Neither a Christmas cracker nor the last turkey in the shop There’s potential here for an absolute hoot, particularly the late-night versions of this show (I saw it in the afternoon), but the version I saw – admittedly the first show of the run – needed some refining. It’s essentially a Christmas pub quiz hosted(…)

A quality and heartfelt piece of storytelling from Day Only five people in the audience for this today, which is a shame as it’s a really enjoyable show. It’s a heartwarming story of how the exercise-shy Steve Day hauled himself through the London marathon in response to finding that, on hitting his mid-40s, his health(…)

Nice idea but over-ambitious If the Great Big Sketch-Off demonstrated anything, it was that sketch comedy is bloody difficult. The four sketch groups – a mix and match of real-life ones such as Lady Garden, the Beta Males and the Three Englismen – are performing newly written skits to compete for a place in the(…)

Master of the one-liner steps into new territory with a chat show … Not so much a comedy show as a thinly veiled pitch for a TV show – and why not: Tim Vine has proved himself time and again on the stage and has a warmth that could be given to the chat show(…)

Our premier satirist and Bugler has reached new heights Not many comics have a gag about Dolly Parton’s tits during a routine about the Arab Spring. Andy Zaltzman does, but then Zaltzman’s on fire at the moment, he can pretty much do what he likes. One half of political satire The Bugle, I reckon the(…)

Not often you hear a comic expressing genuine respect and admiration for Tony Blair A lot of cocky young comics may consider themselves ballsy, but how many of them would have the guts t go onstage night after night and defend someone you knew most people in your audience hated? That’s exactly what Matt Forde(…)