Museum of Comedy Archives - North West End UK

10Aug

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Can You See Me? – Museum of Comedy

I got a U (ungraded) for ‘O’ Level Physics and failed my Maths four times. My attempts to defeat these numerical frailties via exams, evening classes and persistent application continued into my early twenties. For decades, I believed that STEM subjects were my Achilles heel and leaned into the Humanities with avant garde enthusiasm. In retrospect, this mix of avoidance and failure was fuelled by uninspiring teachers and shame-based anxiety. My life could have taken a different turn entirely if my early education had been blessed with a teacher like Vivien Puppa Kocsis. Can You See Me? is a pop-science seminar which serves as a cool mix of entertainment and education. Is it a stretch to define such an event as ‘theatre’? Probably. However, this show was staged as part of the Camden ...

The Silliad: Improvised Myths and Legends – Museum of Comedy

10Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

The Silliad: Improvised Myths and Legends – Museum of Comedy

Ancient Greek myths, what can be more tempting to improvise, and with the name of the improv troupe adding some silly into Homer’s Iliad, we have a huge hint as to what is coming. As we are seated, we are asked to complete a card with an idea, and then they select a card out of pandora’s box. The question that they must answer is – Why do humans have hair? And it will take place in a basement. The audience is also asked to vote on what type of myth they would like, Greek, Norse, or Egyptian. It was a close-run thing between Greek and Egyptian, but Greek was slightly ahead in the vote. The players today are Zack, Ollie and Jane, and we begin by King Minos of Crete announcing that he has opened his basement up to the public, so Athena and Alan decide to g...

12Jul

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Princess Sparkles – Museum of Comedy

If Disney ever collided with a psychological breakdown, the result might look something like ‘Princess Sparkles’. Lily Maryon's debut solo show is gloriously unhinged, unapologetically absurd, and one of the most confidently bonkers princess character comedies I've seen in quite some time. The premise is deceptively simple, Princess Sparkles is a princess-for-hire expecting a room full of excited five-year-olds. Instead, the audience becomes those children, willingly swept into an increasingly chaotic birthday party as reality slowly unravels beneath the glitter. Her repeated insistence that she is "definitely not a Disney princess", something that is totally believable, only makes the comparison even funnier. Maryon demonstrates remarkable command of the room throughout the hour...

Chronically Hilarious – Museum of Comedy

15Aug

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Chronically Hilarious – Museum of Comedy

Chronically Hilarious platforms disabled Comedians who pack a punch. It is often declared that any comedian worth their salt must be in Edinburgh, but no one ever talks about how inaccessible the city and the festival's structure are. So, buckle your seat belts for Six unsalty comedy comedians making a delightful evening about bits about being disabled with other disabled folks on stage and in the audience. Special mention for the BSL interpretation by Peter Abraham with the expert signing. 1 in 5 of the UK population is disabled, and 80% of these people have a hidden disability. That's over 10 million UK people with an invisible disability. Historically conversations are riddled with shame, disbelief and unasked advice. The collection of comedians who are so funny and also have auti...

Descendants: Ghost Written – Museum of Comedy

27Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Descendants: Ghost Written – Museum of Comedy

As a fan of improvised comedy, I was keen to go along to see The Descendants, who are a part of Hoopla Impro’s house team, who on this occasion are offering a long form improvised show, with suggestions being taken at the beginning only. This style of improvisation allows the performers to make the decisions as to the direction the story will take, but they use the initial suggestions given by the audience. Tonight, the team asked for a place that the play should be, the weather, and a name of a character. The audience suggestions were a maternity ward, snow and Gill Jacobi, let’s see what The Descendants can make of that little lot! Tina and Colin are having a baby, and Tina is already in labour in the maternity hospital being supported by Donovan, a work colleague who i...

Goodbye The (After) Life of Cook and Moore – Museum of Comedy, London

20Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Goodbye The (After) Life of Cook and Moore – Museum of Comedy, London

This reviewer will start this review by admitting that she is old enough to remember Pete and Dud in later episodes of Not Only But Also so it was with both trepidation and anticipation that this production was watched. Produced at London's Museum of Comedy in February 2015 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Peter Cook's death, the play takes an irreverent and rather surreal look at what might have happened to Pete and Dud in the afterlife. Peter Cook died aged 57, on the 9th January 1995 from a gastrointestinal haemorrhage, most likely due to his years of excessive drinking. Some seven years later on the 27th March 2002, Dudley Moore followed his one time comedy partner to the afterlife after spending fourteen years battling the effects of progressive supranuclear palsy. He was 6...