Review: Lou Sanders @ Warwick Arts Centre, 13th December 2019

Lou Sanders: Confessional comedy and chocolate milkshakes

Lou Sanders’ latest show, Say Hello to Your New Step-Mummy, examined a similar area to her 2018 outing, Shame Pig. After being the subject of online vitriol following her appearance on Taskmaster, Sanders has turned this into what is at times an insightful and empowering hour of comedy.

Tackling themes such as feminism, the female body and relationships, Sanders opened the show by admitting that we’d be hearing material which wouldn’t necessarily reflect on herself in a very flattering way. In a sense, that proved correct – much of this show centred on Sanders’ confessional instincts, not least in detailing her relationship history, but it was delivered with such charming, disarming honesty that made her excellent company and kept the audience on her side.

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Preview: Josie Long @ Warwick Arts Centre, 23rd January 2020

Josie Long: Try a little tenderness

Who’s Laughing Now? favourite Josie Long brings her latest show, Tender, to Warwick Arts Centre in the new year.

The award-winning stand-up debuted the show at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, and will be taking it out on tour through the first part of 2020. A show for our times, it not only sees Long talking about becoming a mother but also about finding optimism and kindness in a world which often feels increasingly bleak.

Part unbridled joy, part call to action, Tender is at Warwick Arts Centre on Thursday 23rd January 2020. Tickets are available from the venue website and box office. A Birmingham date is at the Old Rep on Tuesday 25th February.

Review: Ed Gamble @ Warwick Arts Centre, 4th November 2016

Ed Gamble: Stand-up which is really paying off

Ed Gamble was for a long time best known as half of a duo with fellow stand-up Ray Peacock, but his latest solo show, Stampede, saw him delving into personal topics in this sometimes mechanical outing.

Gamble is considered among the very best comperes around, and this was evident in his handling of audience interaction and some interruptions. A highly engaging performer, his assured nature meant that material about his own weight loss, and the tyranny of the food and beauty industries, was easier to relate to. These subjects brought plenty of good moments too, with some imaginative observations which served as the springboard for extended routines and flights of fancy that delivered more often than not.

Review: Adam Hess & Rhys James @ Warwick Arts Centre, 6th October 2016

Rhys James: Measured comedy from a Fringe favourite

Gifted comics Adam Hess and Rhys James are currently on tour together, and even share a home, but they don’t have all that much in common when they’re in full flow on stage, besides being hotly-tipped young gag writers.

Over the course of a couple of hours at Warwick Arts Centre, the pair – performing the shows they took to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe – showed just why they’re held in such high regard, their incredibly different styles and approaches to comedy making for an entertainingly varied evening.