Category Archives: Comedy

Review – Screaming Blue Murder, Underground at the Derngate, Northampton, 10th April 2026

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Great to see another sold out house at this month’s Screaming Blue Murder in Northampton, another sign that our local comedy scene is in the rudest of health. Our host was, as usual, the effervescent Dan Evans, spinning his bon mots left right and centre as he got to know the people in the front rows, which included the staff from the Pytchley pub in West Haddon who were much better behaved than they were two years ago (!) and a never ending range of engineers – consultant, building, mechanical, sustainability… you name it, there was an engineer for it somewhere in the front rows.

Our opening act was Justin Panks, fifty years old (allegedly) but distinctly a lad at heart. Hailing from Norwich, although his accent suggested otherwise, he has a confident, assertive presence on stage. His routines included how different things are today in comparison with the 1980s – particularly for the fellas, the intricacies of managing step-kids, and the pros and cons of shaving one’s balls. Occasionally taking us where angels fear to tread, some of his material might have alienated certain sectors of the audience, but he certainly provided a lot of laughs, and that’s what it’s all about.

Next up was Louise Leigh, a lively lady packed with impish spirit, who regaled us with stories of how she’s coping with moving into middle age, if not disgracefully then at least creatively. She’s acquired the colourful hair, she’s in love with her campervan, she’s started going to festivals and she’s devoted to her dog. She also has a husband and teenage kids, so there’s a lot of life-juggling going on. It’s all recognisable and relatable material, delivered with expert timing and a winning way.

Our headliner, and the only act we’d seen before, was Jon Long, a very funny chap whose seemingly mild and gentle character belies a wicked grasp of devilish humour. His opening routine about attending church as a youngster has a brilliantly unexpected punchline and he has the audience in the palm of his hands from then on. He has great material about having a wife who’s much tougher than he is and intersperses his set with a few comic numbers on the guitar, that always pack a punch. A most unassuming comedy star, but a star nonetheless.

Will there be another sold out show at the next Screaming Blue Murder on 30th May? You should come along and find out!

Review – Comedy Crate at the Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton, 9th April 2026

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Comedy Crate at the BradlaughForgive me Father, for I have sinned. It is eleven months since we last attended a mixed bill night at the Charles Bradlaugh – where does the time go?! Fortunately, we chose a stonker of a good night to make our return – and we were joined by a packed house of happy return customers for a truly rip-roaring night of comedy.

Our host was Kelly Convey, whom we haven’t seen since the golden days of Covid, on one of those surprisingly successful Zoom gigs and in the garden of the Black Prince pub. She’s a warm, friendly and ebullient presence who instantly gets the crowd on her side – bless her for thinking that Northampton is classier than Chatham – with engaging stories about attending childbirths and how life has changed since she rapidly became a mother of three. She generated a positive and supportive vibe to the evening’s proceedings which really helped the show go with a bang!

First up, and someone we’ve seen many times before, was the irrepressible Jack Gleadow, an impish presence with a quirky voice and hilarious comedic creativity. For much of the act he responded to musical cues from easily recognised pop tunes; something we’ve seen him do before, but it’s always brilliant – I love how he uses Popcorn to accompany dating app usage, and his observations on how men and women respond differently to swiping are brilliantly revealing. Terrific at engaging with the crowd, he brought two chaps up from the audience, the willingly good sport Paul and the bemused Jamie, for a jolly bum-slapping routine – all I can say is, you had to be there. Wonderfully self-deprecating and quick thinking, he’s always a joy to watch.

Next came Darius Davies, whom we saw headlining a Screaming Blue Murder show a couple of years ago, but with a very different selection of material. Using his Iranian heritage as an appropriately timely introduction to his set, he took us through two cringingly and riotously funny stories. First, when he posed as a woman on a dating app to find out what it’s like for a woman to deal with the kind of comments men dish out; and then a delicious account of revenge served cold after Ryanair were unhelpful and expensive over charging him for a boarding card. Beautifully delivered, with a sting in its tail, he is a master of intelligent comedy presented with a serious message lurking just beneath the surface; and the audience loved him.

