Brighton Comedy Garden review – Rose Matafeo and Phil Wang are in fine form as they battle the gulls
Matafeo offers up heartbreak hilarity and Wang brings his dad jacket to the charming outdoor event with the nastiest hecklers on the south coast
May 2023
Encore! Surefire shows returning for the Edinburgh festival in 2023
John Kearns review – hilarious oddball marvels at the beautiful banal
February 2023
Cult standup John Kearns: ‘You might not like my show for 20 minutes, but you’ll leave happy!’
The self-deprecating star has won two Edinburgh awards but remains a niche concern. Will a recent breakout turn on Taskmaster and a huge nationwide tour bring his absurdist comedy to the mainstream?
December 2020
Lockdown culture
Elvis meets the Evil Dead as comedy rewinds to the VHS era
The cult show that splices Evil Dead II with Elvis Presley hits is now on video cassette as standups hark back to retro formats
August 2020
Lockdown culture
Edinburgh Unlocked review – a carnival of comedy from the festival that never was
Culture in peril
August without Edinburgh fringe: 'the heart has been pulled out of my year'
April 2020
'I crack up every time': comedians' all-time favourite standup routines
Top comics pick the routines that make them howl with laughter, from Eddie Murphy on Rocky to Eddie Izzard on penknives and Michelle Wolf on women’s worst enemies
November 2019
John Kearns review – a toothy, tragicomic delight
Kearns delivers a day-in-the-drab-life of a man with dreams, toting suburban existentialism in a style all his ownن
June 2019
Edinburgh festival 2019: 50 theatre, comedy and dance shows to see
There’s a Belle and Sebastian play, a show in a hair salon, Frances Barber performing Pet Shop Boys songs and top comics including Josie Long and Stephen Fry. Here’s our guide to the world’s biggest arts festival
December 2017
The funniest thing
John Kearns: ‘Every family home should have a copy of Roger’s Profanisaurus’
The double Edinburgh comedy award winner on the things that make him laugh the most, from Barry Humphries to Monkey Trousers
September 2017
Open mic
John Kearns: a supreme standup hidden behind bad teeth and a tonsure
The wig-wearing comic’s new show about humdrum heroism is his best yet. But as his act strives for knockout poignancy, does the goofy get-up help or hinder?
July 2017
Heard the one about the standup who built lift shafts? Comedians on their previous careers
Modelling bras for Asda, giving tours of parliament, proving yourself on a building site … top comics relive their old day jobs
June 2017
Open mic
Laugh a minute: Edinburgh festival's 2017 comedy lineup
Sara Pascoe looks at life after a breakup, Trygve Wakenshaw brings his baby on stage, and Alexei Sayle, Ruby Wax and talkshow king Craig Ferguson all return to the fringe this year
December 2016
A John Kearns Christmas review – festive toast to mundane merriment
Open mic
Dead funny: what comedy brings to the experience of grief
May 2016
Summer arts preview 2016
Fun factory: the finest comedy of summer 2016
David Baddiel airs his own family’s failings, Bridget Christie grapples with a Motörhead vibrator, there’s a raft of improv – and Mr Swallow recreates Houdini’s finest escape
August 2015
John Kearns: ‘A lot of scripts are just 10 David Sedarises talking'
The eccentric comic made his name at the Edinburgh fringe in a bad wig and rubber teeth – and he just wants to make people laugh. Starting with BBC3 slapstick sitcom Top Coppers
May 2015
Open mic
Aerial attack: How a new wave of broadcast comedy is shaking up the nation's living rooms
Brian Logan
John Kearns and Nick Helm come to TV and radio, showing just how far broadcast media has come in showcasing bold new talent
February 2015
Comedy heroes
John Kearns on Tommy Cooper: ‘A comic’s job is to play the fool’
In the first of a new series in which standups celebrate their heroes, the 2014 Edinburgh comedy award winner considers the magical mannerisms of his idol
