There are several comedians who have had the privilege of performing in front of Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal family. The majority of these appearances were at the Royal Variety show. An annual event first started in 1912 to raise money for artistes’ charities. Cream of the crop The Royal Variety Performance always boasts…
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Professor Brian Cox brings his unique style of scientific presentation to a series of Live Arena events. This Manchester University lecturer known for his highly popular BBC TV series – ‘Wonders of the Solar System’ (BBC 2010) and ‘Wonders of the Universe’ (BBC 2011) takes his gigantic knowledge into a two-and-a-half-hour spectacular show. Supported admirably…
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The New Theatre Royal Lincoln starts their highly popular comedy nights with some of the country’s leading stand up comedians performing at the beautiful Grade 2 listed Victoria theatre built in 1893. Comedy At The Theatre Royal, Lincoln Among some of the seasons stand out comics are Raymond & Mr. Timpkins & Geoff Boyz; back…
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Jim Tavaré returned to the UK in May 2019 to tour his award winning Edinburgh show – ‘Deadpan to Bedpan’ Arts Centres & Venues Jim appeared at a number of arts centres and venues including Swindon Arts Centre, Joker Comedy Club (Southend), The Junction (Cambridge), Royal Spa Centre (Leamington Spa), The Capitol (Horsham), Hazlitt Theatre…
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Jasper Carrott and Alistair McGowan, the bacon and eggs pairing, are a surprising mixture of comedy talent touring the country together with their different but complementary styles of stand up. Well Observed Impressions McGowan’s well observed impressions drive his act forward, one after the other, some nicely catching the ear, especially those where other impressionists…
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What does one do when you’ve had the most horrific car crash, come close to death three times in the operating theatre and told by the doctors to contact your children to say goodbye? Well, you write jokes. Jim Tavare sat back on his bed facing a year of convalescing, an uncertain future with major…
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Sunday ‘Terry Alderton: The Musical’ is an extremely fast paced stand up performance. His impact is immediate, providing all the physicality associated with this over bearing but talented performer, with highly timed sound inserts, supported by Terry’s strong ability for voices and for the visually absorbed. His legs in the air, Terry’s feet begin a…
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Richard Inverne vigorously approves of Chelsea Walker’s new production of the Tennessee Williams classic, currently running at NST City, Southampton. In a 1975 interview with New York Times columnist Robert Berqvist*, Williams insisted that his plays contained ‘very little’ autobiographical content, although John Lahr’s excellent 2014 biography of the writer, Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of…
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In 2014, Mike Poulton adapted Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall novels for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The result was a huge success, garnering such plaudits as ‘As in Mantel’s book, you feel this is history made manifest’ (Michael Billington, The Guardian) and ‘an adaptation that knows exactly when to speak and when to stay silent and…
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In ‘How the other half Loves’, Alan Ayckbourn explores the different social attitudes to supposed infidelity. This, six hander play (three couples), set in the 1960’s, contains all the hallmarks of strong comic plotting with moments of extreme farce. Originally written by Ayckbourn in 1970, being his second work, much waited for after the success…
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The Chimes of Pompey rang out to all Portsmouth fans to come to the Kings Theatre to watch a potted amusing, informative theatrical history of their football club: The Pompey Story. This highly entertaining show was introduced by BT Sports commentator Ian Darke with the help of Peter Brackley bringing his now famous caretaker character…
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NOT Sunday Night at the London Palladium! But Sunday Night at the Theatre Royal Brighton with all the glamour, glitz and talent associated with the London Theatre, along with the variety talent which had many switching on their TV sets in the 50’s and 60’s, but now making their way to Brighton for the same…
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In his Guardian obituary of 12 September, Michael Billington suggests that Sir Peter Hall, who has died at the age of 86, was ‘the single most influential figure in modern British theatre.’ As well as leading the RSC and then the National Theatre through the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, Hall was a formidable artistic director…
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Over 500 people packed into the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury avenue, to enjoy a Comedy Benefit Night show that only comes around once in a lifetime. There seemed more stars than the night sky. All giving their time free to support their colleague Jim Tavare who had been through an horrendous car accident and now faced…
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[slideshow_deploy id=’2695′] We are pleased to announce a Comedy Benefit night for Jim Tavare at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London on Monday 12th June 2017. The support from his colleagues has been amazing and the bill of comics performing that evening reads like a who’s who of modern stand up. Dara O Briain, Jo…
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Farce is never an easy form of theatre to succeed in. Yet Ray Cooney has made it his lifetimes ambition and work to create some of our best loved and well written British Farce. ‘Out of Order’ is not one of Cooney’s best (even though it won an Laurence Oliver award for Best Comedy 1991)…
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Following its humble beginning at the Old Red Lion, Islington (2012) ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ is drawing strong audiences in its West End run. It further gained attention after appearing on the Royal Variety Show and has since gone from strength to strength. This is the play that turns slapstick comedy into an intelligent,…
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Brighton & Hove Albion are sitting at the top of the championship, expectation around the city is cautiously positive. The Seagulls have knocked on the door of promotion (through the play off’s) three times in the last five years. Last year success seemed finally on the way, yet more heartache. This season confidence is high…
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Did the RSC’s high-tech The Tempest work with or against Shakespeare’s dark, enigmatic comedy? The Tempest apparently premiered with a performance at Whitehall Palace in 1611, performed by the King’s Men before King James I and his court. Whilst we do not know much about this occasion, we can assume that His Majesty was pleased…
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Observing Ian Botham coming towards you in a very aggressive mood at an airport, is not a pretty site on tour, but this was one of many stories told by darling cricket commentator Henry Blofeld in a short tour of shows with his old BBC Test Match special (TMS) producer Peter Baxter who joined in…
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Beat the Clock The ‘Beat the clock’ section of the show was a product of American television. Manager of the Palladium Jack Parnell saw it, liked the idea of audience participation that it involved, and clinched a deal to sandwich ‘Beat the clock’ between the show’s two commercial breaks. The concept was simple but very…
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Sunday Night at the London Palladium began at 8:00pm on September 23 1955 with Gracie Fields and Guy Mitchell sharing top billing. The TV audience was estimated at around 350,000 a figure that today would not excite producers of a small cable channel, but then ITV was just three years old and available only in…
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A Famous Theatre The London Palladium is one of the most well-known theatres in the world. It is situated in London’s West End, Argyll street, just off Oxford Circus. its proud columns pay tribute to the kings of comedy and entertainment who have worked this now famous grade two listed building which was first built…
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Richard Inverne visits Straford upon Avon, in search of some Comedy by Shakespeare. 1. Putting on Comedy by Shakespeare The FIRST way to enjoy a Shakespeare comedy… is the play has to be put on! What might seem obvious simply wasn’t the case on Tuesday 19 July when arriving in Stratford-upon-Avon for a handful of…
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