Comedy CrateOur headliner was, in many respects, the complete opposite, the totally wacky Spencer Jones, whose act is made up of short, seemingly unconnected vignettes, sometimes surreal, sometimes ecstatically funny, always totally ludicrous. There was clearly an element of work-in-progress with many of his ideas being tried out, but we were willing guinea pigs for his daftness. What separates Mr J from many other surreal or absurd performers, is that he makes it clear that he knows what he’s doing is absurd and recognises that we find it absurd too, but he’ll nevertheless continue doing it. Our favourite short sketch was the totally pointless but completely recognisable “man with three beers”; I also enjoyed his “may I taste your soup” routine, especially as I unfortunately made a bit of a song-and-dance over describing the ingredients in my vegetable soup to him. Not all of his ideas worked completely, but those which did, were hysterical.

The next Comedy Crate at the Bradlaugh night is May 14th – we can’t make it but hopefully you can. And it definitely won’t be another eleven months till we make a reappearance!

Review – Russell Hicks, This Time It’s Personal, Underground at the Royal and Derngate Theatre, Northampton, 21st February 2026

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Expect the unexpected when you see a Russell Hicks show and you won’t be disappointed. Many’s the time when we’ve seen him and any pre-prepared material goes right out of the window as he riffs off whatever the audience chuck at him – his ability to think on his feet is off the scale. Through his conversations with the crowd at yesterday’s show, we met the guy from Bugbrooke who gets fired loads of times, the accountant from Bedford who only likes the river there, the two couples sitting separately who’d seen Russell’s show in Luton where he was almost assaulted, the lady whose doorbell alarm on her phone wouldn’t stop, and the man who was only there for the accents.

Plenty of elements of his new show didn’t go entirely to plan last night in the Underground – thanks to David in the tech box – but that’s pure grist to his mill and creates even more hilarious chaos. All human life is here, as they say; and it’s comedy gold for Russell to mine whenever he wants.

This Time It’s Personal delves – as the title suggests – a little deeper into what makes Russell tick, how he got to where he is, how his somewhat unusual childhood upbringing motivated him to work in comedy and the lessons learned along the way. It could be rather serious material – but not the way Russell Hicks tells it! His main thread in the show is his part-disastrous, part-life changing experience of working as a comedian on a cruise ship. I think he’d be the first to admit that he’s not the most obvious choice of cruise comedian – and his account of dealing with the entertainment director, his rivalry with a magician too intelligent for his years and the audience (largely too old to notice) makes for a series of terrific anecdotes. Naturally, I’m not going to tell you how his experience resolved itself, you’ll have to see his show to find out!

Always a delight to see Mr H – his tour continues into June so don’t miss out on this opportunity to see a master at work!

Review – The Eternal Shame of Sue Perkins, Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 29th January 2026

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Which Sue Perkins are you here to see tonight? asks Ms P at the beginning of her new touring show – and it’s a fair question. We’ve all got our own ideas on who she is, whether it’s part of the Bake-Off team, or on Taskmaster, or presenter of Just a Minute. For me, none of those apply; my impressions of Sue Perkins are still anchored to the good old days of Light/Late Lunch, and I remain truly impressed with her conducting skills in Maestro. Of course, many of Sue’s broadcasting adventures are tied up with her partnership with Mel Giedroyc, and there are plenty of funny references to how many people can’t tell them apart.

However, The Eternal Shame of Sue Perkins is exclusively about Sue and her exploits. Specifically, those exploits that have caused her shame – not all of which are her fault. This isn’t a typical stand-up comedy show; it’s more of An Evening with Sue Perkins where she responds to a few well-planned questions from which she can bounce off into some entertaining anecdotes. But she asks the questions of herself; think Parkinson without Parkinson. It’s a very effective structure because she’s a terrific raconteur who seemingly has no fear about presenting herself in her truest light, warts and all.

