19+ hour, 59+ min ago  (753+ words) New Statesman Let's begin with a personal, hitherto unpublished and possibly contentious theory. There is a strong, if coincidental, kinship between English humour and American Jewish humour. Both have the same details and vectors: irony, cringe, self-consciousness, romantic mishap, dissection…...

2+ week, 18+ hour ago  (127+ words) This TV series has no right to call itself a comedy Such disordered and disconcerted thoughts were my main response to Disney's Alice and Steve, a strange new TV series which calls itself a comedy, and which plays a very…...

3+ mon, 2+ week ago  (1146+ words) If it were ours, we'd defend it like vaudeville and variety. England is the home of the music hall and, to look at " I mean this in the most distant possible sense; I've obviously never watched it " t If it…...

4+ mon, 3+ week ago  (347+ words) Tom Stoppard's Arcadia is a famously difficult play. A programme for Carrie Cracknell's revival contains a glossary to help the audience follow along. Luckily, beyond that, the director refuses to dum Tom Stoppard's Arcadia is a famously difficult play. A…...

4+ mon, 3+ week ago  (640+ words) The Great Clown, who has died, taught us to accept shame "Every day in clowning is a fresh nightmare," Godden tells me. "But every day is also a chance to strike gold. It is an extreme sport. It is addictive....

11+ mon, 1+ week ago  (113+ words) It's common complaint these days that you just can't make the jokes you used to onscreen. Cancel culture and political correctness have killed the comedy. Not only do audiences not want to watch funny movies any more; writers, directors and…...