Articles by J W Close

Threesome

Threesome follows the rocky road to a triple tryst as married thirtysomethings Sam and Kate (Chris Willoughby and Gemma Rook) attempt to spice up their faltering relationship by in…

The King of Monte Cristo

The best humour is the kind which refers to shared experiences Luckily, The King of Monte Cristo picks up on the stereotypes and personalities familiar to anyone who’s worked in …

The Secret of My Failure

The Secret of My Failure is a farcical, eclectic sketch comedy show hosted by the energetic Dr Postscript, which weaves through sarcastic appraisals of bad comedy sketches (a cleve…

Pitch Please

Ever since that Fox Network show choir series that will not be named, it seems like a capella groups are a dime a dozen.

The Canterbury Tales

There are three things which are undeniably British: Geoffrey Chaucer, trains and casual drinking.

That Deadly Noir Magic

The low peal of a jazz trumpet.

The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Survival of (R)Evolutionary Theories in the Face of Scientific and Ecclesiastical Objections: Being a Musical Comedy About Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

You can always tell a show is going to be good when its name takes up most of the free space on a ticket.

A Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri.

Terry Pratchett's Eric

The best thing about Terry Pratchett’s work was his ability in world creation.

Gary Colman: Tickling Mice

Along with Part Troll and I Would Happily Punch All Every One Of You In The Face, Gary Colman’s Tickling Mice is not only one of my favourite show titles, but also one of the mos…

Kate Smurthwaite: The Wrong Sort of Feminist

Watching Kate Smurthwaite doing stand up is like watching a recording of a Tory Peer’s night terrors: not only is she funny, but when it comes to tearing apart injustice, she’s…

Messages from Japan / Super-cussion

There’s something primal about drums.

Charlie and the Philosorappers

If someone had told me months ago that, not only was I going to see a man perform rap battles, beat poetry and strange silent skits based on philosophy, but that I was actually goi…

Mark Thomas: Trespass – Work in Progress

It’s hard these days to find comics, amongst the slick and edgy big leagues, with a genuine sense of mischief.

Ray Bradshaw: I Dare Ray to...

Ray Bradshaw is like a mate from home who’s gone on to make it big: he would look equally comfortable spinning comedic tales onstage and with a pint in his hand, laughing about s…

Shakespeare for Breakfast

Shakespeare for Breakfast is to Fringe as dawn is to day: whilst you could technically have one without it, it really wouldn’t feel very right.

The Thinking Drinkers' Guide to the Legends of Liquor

If nothing else, Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham have cracked the formula for Fringe success: a crackingly funny show, interesting facts and (perhaps most importantly) lashings of bo…

Adam Long's Dickens Abridged

When I consider Charles Dickens, a man whose life was seemingly a stumble from one tragedy to the next, I tend not to think ‘comedy stage show material’.

Create Account

Username or Password Reminder

Celebrating 20 years of discount theatre tickets, features and reviews for the West End, Fringe and across the UK.