Laughter, Music and Magic in the West End.

With Derren Brown opening his new show Enigma tonight at the Adelphi and with comedies such as Dylan Moran, Ross Noble and Ed Byrne set to open at the Apollo and the Vaudeville in the next few months. I ask whether anyone has seen any stand up, musicians or one man shows in the West End or on Broadway and what their experiences were.

I saw Eddie Izzard at the Lyric Theatre and it was excellent with Eddie on fine form given that he had not done a UK show in 5 years, he's doing a UK tour at the end of the year including a gig at the O2 and Wembley Arena although they will no where no near the same intimacy compared to the gig at the Lyric. I am going to see Derren Brown next Monday and having seen his previous shows on television, I'm excited to see him live for the first time.

I've never really been into Stand Up comedy. In fact, I've never even heard of any of the guys you mention. LOL

I have seen some one man shows though - and even one woman shows! All of them were absolutely fantastic:
Mandy Patinkin - the first time he was in London, at the Almeida back in the mid 90s. Still one of the best nights I have ever spent in a theatre.
Barbara Cook - at the Lyric a few years ago. Simply heavenly.
Michael Feinstein - at the Shaw theatre last January. Sensational.
Maria Freidman - at Trafalgar studios last year. Awesome!

Also, last summer at the Edinburgh Fringe, I saw a one woman show by Maggie Simpson called "Queen Of Wyoming" - which was an autobiographical monologue with songs in which she laid bare her life as the daughter of the governor of Wyoming and how she sunk into the depths of despair through drug abuse and came out on the other side. It was a pretty incredible theatrical experience.

---

Updated On: 6/15/09 at 10:08 AM

I agree with Mama, it's a great way to fill theatre between runs especially for a month and since most stand up and musicians can sell out their tours pretty quickly and it's benefits theatre owners since they can have rent payed and staff employed.

I would never go to see a comedian at an arena because you lose so much intimacy. Arenas are fine for big concerts like Britney, Kylie, Madonna etc but for singers like Rufus Wainwright, Tori Amos etc their style of music would get lost in huge arena which is why something like The Hammersmith Apollo which while quite big is suitable for most stand ups and singers.

I recently saw Rob Brydon at The Apollo, Shaftesbury Avenue and I was very impressed. I went along expecting a night of stand-up comedy but was pleasantly surprised to find that the show offered much more. Most of the performance centred on Rob's interaction with members of the audience which made me think that every performance must have been very different. I never got the feeling that he was running through pre-planned material but was genuinely bouncing ideas about based on the people in the audience. He was able to work in his very funny impressions - Tom Jones, Anthony Hopkins, a young and older Michael Caine (as he said, so up-to-date). One of the best comedy presentations in a West End theatre I have seen along with Robin Williams.

I love Jack Dee.

Heres your laughter......



Heres your music.....



**Thats four weeks, twice a day and three times on Wednesdays and Saturdays!

....and heres your magic!

Updated On: 6/15/09 at 08:07 PM

Who said Variety is dead?
I saw 'The Best Of' also John and will be going again this year.


A DVD was made of last years show.

PS: The Nolans are touring this year!