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Patient 1 by Charlotte Raven review
If you can remember the 90s, you weren’t really there,” writes Charlotte Raven in her memoir, Patient 1: Forgetting and Finding Myself. “I remember so little of it that I must have been more there than practically anyone, Liam Gallagher excepted.” For those…
Edinburgh festival 2014: Paxo - quickfire sarcasm, passion and a natural comic touch
Edinburgh festival 2014: Paxo - quickfire sarcasm, passion and a natural comic touch
Former Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman proves that broadcasting's loss is standup's gain…
White Rabbit, Red Rabbit: how it felt to perform Nassim Soleimanpour's theatrical experiment
White Rabbit, Red Rabbit: how it felt to perform Nassim Soleimanpour's theatrical experiment
At the Edinburgh fringe, a different performer takes on the Iranian writer's script each day. I found it…
Edinburgh 2014 comedy - what you have to do for a laugh these days
Edinburgh 2014 comedy - what you have to do for a laugh these days
Vikki Stone plays 20 instruments and Des Bishop taught himself Mandarin – can comedy get any harder?…
Edinburgh 2014 comedy - the funny thing about feminism
Edinburgh 2014 comedy - the funny thing about feminism
Bridget Christie walks a brave line, Sara Pascoe is on the rise, and a daring improv musical troupe…
The Storms of War - Kate Williams's vivid portrait of Edwardian class war
The Storms of War - Kate Williams's vivid portrait of Edwardian class war
A familiar family saga set in an English stately home during the first world war goes beyond its…
Edinburgh festival 2014 comedy - from a young Mary Berry to liberal smugness
Edinburgh festival 2014 comedy - from a young Mary Berry to liberal smugness
Psychics and the school staff room – what's not to laugh at?…
Tom Basden: finding the funny in the 'prison of your personality'
Tom Basden: finding the funny in the 'prison of your personality'
As Holes opens in London, the playwright talks about the loneliness of standup, his affection for his characters…
In Love and War - Alex Preston's affecting third novel
In Love and War - Alex Preston's affecting third novel
Alex Preston's tale of a young Englishman in wartime Florence is flawed but complex and profoundly moving…
Monty Python Live (Mostly) - Parrot fashion and no bad thing for that
Monty Python Live (Mostly) - Parrot fashion and no bad thing for that
Monty Python's reunion delivers few surprises but their comedic genius remains…
Mr Mercedes - Stephen King's everyday killer of recession-hit America
Mr Mercedes - Stephen King's everyday killer of recession-hit America
Stephen King's latest novel will leave you more afraid of the guy next door than of ghosts and…
D-Day veteran escape: why we all love this tale of defiance
D-Day veteran escape: why we all love this tale of defiance
Bernard Jordan's flight from a Hove care home made headlines last week, but what did it say about…
Adrienne Truscott's Asking for It - feminist standup with its pants down
Adrienne Truscott's Asking for It - feminist standup with its pants down
Adrienne Truscott fights misogyny with hilarious slapstick, audience engagement – and she's naked from the waist down…
Talking therapies are better than pills, but you have to find the right one
Talking therapies are better than pills, but you have to find the right one
A report urges caution in using talking therapies to combat depression. I've found them helpful, and they can…
The Snow Queen - Michael Cunningham's poetic meditation on life and death
The Snow Queen - Michael Cunningham's poetic meditation on life and death
Two siblings take different paths to salvation in a wise, episodic tale…