Informally dressed – until the final moment – she strikes up an easy rapport with the audience, instantly adopting a let’s all be friends together vibe, which nevertheless doesn’t detract from her genuinely commanding presence on stage. It’s a strangely powerful mix of self-deprecation and vulnerability with a super-confident delivery. She’s one of those performers who like to keep moving on stage; not as freely maniacally as some, but purposefully choreographed – which she attributes to the fact that she has a benign brain tumour.

The tumour plays quite a big part in the show actually, as it’s the source of a number of those shame moments that are beyond her control, sending her down some mental alleyways that are truly ghastly, but which Ms P manages to twist into very funny stories. There are some instances of shame that are completely her fault, however; none more so than her account of an injured stray dog (Sue Perkins clearly loves dogs) that she met in Bolivia and whom she rescued from certain death (hurrah!) – but at what cost? She also tells us of three encounters with shamans (three? Surely one is enough!) with – shall we say – varying levels of success.

The perils of a brief visit to Cornwall, the effects of having your phone hacked, cloned number plates and the residual value of collectable Wedgwood items, it’s all here. Sue Perkins’ comedy speciality is to go in-depth in lengthy detail on a fewer number of subjects rather than touching lightly on several topics. The show positively drips with honesty, and you come away from it with a much stronger insight into the woman behind the name. It’s also – of course – very funny! Sue Perkins is touring her Eternal Shame around the country until April – just make sure you’re not expecting to see Mel.

Review – Screaming Blue Murder, Underground at the Derngate, Northampton, 24th January 2026

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Hurrah for the return of Screaming Blue Murder at the Royal and Derngate, and a swinging start to the year with a full house crowded into the Underground Studio. There was a considerable change to the line-up, but I reckon we got a much better threesome than had been advertised (don’t tell anyone I said that). We also welcomed the return of the ever-engaging, always delightful Dan Evans to host us through the melange, getting to know the types of people who risk all by sitting in the front two rows. That included Nathan from the National Grid, and the genuinely fascinating actor based in Hanoi who plays action heroes in video games. Who knew?

However, we must first address the elephant in the room. Or rather, about eight elephants, who were out on a belated Christmas celebration night, fully loaded with alcohol but having forgotten to eat. Teachers, apparently; p*ssed as ar*eholes, definitely. Thank heavens they never revealed the name of the school! They weren’t aggressive but they were disruptive and made it difficult for everyone – the acts and the rest of the audience – to tune into the evening. Fortunately, they made the wise decision to leave in the first interval and carry on drinking in the Mailcoach. Hey Hallelujah!

Sadly, it was up to our opening act, the always hilarious Meryl O’Rourke, to take one for the team and manage these problematic ladies. Wisely she decided not to do any challenging material and instead stuck to the tried and tested Menopausal Meryl stuff. She has some brilliant observations on surviving those testing years; it’s very skilful to make menopause humour equally funny to men as it is to women, and she’s great at it. She confessed that she didn’t really know how to handle those women – but clever wordplay and a roundabout approach resulted in her being able to call them out for what they were (and I won’t say the word here!) but it resonated with us all and she got a massive round of applause for saying it. I’m sure it was the prime reason most of them left to carry on drinking.

Next up, and with peace and stability in the room regained, we had the inimitable Dave Chawner, a regular comedy star at the Edinburgh Fringe, who often likes to come at his comedy from a mental health direction. He told us of his lovely partner Oonagh from Northern Ireland – and the best way to distinguish the two types of people who live there. As an alternative to comedians who talk about their kids, he talks about all the reasons why he doesn’t have kids, which makes a nice change. He’s effortlessly gifted in crafting lovely turns of phrase throughout his act, sets up a good rapport with the audience, and has some wonderfully creative insights into life. I particularly liked his immensely sound reasoning for why some people put up unwanted St George’s flags in inappropriate locations. Top stuff, and he definitely steered the show back into the positive zone!

