Sketch Off

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

July 30, 2025

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jamesofwalsh

in

comedy, Diary, journalism, London, Morning Star columns

Grubby Little Mitts, Sketch Off
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

April 8, 2025

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jamesofwalsh

in

comedy, Diary, London, Morning Star columns, Reviews, Sketch Comedy

review, Sketch Off, Sketch Off 2025, Sketch Off Final
‘We’re not Ant and Dec!’: an interview with Low Effort Sketches

Another interview! Like yesterday’s, this first appeared in my newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. Hi Low Effort Sketches! What’s the most inaccurate name you’ve ever been welcomed to the stage with? (I once introduced “Shelf” as “Sketch”). “Low Effect Sketches” was brutal, but perhaps just as accurate as our real name! How would Read more

January 23, 2024

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jamesofwalsh

in

comedy, Diary, interviews, London, Next Level Sketch, Sketch Comedy

Hoopla Impro, Low Effort Sketches, Next Level Sketch, Sketch Comedy, Sketch Off
Horse Passports at Sketch Off 2023

Webster’s dictionary defines Sketch Off as Leicester Square Theatre’s yearly showcase for up and coming sketch and character acts. Anyone who has attended as a punter knows that this is a *very* loose definition. People doing straight up stand up dominate a lot of these heats, to the general chagrin of sketch acts on the Read more

January 25, 2023

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by

jamesofwalsh

in

comedy, Diary, Sketch Comedy

Leicester Square Theatre, Museum of Comedy, Next Level Sketch, Sketch Off

Sketch Off

Sketch Off Edinburgh Preview, Edinburgh Branch Theatre, London

Review: Sketch-Off 2025 Final, Leicester Square Theatre

‘We’re not Ant and Dec!’: an interview with Low Effort Sketches

Horse Passports at Sketch Off 2023