Comedy
Bring back the fun!
Alexander Larman writes an open letter to the artistic directors of theatres
A tasty tester for a better year
The Comeback is a gutsy British response to a period of glum hardship
All the news fit to post, two weeks early
It’s Christmas come early for Critic readers
Judah Friedlander Live!
In his perversity, absurdity, and bleakness, Friedlander taps the mood of American politics now
Starring Chelsea Peretti as Herself
The moments of interruption in Peretti’s stand-up reveal the constructedness of what we are watching
Trusting Dave Chappelle
The comedian’s 8:46 show is a stand-up special with few jokes
Plagiarism in comedy – homage or theft?
How a hugely popular American satirical show ripped off an online British comedian
Streaming Daniel Kitson
The Interminable Suicide of Gregory Church explores the possibility of human connection
Latex memories
Spitting Image (BritBox)
What Spitting Image did to British politics
As Spitting Image returns to our screens, its original impact has not been forgotten
Does Britain need more nukes?
The Integrated Review: goodbye Middle East; hello South China Sea; but still Russia first
The secret university
Jessica Douglas-Home recalls Roger Scruton’s risky but crucial work with dissident intellectuals in the Eastern Bloc
Risky business
When it comes to booking a holiday abroad, we need to protect our right to take risks and make our own decisions
An incredible inventory
James Stevens Curl reveals how this new release provides amazing insight into the household of a well-heeled, cultured European in late eighteenth-century India
A contemptible little army?
How successfully did Britain’s armed forces adapt to the reality of the First World War?
London, Burning: ‘A page-turning delight’
For his eighth novel, Anthony Quinn continues his noble tradition of producing a thumping good read
The (new) centre holds
Bad policies and the ‘twilight of democracy’ are not the same thing
Temple to craft and prestige
A beautiful and unusual book can lift the spirits of even the most jaded reviewer
Why are great writers such awful people?
In the wake of renewed controversy over Philip Roth’s treatment of women, Nigel Jones asks whether there is a link between creative genius and sexual unorthodoxy
Lockdown was a choice
Agree with the policy if you like, but you can’t argue Lockdown harms were caused by Covid