Our headliner, and another change to the advertised programme, was the irrepressibly mischievous Dan Antopolski, unashamedly one of my favourite comedians. The thing with Mr A is that you can never tell in which direction he’s going to take you. Hitting the ground running with a brilliant – and so appropriate for that evening – opening line about bunches, no subject is out of bounds as he adopts his slightly surreal take on everything. Among his best bits were great reasoning for why you might put socks on before pants, the definition of “a character”, and what constitutes grounds for divorce. Clever and intelligent material, elegantly crafted and phrased, and delivered with wicked style and a knowing look.

Next Screaming Blue Murder night is on Valentine’s Day! If you’re free, why not come? Just don’t pre-load for hours first.

Review – Stephen K Amos, Now We’re Talking, Underground at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 10th January 2026

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One of our favourite funny men, Stephen K Amos is midway through his UK tour of his latest show Now We’re Talking, and it was a delight to see the Underground in Northampton sold out to greet him. Would he have a support act? He addressed the issue in his opening moments when he candidly confessed, he normally would but decided he couldn’t afford one this week. Consequently, we had a good two hours or more of undiluted Mr Amos, and I for one am not complaining.

His message in his latest show is that, in these awful days where everything seems to be going what my father used to call arse-uppards, we need to talk but moreover we really need to listen. It is still possible to “find the funny” in the most unusual or indeed impossible situations – and Mr A is a master of that art. Everyone says you can’t say anything nowadays, which anyone with an ounce of understanding realises is not true; you can, but you just have to be more skilled at it. As Mr A says, if you think and if you listen, you can say what you like; just don’t imitate your Nigerian doctor – as he gamely demonstrated.

Stephen K Amos has always incorporated his brilliant fluidity with accents and attitude in his act, to tremendous comic effect. He wastes no time getting to know the people in the front rows – beware if you sit close to the stage when he’s on, as you will get involved! We met Andrew and Jo from posh Market Harborough, baker Megan and Police officer Georgie; others who remained nameless included a relentless scoffer of Maltesers and someone who chucked him a caveat which Mr A rightly interpreted as a masked heckle, and as a result he regretted his words for the rest of the evening. For all that he’s a hilarious comic, Mr A can get quite ruthless with the audience, so you’d better have your wits about you if you engage unwisely!

At the end of the act, his astute mind and rigorous memory let loose a terrific final routine where he creates a story populated with all the characters in the audience with whom he’s spoken, imitating their manner using their words back at them. It’s incredibly clever and shows just what a smart cookie he is. Mr Amos’ comedy is always intelligent and thoughtful; his observations are well-reasoned and hit the nail on the head. And despite all the problems with the world, you come away from the show feeling uplifted; his is a very optimistic act, and we definitely need more of that!

Hilarious comic observations? For sure. Wordplay? You got it. Instant comic reactions to anything the audience throws at him? Absolutely! The Now We’re Talking tour continues throughout the UK until 7th February; he’s then touring in Australia from March to May with a couple of dates in New Zealand at the end.

Review of the Year 2025 – The Fifteenth Annual Chrisparkle Awards

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Greetings again, gentle reader, to the glamorous showbiz highlight of the year, the announcement of the annual Chrisparkle Awards for 2025. Slightly fewer shows seen this year – 230, twenty-four down on last year’s 254 productions; I hope that’s not a sign that I’m slowing down! Eligibility for the awards means a) they were performed in the UK and b) I have to have seen the shows and reviewed them in the period 5th January 2025 to 4th January 2026. Are you all sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin!

 

The first award is for Best Dance Production (Contemporary and Classical)

This includes dance seen at the Edinburgh Fringe, which is just as well, as I only saw two dance productions this year, and they are:

In 2nd place, Matthew Bourne’s charming but undemanding The Midnight Bell, at the Royal and Derngate Theatre, Northampton, in July.

