BCG Daily Sunday 19th July 2015
News
Features
Press clippings
Stephen Merchant: don't expect my Macbeth anytime soon
"Two years ago I wouldn't have imagined doing this," says Stephen Merchant after making his stage acting debut this week in The Mentalists in London's West End.
Tim Masters, BBC News, 19th July 2015Fundraising show celebrates the gift of free speech
Index on Censorship will attempt to turn the spotlight on satire this month by hosting its first dedicated comedy fundraiser.
Nick Clark, The Independent, 19th July 2015Profile on Latitude Festival
The 10-year-old Latitude has become a crucial date in the calendar for comics.
Harriet Gibsone, The Guardian, 19th July 2015Javone Prince talks about his new BBC2 comedy
The thirtysomething Londoner Javone Prince talks about why he doesn't see himself as a "black" comedian.
Ben Dowell, Radio Times, 19th July 2015Revealed: What 'The Last Leg' could have been called
Some of the working titles for the show included Blind Men Can Jump and Dwarves Aren't Magic.
Chortle, 19th July 2015TV preview: The Javone Prince Show
The entertainment is slick, the tone enjoyable, yet behind the superficial confidence it feels like a show yet to really find its mojo.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 19th July 2015Latitude Festival comedy review: Tim Key
Tim Key is back peddling his shambolic recitals in Latitude's Poetry tent, ruing the organisers who 'don't know where to put him' and solemnly vowing in passing to make it to the comedy arena at some point.
Molly Stewart, Giggle Beats, 19th July 2015Latitude Festival comedy review: Lazy Susan, Double Act
Sketch comedy duo Lazy Susan's act is more in the vein of a disjointed narrative play than a straightforward set of sketches.
Molly Stewart, Giggle Beats, 19th July 2015Latitude Festival comedy review: Liam Williams
The Guardian's favourite guy - or rather, as he keen to point out, a Guardian comedy reviewer's favourite guy - Liam Williams set out an hour of pessimism and alternately self-hating and society-hating tirades in the Cabaret tent.
Molly Stewart, Giggle Beats, 19th July 2015Latitude Festival comedy review: Gein's Family Giftshop
A smallish, hot and spaced-out (literally) audience at Latitude may not have been what it deserved, but Volume II is a worthy follow up.
Molly Stewart, Giggle Beats, 19th July 2015Latitude comedy review: Sexy American Girl Cousins
On stage there is something so huge, so space-filling (in this case, not actually that difficult): the uncomfortable feeling of the two on stage that builds between bursts of Miley Cyrus and Demetriou's jittery hip-grinding and genital-framing.
Molly Stewart, Giggle Beats, 19th July 2015Latitude review: David O'Doherty
The decision to have David O'Doherty close the comedy tent on Saturday night was an interesting one.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 19th July 2015Latitude review: Marcus Brigstocke
Marcus Brigstocke is probably the perfect Latitude comedian, completely in tune with the middle class audience's dreams, aspirations and frustrations.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 19th July 2015Latitude review: Sara Pascoe
She might have been on in the middle of the afternoon rather than headlining, but a roar went up when Sara Pascoe was introduced.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 19th July 2015Edinburgh preview: Mike Wozniak
In my head Mike Wozniak has a little place in Edinburgh Fringe history. Long before free shows were sweeping the awards board his gratis gig in the basement of a restaurant near the Pleasance was the first free show that the Edinburgh Comedy Award panel advised me to check out back in 2008.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 19th July 2015Javone Prince: 'It's lovely to make people belly laugh'
The PhoneShop star Javone Prince hopes to shake up primetime with a new BBC Two sketch show about young black Britain.
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 19th July 2015The Javone Prince Show, TV review
A racially astute comedy show from a young talent who deserves to be a star.
Ellen E Jones, The Independent, 19th July 2015PhoneShop could still return: "Never say never"
If you were a fan of E4's PhoneShop, the good news is that the show might not be done quite yet. Series creator Phil Bowker described the experience of working on PhoneShop as "fantastic" and refused to rule out a possible return.
