London
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Half Man Half Biscuit, Electric Ballroom, 20/1/2023
Note – this review first appeared in the Morning Star newspaper. Web version here. In Camden Town on a cold January night, a man down the front is crying and bellowing along to the closing track of a band’s sixteenth studio album: Oblong of Dreams, a paean to place and belonging worthy of Wordsworth. Up… Read more
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An invisible pandemic of death and violence
Trigger warning: below is a fairly graphic account of a car driving into children. On Friday afternoon, I was heading to The Miller in London Bridge to put up posters for our show on Wednesday. Approaching the venue, I heard screaming and wailing. I had arrived into the immediate aftermath of some everyday car violence.… Read more
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Modernism from Archway to Belsize Park
Oh, Archway. So much to answer for. We emerged, blinking, into the unexpected sunshine from the tube, and were greeted by the greasy stench of a nearby McDonald’s and the sight of a cyclist bravely heading up the hill to Highgate. There are, broadly, three types of modernist architecture walk in London. One: Marvel at… Read more
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The Comedy Arcade – live at the Camden Fringe, Water Rats, Kings Cross, Sunday 8th August
Cor this is a late show! 9:30pm on a Sunday is when I’m usually cowering in existential terror of the week ahead. So it was nice, instead, to be at the Water Rats – historically, one of Kings Cross’ most “anything can happen” venues – to enjoy Vix Leyton and her Comedy Arcade. The Comedy… Read more
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Review – Funny Femmes, 2Northdown, Sunday 15th August
The conveyor belt of straight white men never stops. I should know: I myself was made at the straight white man factory. Production is booming, and despite consumer feedback, many of my model think that a) we’re funny and b) people should listen to what we have to say. And so we are vacuum packed,… Read more
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Review: Paperboy, The Lion & Unicorn, The Camden Fringe
Emerging in preposterously oversized suits and an explosion of physical banter, our two would-be journalists, Matt and Matthew, dominate the stage with their volume, their aggressive movements, and their self-entitlement. Meanwhile Phoebe, their assistant, sits quietly in the corner, staring at her empty inbox, trying desperately not to react… Life imitates art imitates life. This… Read more
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Comedy Virgins at Cavendish Arms, Stockwell
I think tonight was technically my first ever stand up show*? It didn’t feel like it, because I’ve been compering and doing character comedy at factually inaccurate, and of course sketch comedy and hosting before that. But the nerves were certainly real – exaggerated by initially being left off the scheduled line-up – and by… Read more
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Ticket Stub
I stubbed my toe today. I walk around very fast, even before I’ve decided where to go, and this afternoon my little toe on my left foot collided with the leg of a stool. I did what anyone would do in this situation. I hopped around and swore and railed against the pain until it… Read more
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