In 1st place, Saeed Hani’s challenging and emotional Inlet, performed by Hani Dance at Dance Base, Edinburgh, in August.

 

Classical Music Concert of the Year.

Again we only saw two classical concerts this year, both by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal and Derngate in Northampton. The award for the best goes to their Valentine’s Day Gala in February.

 

Best Entertainment Show of the Year.

This means anything that doesn’t fall into any other categories – for example pantos, circuses, revues and anything else hard to classify. Here are the top three:

In 3rd place, our local pantomime, The All New Adventures of Peter Pan at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, in December.

In 2nd place, the spectacular extravaganza that is Sleeping Beauty at the London Palladium in December.

In 1st place, the home of great panto, Aladdin at the Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, in January 2026.

 

Best Star Standup of the Year.

Only four eligible shows this year, so here are the top three performances by Star Standups in 2025:

In 3rd place, Eshaan Akbar in his I Can’t Get No Satisfakshaan show at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton in February.

In 2nd place, Kae Kurd in his What’s O’Kurd show at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton in October.

In 1st place, Dara O’Briain in his Re: Creation show at the Corn Exchange, Bedford in April.

 

Best Comedy Crate/Screaming Blue Murder Standup of the Year

It just so happens that all the top five were from Comedy Crate shows!

In 5th place, Jordan Gray (at the Charles Bradlaugh in February)

In 4th place, Charlie Baker (Edinburgh Preview Weekender in July)

In 3rd place, Hal Cruttenden (at the Charles Bradlaugh in January and at the Edinburgh Preview Weekender in July)

In 2nd place, Mike Rice (at the Charles Bradlaugh in May)

In 1st place, Thor Stenhaug (Edinburgh Preview Weekender in July)

 

Best Musical

I only saw nine musicals this year, and here’s the top five:

In 5th place, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in May.

In 4th place, The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum, in April.

In 3rd place, the post-West End touring production of Dear Evan Hansen at Royal and Derngate Theatre, Northampton, in January.

In 2nd place, a curiosity-driven revisit to see Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, London, in February.

In 1st place, Evita, at the London Palladium, in July.

 

Best New Play

Just to clarify, this is my definition of a new play, which is something that’s new to me and to most of its audience – so it might have been around before but on its first UK tour, or a new adaptation of a work originally in another format. We saw seventeen new plays this year, and I awarded five stars to five of them; it therefore follows that they are the top five!

In 5th place, Mischief Theatre’s The Comedy About Spies, at the Noel Coward Theatre, London, in May.

In 4th place, Tom Wells’ adaptation for the RSC of Roald Dahl’s The BFG, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in December.

In 3rd place, Karim Khan’s inventive and insightful Before the Millennium, at the Old Fire Station, Oxford, in December.

In 2nd place, James Ijames’ delightful reworking of Hamlet, Fat Ham for the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in August.

In 1st place, James Graham’s outstanding Punch at the Young Vic, London, in April.

 

Best Revival of a Play

I saw twenty-four revivals, with six receiving five stars from me; here are the top five:

In 5th place, the RSC’s two-part production of Galsworthy’s Forsyte Saga, adapted by Shaun McKenna and Lin Coghlan at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in December.

In 4th place, the RSC’s brave and thrilling production of Marlowe’s Edward II, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in March.

In 3rd place, Ivo van Hove’s riveting production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, at Wyndham’s Theatre, London, in December.

In 2nd place, the RSC’s superbly imaginative production of Hamlet, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in February.

In 1st place, James Graham’s extraordinary exploration of England – both the team and the country – in Dear England, for the National Theatre at the Olivier Theatre, London, in April.

 

As always, in the post-Christmas season, it’s time to consider the turkey of the year – and it’s a toss-up between the six productions to whom I only gave two stars; but the one I feel failed to deliver when it had the most potential to succeed was Unicorn at the Garrick Theatre, London, in March.

