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Chris Grace: Sardines at The Wardrobe Theatre review – ‘beautifully profound and touching’
I was exclusively attracted to seeing Chris Grace’s show ‘Sardines,’ by two important factors – 1) my deep affection for his long-suffering character Jerry on the criminally-underloved NBC sitcom ‘Superstore,’ and 2) a general intrigue of a US comedian coming to Bristol, given that they tend to mostly stay in London (occasionally braving Manchester.) But…
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‘I Met All My Friends on Dating Apps’ at the Alma Tavern review – ‘touchingly sincere and wholesome’
‘I Met All My Friends on Dating Apps’ is the latest work by writer, performer and theatre maker Jess Andrews. It certainly gets kudos for a noticeable title, and for its pitch: happily married Jess has decided to explore polygamy. Her husband knows, the dates know, and we’re following along on her journey. We start…
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‘Fella: show us ur fruitcake’ at The Alma Tavern review: ‘endearingly giggly and chaotic’
It’s a chilly evening up in Clifton at the newly air-conditioned Alma Tavern Theatre. We’re a slightly thin but nevertheless game audience here to see ‘Fella: show us ur fruitcake.’ Fella ambles into the audience entrance minutes before showtime, resplendent in a leopard print zip-up top, silver face paint and wig cap and makes her…
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‘Ewins Some You Lose Some’ at the Wells Comedy Festival review – ‘brilliantly specific and immediately funny’
Another year, another Wells Comedy Festival. It is dusk on Friday evening, the first night of the festival, and we have just sped from Bristol through the cowslips and lush greenery of the summer Somerset countryside to Mat Ewins’ 9.30pm show. Flicking through the programme, I was pleased to see that there were only two…
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‘Pull My Goldfinger’ at the Alma Tavern review: ‘some genuinely inventive moments’
Carlos Sandin’s one-man show Pull My Goldfinger starts before the lights go down, as he lightly commentates on the incoming audience, warning several in jumpers and coats to take them off and promising to restart if someone comes in late. We are here for a one-man show about James Bond – hence the title –…
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‘Kool Story Bro’ at the Bristol Old Vic review: ‘a glut of talent and skill’
I sprinted into the theatre with seconds to spare to watch ‘Kool Story Bro: Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Friends,’ mainly because we were – literally – running late, and also because I was very excited. It was the first night of their UK tour, having previously performed it for a 3-day run at the Edinburgh Fringe…
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Review: Melanie Bracewell at the Hen & Chicken – ‘inventive, solid gags and big laughs’
NZ Taskmaster winner Melanie Bracewell comes to south Bristol on the brink of what reports are suggesting could be spring, specifically to the Hen and Chicken studio on the heels of a successful UK tour in 2024. This time around, she’s touring her sold-out Edinburgh Fringe show Attack of the Melanie Bracewell. After a ten minute…
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Review: ‘Nish Don’t Kill My Vibe’ at the Bristol Beacon – ‘exhaustingly funny onslaught of rage’
It had been so long since I’d been to the Bristol Beacon that they’ve had a full refurbishment, which lasted many years and cost many hundreds of thousands of pounds. A vermin removal service even partially blamed it for our student flat’s mice problem in 2018, claiming the works were disturbing the long-entrenched mice communities…
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Review: ‘I Gave You Milk to Drink’ at the Bristol Old Vic – ‘knowing wit and cynicism’
Last time I saw Fern Brady perform, I was livid. I’d just paid £6 for a Mr Whippy – with a flake – at the Bristol Comedy Garden and was feeling suffused with rage at the absurd con that is food stalls at events where attendees can’t leave and come back in. And at there…
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Review: ‘Why Are You Laughing?’ at the Alma Tavern – ‘sardonic and weary’
Pierre Novellie comes onstage at the Alma Tavern Theatre with no support act and minimal warning. Stand-ups aren’t known for their extravagant onstage fashion – why bother when you’re performing as yourself in the back of a pub – and in black jeans and hoodie, for a second Novellie could be mistaken for a put-upon…
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