London
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Thomas Crapper and a toilet seat made from the Elgin Marbles
I’ve been up and down to London like a cockney yo-yo the past few days. Thursday: a sketch rehearsal at Theatre Deli in the city, followed by a show at Hoopla Impro in London Bridge with some visiting pals (one a big improv enthusiast) from Istanbul. Friday: an improv session with an experienced improviser, Melissa Read more
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‘Decline Porn’: how far right YouTubers are pretending to be scared of London
Despite my excessively, almost self-parodically left-wing search history, I noticed recently that YouTube is trying to get me to click on videos of angry-looking white men doing walk-and-talk videos around London. In these, said white men (and, occasionally, women) walk around multicultural areas of London like Brixton and Whitechapel – let’s face it, it’s often Read more
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South London by Thameslink
In Croydon there are towers high, lean, and empty. At the station, an older woman with a natty blue rinse limps for the front carriage, and passes a human-shaped package in a pushchair. This is topped with a hat with bear ears, poking out from the swaddled layers below. High visibility clothing must be worn Read more
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Eric Idle live at The Royal Albert Hall
There’s a kind of person who loves Terry Pratchett. A hoopy frood who always knows where his towel is. They could be neurodivergent, or maybe not – it doesn’t matter. They respect Brian May, as an astronomer. They’ve dabbled in steam punk, know Alan Moore better than he knows himself, and could quote any scene Read more
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Sketch Off Edinburgh Preview, Edinburgh Branch Theatre, London
Note: this review first appeared in the Morning Star newspaper… As July collapses into August, all the weirdos migrate north. Trains, planes, and automobiles filled with more clowns than seems possible – honk honk! – are en route to Edinburgh for the Fringe. Some of these clowns are tired already. Every year, working class performers Read more
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Review: Sketch-Off 2025 Final, Leicester Square Theatre
Despite the crisis in the arts, the UK has a never ending supply of fresh weirdos. Some come straight from their university improv clubs, and some are doing their recovery in public after a year of being brutalised at infamous French clowning school Gaulier. And some are here because their anarchic spirit allows them to Read more
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