Morgan Jeffery, Digital Spy, 19th July 2015Latitude festival comedy review: Stuart Bowden
Stuart Bowden's Before Us in the Cabaret tent was an immensely buoying, interactive story-telling mini-adventure of an angsty, lonely, last-of-his-species creature (clad in a ruched sleeping bag frock and - apparently - not much else).
Molly Stewart, Giggle Beats, 19th July 2015Latitude festival comedy review: Jason Byrne
So, it's true that Jason Byrne is a live comedian - and we should all keep supporting live comedy, famously. More so, his bounding on-stage persona would perhaps fit better even in a smaller tent than in the Comedy Arena: Byrne more than commands the space, but if seeing his live is so much better, seeing him perform to a tightly packed intimate audience might be the ultimate win.
Molly Stewart, Giggle Beats, 19th July 2015Latitude festival comedy review: The Bird
It's beautifully shot and produced. The film is dark, and sad in parts - in particular a shot of Julia Davis whistling flickeringly for the bird her desperate, deprived son has stamped out, teary mascara running down her face - but the sturdy roster of comedy talent behind the film ensure there are enough bleak laughs and grim smiles raised.
Molly Stewart, Giggle Beats, 19th July 2015Latitude festival comedy review: Pierre Novellie
Somewhere recently I read Pierre Novellie described as 'a great big bear of a comedian', which... is probably fairly accurate.
Molly Stewart, Giggle Beats, 19th July 2015James Cary's Top 10 Sitcoms, #7: Mr Don & Mr George
Mr Don and Mr George is a sitcom spun off from the sketch show, Absolutely. It was completely devoid of bad language and innuendo, and played at 10.30ish on Channel 4 on a Friday night. The show was not a huge success, as you might imagine. It was hardly 'edgy'. It only ran for one series. But I utterly loved it. And still do.
James Cary, Sitcom Geek, 19th July 2015Latitude 2015: The Last Leg live
Often live versions of a TV show hits miss the mark. Trying to recreate a much-loved format in front of a live audience is a challenge. When that live audience is a festival audience the challenge is even greater. The Last Leg, though, is a perfect fit for festival fare, its improvised style and audience interaction a winning formula.
Glen Pearce, The Public Reviews, 19th July 2015Test your theatre knowledge: comedians on stage
With several top comedians currently treading the boards, see what you know about comics on stage.
Ben Hewis, What's On Stage, 19th July 2015Edinburgh festival Fringe 2015 - The Big C
This week, The Big C announced a host of top flight acts appearing at the Big Comedy Gala in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and decided to offer a complete unknown a chance to steal the show in front of an audience of 2000 comedy fans.
The Edinburgh Reporter, 19th July 2015Edinburgh festival Fringe 2015 - Downtown Abi
It's a show all about being a "downtown" girl, singing rock and roll and kicking the Lady Dowager and her ilk where it hurts; a show about using your skills to deal with uppity people on the Tube and a show about Welsh debauchery, the perils of singing karaoke in Moscow and an unfortunate incident with Jeremy Clarkson in Harrods.
The Edinburgh Reporter, 19th July 2015Fringe 2015 - Lucy Frederick 'In the Wild'
The comedian takes you on a trek around the world of pets and creatures.
The Edinburgh Reporter, 19th July 2015Stewart Lee: Save the BBC
The government's witch-hunters are ready to reform the BBC to death.
Stewart Lee, The Guardian, 19th July 2015Five fast Fringe questions with... Jo-Jo Bellini
A quick interview with Jo-Jo Bellini[/i].
The Public Reviews, 19th July 2015Five fast Fringe questions with... James Hamilton
A quick interview with James Hamilton.
The Public Reviews, 19th July 2015Five fast Fringe questions with... In Cahoots
A quick interview with In Cahoots.
The Public Reviews, 19th July 2015Five fast Fringe questions with... Garret Millerick
A quick interview with Garret Millerick.
The Public Reviews, 19th July 2015TV & radio
The Javone Prince Show
Episode 1In the first of the series, Javone gives his take on modern life in multicultural Britain, welcomes the incredible Mica Paris to the show, and wonders what he has done to annoy musical director Omar.