Now we come on to our four categories specifically for the Edinburgh Fringe. The first is:

 

Best play or musical – Edinburgh

We saw 106 productions of plays and musicals in Edinburgh this year, 18 of them got 5* from me, and here are the top 5:

In 5th place, Louisa Marshall’s savage and innovative exploration of weaponised incompetence, Clean Slate (Summerhall)

In 4th place, Dylan Kaueper and Will Grice’s wickedly inventive examination of childhood friendship, Cody and Beau (The Space on the Mile)

In 3rd place, Tony Norman’s beautiful musical about the Van Gogh brothers, Vagabond Skies (Gilded Balloon at the Museum)

In 2nd place, Priyanka Shetty’s shattering reconstruction of the rise of the Alt Right, #CHARLOTTESVILLE (Pleasance Courtyard)

In 1st place, creating satire where you might think it’s beyond satire, Miss Brexit (Underbelly Bristo Square)

 

Best Individual Performance in a Play or Musical – Edinburgh

As always, an impossible choice, and it’s as close as close can be. Nevertheless, here are the top five (and yes I am cheating for 5th place):

In 5th place, Dylan Kaueper and Will Grice for Cody and Beau (The Space on the Mile)

In 4th place, Priyanka Shetty for #CHARLOTTESVILLE (Pleasance Courtyard)

In 3rd place, Louisa Marshall for Clean Slate (Summerhall)

In 2nd place, Quaz Degraft for In The Black (The Space at Surgeons’ Hall)

In 1st place, Christoffer Hvidberg Ronje for The Insider (Pleasance Dome)

 

Best Comedy Performance – Edinburgh

We saw forty-one comedy shows this year, of which eight received 5* from me, and here are my top five:

In 5th place, Matt Forde: Defying Calamity (Pleasance Courtyard)

In 4th place, Sam Lake: You’re Joking, Not Another One! (Monkey Barrel at the Tron)

In 3rd place, Robin Grainger: People Pleaser (The Stand Comedy Club 4)

In 2nd place, Tom Stade: Naughty by Nature (The Stand Comedy Club 1)

In 1st place, Casey Filips as the impossible Tobias Finlay-Fraser in Virtuoso (Assembly George Square)

 

Best of the rest – Edinburgh

From a shortlist of seven, here are my top five:

In 5th place, mixing a real live date with comedy improvisation, Looking for Laughs (Gilded Balloon Patter House)

In 4th place, the irrepressible Accordion Ryan with his Pop Bangers (Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower)

In 3rd place, Broadway’s Laura Benanti in Nobody Cares (Underbelly Bristo Square)

In 2nd place, Chase Brantley’s truly hilarious Don Toberman: Ping Pong Champ (Pleasance Courtyard)

In 1st place, a star is born: Arthur Hull’s FLOP: The Best Songs from the Worst Musicals Ever Written (Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower)

Three shows received a dreaded One Star review from me: and for me the Edinburgh turkey of the year was The Fiascoholics’ 4’s a Crowd, which contained just too much of everything it didn’t need.

 

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Musical

Time to get personal. Here’s the top five:

In 5th place, Alice Fearn as Heidi in Dear Evan Hansen at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton in January.

In 4th place, Lucie Jones as Fantine in Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, London, in February.

In 3rd place, Sharon Rose as Garage Girl and Kate in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in May.

In 2nd place, Frances Mayli McCann as Daisy in The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum, in April.

In 1st place, Rachel Zegler as Evita in Evita at the London Palladium in July.

 

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Musical

Here’s the top five:

In 5th place, Corbin Bleu as Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum, in April.

In 4th place, Luke Kempner as Thenardier in Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, London, in February.

In 3rd place, Ian McIntosh as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre, London, in February.

In 2nd place, Diego Andres Rodriguez as Che in Evita at the London Palladium, in July.

