MAYER WAKEFIELD is frustrated by a production of Ibsen’s classic study of an anti-heroine that fails to elucidate her motivations
Old Hands and Lingering Boomers
JAMES WALSH takes the temperature of a middle-aged comedy format
Suki Webster and Paul Merton
[Steve Ullathorne]
PETER MASON tunes his ear into the domestic affairs of a Carribbean couple with a troublesome son
Evidence points to a Scottish provenance for the extraordinary Irish illuminated manuscript, the Book of Kells, suggests RACHEL MOSS
CHRIS SEARLE relishes an account of the years when a black American music carried a message of anti-racism and class struggle
This stunning film about a Bulgarian textile worker highlights the exploitative nature of Euro-capitalism, says RITA DI SANTO
PETER MASON thrills to Irish folk band The Haar
Reviews of Habibi Funk 031, Kayatibu, and The Good Ones
Paul Merton and Suki Webster’s Improv Show
Comedy Store, London
THE Comedy Store is showing its age. The logo is very ’80s, as are much of its regular clientele. Most are here to see Paul Merton, him off the telly, who has been doing improv for longer than your correspondent can literally remember.
But here, on a Wednesday, Merton is branching out without (Richard) Vranch and co, and is performing alongside fellow improv legend Suki Webster and a revolving cast of younger improvisation specialists, who have millions of TikTok views but not as many homes in Suffolk.
This feels like Webster’s show. She hosts and comperes, while Merton lurks amiably in the background during the changeovers. The show is in the short form “game” format, one considered a bit basic bitch by long-form aficionados, but perfect for a Wednesday early evening crowd who are already on their second bottle of wine.
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