![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160528221533im_/https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/4/17/1397749329408/BrianLogan.jpg?w=140&h=140&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=16a6dbda5b5895a7bfb90288dfaba1a6)
Brian Logan
Brian Logan is comedy critic and arts writer for the Guardian. He is a former deputy theatre editor of Time Out London and former editor of the Guardian's Film Unlimited website. He is also a founder member and performer with Cartoon de Salvo theatre company
-
The Essex comic’s new dad routine wins no prizes for originality, but there is still more material in two hours than many fit into a decade
-
One-time Blackadder buffoon Hugh Laurie was on devilish form in The Night Manager but it’s a rare comedian who plays a convincing screen villain
-
Politics is fertile ground for comics, but there are pitfalls to jumping on particular bandwagons – not least when it questions their loyalty to the punchline
-
The token opening of a comedy set – even in its postmodern guise – is becoming tired and uninspired. All hail the trad crowd-work of masters like Al Murray
-
On his third solo tour, the standup retains his cynicism but there’s now light amid the shade and warmth underlying the weariness
-
Desiree Burch invites the audience to rebut racist cliches and face up to centuries of injustice in a show that loses some impact due to its scattershot approach
-
There were plenty of laughs at the quick-fire punning contest hosted by Lee Nelson, but the maligned art of wordplay deserves more of a rap-battle format
-
Outlandish non sequiturs stack up as the wild-eyed Law works the myth of his own zaniness
-
The chronicler of society’s oddest habits leads an endearing book reading-plus-debate about social media shaming – with a bonus appearance from Bridget Christie
-
Soho theatre, London
Sloss tries to hide an uncertain stage persona in self-consciously provocative standup, but too often shoots himself in the foot -
With The Brain Show, Robert Newman provides a welcome counter-argument to the many comedians hymning the virtues of rational inquiry
-
This magpie tour of human history yields vintage Izzard moments of delightful silliness, yet lacks in jeopardy over two-and-a-half hours
-
From newfound political awareness to the resurgence of mime, 2015’s comedy landscape was bumpy but invigorating
-
Cho gleefully goads the demure with an in-yer-face set that, amid the name-dropping and self-promotion, has some almost fabulous moments
-
Ganesh, Odin and Princess Diana substitute for the three wise men in Pascoe’s endearingly silly, variety-pack Christmas play
-
Bridget Christie was belligerent, Doug Stanhope was savage, and Nish Kumar was reborn a rightwinger. But a touching show about Lance Armstrong wins our critic’s best comedy of 2015
Sara Pascoe: Animal review – God, pubes and glow worms in a fun, fresh show