“Words, words, words – Jane has always been obsessed with them, those written, spoken and performed!” So begins Jane Beeston’s BB Biog. And she’s not wrong. She does like her words. She likes them so much that often she cannot decide which of them to invite round to her paragraph and so has all of […]
We were beginning to think that the art of the reviewer brainfart was passed, so thank all that’s holy for Eva Hibbs. Her small stack of reviews so far provide some of the most perplexing and intractable sentences yet committed to the canon. Hibbs has reviewed some shows with very out-there conceits, which in itself […]
As ever when venturing into the undergrowth of Mumbledonia, we have to ask ourselves “Is this a real person, or just another one of Mark ‘Divine’ Calvert’s aliases?” Not that MDC actually exists either. But there is a person, somewhere, at the website that calls itself Mumble Comedy, because there isn’t yet a computer program […]
At first it seems that Alun Evans’ reviews are not very good. They seem like very matter-of-fact, unexceptional and literal pieces of prose. And then you remember that this is exactly what reviews are supposed to be like, and that you (and probably everyone else) has been ruined by the review-as-self-expression. The creative writing approach […]
I’m sure that, if I could get over the pony club tone to Sarah Gough’s reviews, I’d find her to be a perfectly adequate reviewer. So I’m going to say that she’s a perfectly adequate reviewer. I’m sure the non-ironic and shameless use of the phrase “cheeky chappy” to describe Rhys Nicholson is annoying only […]
Joseph McAulay concerns himself with theatre in the main, and makes only occasional sorties into comedy. While a thesp overview of comedy is sometimes helpful and revealing, McAulay gives the overall impression of someone who wishes the comedy he’s watching could be a bit more – well, theatre-y. It’s clear that he sees the driving […]
There is the occasional nice bit of phrasing in Dawn Kofie’s reviews. They occur when she is just saying what she sees. Stuff like “there’s a weirdly lyrical description of [Rob Delaney] taking a Peeping Tom role when his friend’s neighbour has an S&M party.” This, at least, makes me want to see Delaney’s show. […]
Tony Challis is so terrible at what he does that his reviews must be interpreted a line at a time, sort of like the lethal Monty Python joke. I will attempt it now with his review of Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall’s Alasdair Lists Everything, but be warned: this is weapon-strength stuff. “Alasdair has a show which does […]
Jessica Cropper is a reviewer of the Phil Space school; her short reviews are all padded out with “if-this-is-your-sort-of-thing-you-won’t-be-disappointed”-isms. Basically, if you like yada yada yada, then this is a good choice. It reaches a head with Jessica Fostekew, of whom she says “So if you fancy comedy you can just relax to instead of […]
It’s passing strange that, at the 2013 Fringe, the comedian Sarah Campbell was reviewed in two different publications by reviewers who didn’t go on to review a single other comedy thing that year. What happened? Was there a conspiracy? Did Campbell have them killed? Did Campbell pose as a reviewer to review herself? This could […]
Just how hard is it to please Sean Bell? Well, take his review for Jonny and the Baptists: “None [of the songs] fall flat, but the band’s strengths are also their weaknesses, since they demonstrate just how indebted they are to acts like Flight of the Concords and Tenacious D, two painfully obvious influences.” In […]
Oh for fuck’s fucking sake. Shiv Das gives five stars to almost everything. While it’s all well and good to enjoy your job, a good review doesn’t mean that the reviewer can just cut and paste the PR spiel, or excuse themselves from the niceties of critical analysis, punctuation and grammar. I’m sure no act […]
Sam Bradley commits some of the usual sins of the BB coterie, not least frequent slips of grammar and baggy prose. Of the Alternative Comedy Memorial Society he drones “…for the discerning comedy fans mulling over the current crop of comedians populating this year’s Fringe catalogue [continues ad infinitum]”. At one point Bradley forgets that he’s […]
In her review of The Little Wheel Sketch Show, Roberta Thomson complains that it was loud, aggressive and over the top. Later on in her 120-word review she adds that it was loud, over the top and aggressive. And if you’re not convinced, she concludes that it was confusing, mildly offensive and painful on the […]
It’s never easy trying to reviewer a reviewer who has reviewed precisely one comedy show in their entire life. Apart from anything, a person should be allowed to try everything once, should they not? I would not dream of grading Liam Speir on his proclivities with one ladyboy or one hit of methamphetamine, or one […]