore the jazz pianist
September 2014
Greenslade
Bob Miller, the man who lived a dozen lives while doing good
Farewell to a remarkable Dagenham schoolfriend
June 2014
Greenslade
Why Alan Bennett's plea for the reform of private education is welcome
Roy Greenslade
Nicholas Lezard's choice
One Leg Too Few: The Adventures of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore – review
August 2013
The Queen's unused nuclear war speech has a ring of Beyond the Fringe about it
Charles Nevin
Charles Nevin: Perhaps the gags of Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller struck a nerve with Whitehall speechwriters
October 2012
Alan Bennett: a quiet radical
One critic described Alan Bennett as 'England's cultural teddy bear'. As his new play, People, opens in London, Michael Billington argues that he is a more complicated and prickly writer than his cosy reputation suggests
May 2012
Life and Physics
It's a Wonderful Life
Jon Butterworth: Pool and particle physics in Pennsylvania, and a live blog of an LHC night shift by Mark Tibbetts
