Comedy
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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 more men in total on the line-up than women, although I didn’t do any sort of calculations as to whether men on average had more prestigious time slots or more shows in the bigger theatres.
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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 – with our fully naked actor initially performing as a caveman being bequeathed a traditional black briefcase and becoming the famous spy.
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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 and in London.
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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 set – wearing a fantastic sparkly short suit – she moves aside to introduce her support, fellow Kiwi comic Becky Umbers.
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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 along Colston Street.
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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 being only one female headliner across nine shows over four days.
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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 theatre technician.
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Review – ‘Chris Fleming Live: On Stage’ at the Leicester Square Theatre – ‘hilariously, relentlessly funny’
I booked to see Chris Fleming’s show on minimal information. I’d seen his brilliant viral video, ‘Company is Coming,’ which to date has over 14 million views. More recently, I listened to his interview on fellow comedian Mike Birbiglia’s podcast. When I saw his UK shows advertised, I thought I should book one, because as an American, he doesn’t come to the UK very often – this was his first UK tour, having performed previously at the Soho Theatre.