Ben Lawrence
- Stand-up comedian
Press clippings Page 2
Can French & Saunders cut it in the social media age?
On Christmas Day, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders will appear in their first new TV show for a decade; a reunion almost guaranteed to cause a mixture of delight and apprehension among their fans.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 24th December 2017How a market trader helped to make Eric & Ernie
A profile of Eddie Braben.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 17th December 2017The best comedy is written in turbulent times
If, in 2017, you needed respite from our dire economic prospects, the whims of Donald Trump or the Damoclean sword of North Korea, you could find it on British television. Three of the year's best new shows - Pls Like, This Country and Back - were welcome proof that reports of the death of the sitcom have been greatly exaggerated.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 10th December 2017Nicholas Parsons on half a century of Just a Minute
Nicholas Parsons has left his walking stick at the dry cleaner's: a rare senior moment from someone who is a one-man campaign against ageism.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 5th December 2017Simon Amstell interview
"I am more interested in finding peace than upsetting anyone," Simon Amstell tells me this as he prepares for a warm-up gig at a comedy club in north London.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 8th November 2017Porridge reboot shows that past is best left alone
Watching the new Porridge is like visiting a favourite old café only to find that its best bits have been jettisoned: the tomato-shaped ketchup bottles have been replaced by sachets, the Formica tables by stripped pine. Sometimes the past is best left alone.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 6th October 2017Quacks: in need of serious surgery - review
I'm not quite sure what's gone wrong with Quacks, but it's in need of some serious surgery.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 16th August 2017The Windsors, series 2 episode 3 review
A breezy cross between a revenge tragedy, a Carry On film and an episode of Dynasty.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 19th July 2017Beryl Vertue: People don't give British comedy a chance
She represented Spike Milligan, Tony Hancock and Frankie Howerd. But Beryl Vertue refuses to believe that comedy's best days are behind us.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 16th March 2017Inside No 9: Empty Orchestra review
Anyone who has taken part in a works' karaoke outing knows that it's an arena for bad singing, annoyingly good singing and professional tensions to surface unprofessionally. The latest episode of Inside No 9, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's terrifically clever portmanteau series, exploited this to full effect to provide another 30-minute oddity that was bursting with ideas and left you with a feeling of deep unsettlement, like reading an MR James story and then remembering the denouement in your dreams and waking up in a cold sweat.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 7th March 2017