In 1st place, Jamie Muscato as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum, in April.

 

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Play

Nineteen in the longlist, and ten in the shortlist, and here’s the top five:

In 5th place, Freema Ageyman as Beatrice in the RSC’s Much Ado About Nothing, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in April.

In 4th place, Gina McKee as Annie in The Years, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London, in April.

In 3rd place, Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Kate in All My Sons, at Wyndham’s Theatre, London, in December.

In 2nd place, Beverley Knight as Rosetta in Marie and Rosetta, at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in July.

In 1st place, Tuppence Middleton as Annie in The Years, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London, in April.

 

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Play

Twenty-three in the longlist and nine in the shortlist, each of whom could easily deserve the award, However, here is the top five:

In 5th place, Daniel Evans as Edward II in the RSC’s Edward II, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon in March.

In 4th place, Jonathan Bailey as Richard II in Richard II, at the Bridge Theatre, London, in February.

In 3rd place, Olise Odele as Juicy in the RSC’s Fat Ham, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in August.

In 2nd place, Joseph Millson as Soames in the RSC’s Forsyte Saga, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in December.

In 1st place, David Shields as Jacob in Punch, at the Young Vic, London, in April.

 

Congratulations to the winners – special mention this year for James Graham whose Punch and Dear England feature so highly – commiserations to the losers and thanks for your company again throughout the year, gentle reader. Here’s to another year full of artistic excellence!

Review – Screaming Blue Murder, Underground at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 25th October 2025

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It’s so great to see Screaming Blue Murder back in rude health in the Underground where it belongs. Sold out too – always rewarding when the start is slightly delayed by staff having to bring in extra chairs. Our genial host Dan Evans was on tippety-top form as he negotiated the slings and arrows of twins Laura and Henry’s joint 40th birthday party outing, with a considerable number of the audience vocally in support of the uninhibited pair. If that wasn’t enough, another lady on the front row said she had a dream about Dan the night before and – let’s just say – he had proved himself to be all man. Well. If that isn’t sexual harassment in the workplace, I don’t know what is. Dan spent most of the show avoiding her gaze or quietly smug about his sexual expertise.

Our first act, new to Northampton but not to us, was Abigoliah Schamaun, someone we’ve seen many times at the Edinburgh Fringe and who always brings a gutsy kick up any proceedings. Ohio’s loss is London’s gain, as Abigoliah gave us her impressions on how an American survives in the UK, including our (apparent) obsession with butter in a sandwich – I mean, it’s what butter was made for, honestly – how sexy an English accent is, and how to deal with fellow Americans on a long train journey. Her comedy is intelligent, relatable, and delightfully teasing. A fantastic start to the evening.

Next up was Toussaint Douglass, who had a great Edinburgh Fringe this year with his Accessible Pigeon Material; successful no doubt because he tried it out at Northampton’s Comedy Crate earlier this summer. No pigeon on Saturday night, just his incredibly funny and recognisable content about being in a relationship for eight years, having an 87-year-old flatmate (his Grandma) and the reasons for his personal ambition to die alone. He has a marvellously disarming style; very engaging and confiding, almost physically cosying up to the audience to get across his comic gems. His beautifully delivered final jokes, about how his bedroom activity can be likened to a football manager, provided the best laughs of the night.

Our headliner was Tony Law, someone who you either “get” or you don’t, and in the past I’ve found that I usually don’t get his surreal and otherworldly humour. But on this occasion, he knocked it out of the park. Brilliant use of props for completely throwaway purposes, and a hilarious use of accents, including a damn fine stab at the bizarre Northampton accent which is like a cross between Cockney and Brummie. His rapport with the audience was exceptional, and we were laughing about his act all the way home.

That was the last Screaming Blue for 2025 but there are already four gigs in 2026 on sale. Can’t wait!

