PublicationsLondon Is Funny
The London is Funny website, with its trademark jolly Coldstream guard, is a sort of capital-only Chortle without the grumpy attitude. It devotes a section to the Fringe called, unsurprisingly, Edinburgh is Funny. Actually it’s less comprehensive than Chortle, in that it only lists comedy nights it recommends, which is a bit of a blow to newbies trying to get people into a room above a pub. “We only list comedy we recommend” is making a virtue out of a staffing shortfall, we suspect, and sounding unnecessarily precious in the process. If you’re a London comedy site, why don’t you list ALL the bloody comedy in London? You don’t have to recommend, or review, it all.
Attempting to read the Fringe reviews is difficult. The navigation is of the sort Columbus had when he thought Puerto Rico was India. The pages are clunky; you will only get to the review you’re looking for if it’s on the front page or if you’re absolutely determined to look at it (ie, it’s about you).
The reviews are not badly written but, with so much pulp journalism at the Fringe, you have to wonder whether it’s necessary. London has a vibrant comedy scene, and an M25 focus would serve this website well. The Phoenix Fringe was going on at the same time as Edinburgh: an exhaustive look at that might have served comedy better. What’s more, the harsh nature of some of the reviewing impinges on a website that otherwise strives hard to be on the side of comedians and, in fact, takes much of its content directly from them. It should really nurture that.
This site could do with setting its parameters and deciding which wells it wants to drink from, and which ones it’s prepared to piss in. And getting hold of someone who can code.
Edmund Rumania
Reviewers for London Is Funny
Peter Edwards
Pete Kelly
