Book review by Steve Bennett
You never forget your first lockdown. However much you might want to.
However, Tim Key’s new anthology of poems and conversations cuts through any understandable weariness about having these unusual times reflected directly back at us, as it captures the weirdest early months of the ‘pando’ in Key’s perfectly idiosyncratic way
The collection, beautifully designed by Emily Juniper, may draw on such tropes as clapping for the NHS or obsessing about sourdough starter without ever seeming trite or overfamiliar.
Instead, He Used Thought As A Wife is primarily a compelling character study of his peevish poet persona at his most irritable, condescending and insecure. The jaunty bonhomie of his blokey middle-aged banter which he so accurately nails is tissue-thin, a passive-aggressive frustration scratching through every superficially jovial turn-of phrase.
Book review by Steve Bennett
Helen Rutter’s debut novel, about an 11-year-old boy with a stammer who wants to become a stand-up, was inspired by her own son’s difficulties with speech.
But, really, The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh, will resonate with every pre-teen who feels there’s something different about them which makes it difficult to fit in at school. And there are a lot of youngsters like that.
We meet Billy Plimpton as he faces the terrifying prospect of going to secondary school, away from the people who know him and his stammer. His survival plan is to get through each day without uttering a word, until the miracle cure he’s sure is out there will fix his speech once and for all.
Montreal s festival-within-a-festival goes virtual
Montreal’s Just For Laughs festival will stream all its industry sessions online this year.
The ComedyPro section of the festival features expert discussions on the state of the industry, insider panels about some of comedy’s biggest hits, and showcases of new talent, among other elements.
And although the exact format and scale of the full festival, including its programme of stand-up performances, has yet to be set - organisers have vowed to put the four-day industry conference online.
The line-up has not been announced, but Just For Laughs says it will include the usual mix of ‘pitch sessions, illustrious New Faces showcases, network meetings with power-brokers, keynotes and in-depth conversations with the most influential and impactful voices in comedy as they tackle many prominent business topics; including assessing the current state of the industry, and discussing plans to move forward to invigorate the comedy
Review of a choose-your-own adventure book by comedian Dave Longley
Britain’s comedy circuit has been gone for the best part of a year – but much of it hasn’t been missed by Dave Longley, judging by this acrid, amoral story of a jobbing mid-tier stand-up.
It takes the form of a choose-your-own-adventure, starting with the dilemma of whether to take a last-minute £200 gig at Uncle Spunk’s Chuckle Trunk instead of the planned cosy night in with your partner.
From that point, you are plunged into a putrefying world of graphic violence, debauched sex and bilious scorn for the daily workings of the industry.