Review/Preview – Christian Dart: Gumshoe! Soho Theatre Dean Street London, 7 – 8 November 2025

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GumshoeChristian Dart brings his smash hit Edinburgh show Gumshoe to the Soho Theatre in Dean Street London for two nights in November. It’s a clever mash-up of a Philip Marlowe/Raymond Chandler 1940s New York private detective hero (for want of a better word) with contemporary improv, as a member of the audience provides Christian with the bare facts of what will be his final case to solve. As a result, no two shows are ever the same, which means you never have to confine yourself to just one performance.

Christian DartHis improv skills are second-to-none – he is a member of the comedy group The Bad Clowns – and he manages to create a proper story that genuinely holds water from just fragments of ideas. No spoilers, but expect a lot of gun shooting and twirling, sassy dames, dead colleagues, a real live jewel theft, and even a bit of song and dance. I can only assume Mr Dart has a very high dry-cleaning bill.

C DartThe show makes excellent use of a complex and technically demanding sequence of sound cues which constantly keep the audience (as well as Christian) on their toes. It’s very high on energy, and if you sit in the front row you may well get involved in some of the plot – but it’s always funny and never humiliating or stressful!

The name's GumshoeUnpredictable, frenetic (but in a good way) and exhilarating, this is the kind of show you have to throw yourself wholeheartedly into – the more you put in, the more you get out. You’ll even find out whodunit in the end – although this is definitely a case of the journey being more important than the conclusion! Madcap, racy and pacy, and incredibly good-humoured, this is an hour of enormous fun and impressive imagination. Highly recommended!

Production photos by Johanna Dart Design & Photography

4-starsFour He’s a Jolly Good Fellow!

You can get tickets to see the show at the Soho Theatre here.

Review – Kae Kurd, What’s O’Kurd, Underground at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, 17th October 2025

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It’s always exciting to go to a comedy gig and not have a clue about the comedians you’re going to see. Kae Kurd is a new name to me, so I thought I would give him a try and it turns out a large number of the comedy goers of Northampton felt the same! It was great to be part of a truly diverse audience too; all ages, all ethnicities coming together for an evening of fun. More of this please.

But first – Kae Kurd’s support act, the friendly face of Muhsin Yesilada, again new to me, but a perfect choice to start the evening with a swing. Engaging, building a confident rapport with the crowd, he delivered his material in a relaxed and surefooted style, giving every comic observation the time and space it needed to land. He has some excellent sequences concerning dealing with his horrible nephew, and that delicious pleasure you can take when an irritating child doesn’t get everything their own way. When he gently teased some latecomers, who protested their lateness because outside they’d just met Kae Kurd, his instant response was “Me too!” A very enjoyable opening act.

After the interval we welcomed Kae Kurd, another engaging stage presence with a very effective delivery style. He presents his act in quite a static way and comes across as perhaps surprisingly low energy; but his tone is unpredictable, and his material is precise, hard-hitting and frequently goes where angels fear to tread. In a deft way of getting to know the audience – and us getting to know each other – he asks for a cheer if you’re in your 20s, then your 30s, your 40s and 50s. This allows him to chat to random people in those age brackets, voicing his opinions and observations about what people are like as they get older. I had to stay silent, as I presume he has no idea there were 60+ year olds there!

He unashamedly hates (strong word, but bear with me) people in their 20s, for all their modern hang-ups and idiosyncrasies. Being somewhere in his 30s himself, that makes him fit nicely into a niche comedic role of grumpy young man. His observations are telling and funny and remarkably true. Other comedy gems of the night included an account of his time in Zambia avoiding crocodiles and hippos, an exploration of whether Donald Trump would get on with choices of pronouns and how it’s easier to be right wing than left wing. I also loved his imagining how he’d get on talking about mental health issues to his father who fought against Saddam Hussein.

He is very quick witted on stage, with a great ability to remember facts about the audience members which he uses to excellent callback effect. It’s intelligent, thought-provoking comedy that’s always relatable, and I’ll definitely follow his career with interest!