A mixed bill of standups, presented by the Nanette star and due to be recorded for the streamer, is a valuable response to its Dave Chappelle controversyWhen Dave Chappelle released his Netflix special The Closer, widely condemned for its transphobia, …
Continue ReadingComing-out tales, ventriloquism, a musical set in a public loo and glamorous late-night cabaret are among the festival’s uplifting LGBTQ+ showsNo one ever pays attention when you’re handed a flyer at the fringe. It’s only when I take a proper look that…
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonThis intergalactic show about sexuality and religious homophobia boasts a charismatic star in Willy Hudson but tips into chaosWilly Hudson’s “queer sci-fi epic” has an interstellar theme and rocket-fuelled energy, even if it ultimat…
Continue ReadingMonkey Barrel, EdinburghSince her last show, about weightlifting, the 39-year-old has split from her son’s father and moved in with a woman. Which adds up to hilarity for the audience if not the comicFor all the challenges that must come with redefinin…
Continue ReadingMonkey Barrel, EdinburghSince her last show, about weightlifting, the 39-year-old has split from her son’s father and moved in with a woman. Which adds up to hilarity for the audience if not the comicFor all the challenges that must come with redefinin…
Continue ReadingShe sings naked, had an epiphany chopping wood in Sweden, came out dressed as a cat, is making a sitcom with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and is helping Matt Lucas to be funny. Meet comedy powerhouse Jordan Gray‘I decided that I wanted to be a comedian o…
Continue ReadingAs he publishes a moving memoir, the comedian and Bake Off contestant tormentor talks about homophobic heckles, still living with his parents – and why he’s never been in loveIn a deserted office overlooking the Thames, Tom Allen is admiring the view. …
Continue ReadingAvailable online With weariness and seething frustration, the comedian sounds off in style about gender inequality and sexismThe starting point of Jen Brister’s 2018 show Meaningless, now available online from Soho theatre, is that the Bright…
Continue ReadingHannah Gadsby made butchness cool again. Now a crop of queer comics are channelling their inner bloke – and getting back to boots, quiffs and tachesSarah Keyworth has, she says, a “weird kind of relationship with masculinity”. She appears confident in …
Continue ReadingSoho theatre, LondonEll Potter and Mary Higgins radically push on from previous show Hotter, in this fantastic, sexy, athletic examination of male identity Hilarious, sincere, sexy and brutal, Fitter is a deep-throated examination into modern masculini…
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