BCG Daily Wednesday 2nd April 2014

UK tourists good for a laugh at Melbourne Comedy Fest

Rule Britannia as comedians Joe Lycett, Nish Kumar, John Kearns and James Acaster take tea with Doc Brown and Shappi Khorsandi at Madame Brussels in the city.

Radio Times review

Nobody, but nobody can burble the jargon like Siobhan. Here she is talking about the possibility of a new BBC logo, maybe one that makes it look more like an app? "You homescreen your brand takeaway right there in the logo. You're drinking from the firehose from the get-go. It's a no-brainer." Brilliant, isn't it? And as the redesign proceeds there's more absurdity from her and her "Ideation Architect".

Everywhere you look there are deft comedy moments: nice-but-dim Will has the taxing job of putting invitations in envelopes for his beloved Izzy. The controller of news has to apologise for an apology. And a nervous writer pitches a script to ice-cool Anna Rampton (Sarah Parish), but first he must sit on a ludicrous stool.

Radio Times review

If humanity is to survive then we must become a multi-planet species and spread out like a male passenger on the tube seat of the cosmos. With this advice delivered, Helen Keen takes us on an entirely fact-based but very funny journey through the possibilities of travelling to and living on Mars.

Keen strikes the perfect balance between presenting potentially dull facts and keeping the comic pace going, mainly thanks to the sci-fi-blockbuster-voiceover-style commentary from Peter Serafinowicz.

Australian Comedy Festival review: James Acaster

Don't expect fireworks when James Acaster steps on stage - the gangly British comedian is unusually calm and detached as he delivers his musings on life.

Sandi Toksvig questions BBC all-male panel ban

Sandi Toksvig has questioned the recent BBC pledge to have no all-male panel shows. Toksvig said having more female hosts would be a better way of ensuring more women are represented on TV.

Kerry Godliman review - 'A controlled comedy crack-up'

She may not be the most experimental comic but Godliman tackles technology and modern life with a righteous ire.

Have you been watching ... W1A?

The BBC's followup to Twenty Twelve, set inside the corporation itself, may be the most self-referential comedy ever - should the BBC be poking fun at itself, or are the in-jokes just tiresome?

What it lacks culinary wise it makes up for in laughs

Ever since the imperium of Fanny Craddock and her sidekick/ victim husband Johnny, Britain's culinary TV history has been replete with comedy double acts. Lately added to a roster that includes The Two Fat Ladies, The Hairy Bikers, Loyd Grossman and his irritable vowel syndrome and all the others is the unlikely gastro-team of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

Mark Heap: Mr Zany buttons up

From Green Wing's creepy consultant to the resident artist on Spaced, Mark Heap is TV's go-to oddball. Now he returns to the stage as Jeeves and, in person, seems curiously straightforward.

Russell Brand to appear in C4 prostitution documentary

Rupert Everett is to interview Russell Brand about his sexploits for a bold Channel 4 documentary about people who buy and sell sex.

Still Game team reunite early to ambush pub quiz

The cast of Scotland's top comedy have reunited for a surprise performance five months before their live show opens. They ambushed a Still Game pub quiz - but trailed in 16th place out of 20.

TV comedy has a problem and advertisers can solve it

For all that 'branded content' and 'storytelling' have become industry buzzwords, one of the UK's most successful comedy producers has urged advertisers to put their money where their mouths are and invest more in quality programming.

Video: The art of sketch comedy from Max and Ivan

English comedy duo Max and Ivan give a brief masterclass on the art of sketch comedy.

Armando Iannucci on pushing TV comedy to cliff edge

With Veep's third season debuting on HBO Sunday evening, and Iannucci spoke with TheWrap about his team's writing process, recounting every whirlwind detail with the calm of a 49-year-old British man at the height of his powers.

Pam Ann at the Leicester Square Theatre | comedy review

While her act is lively and in-your-face, the issues she touches upon are often repetitive, in poor taste and outdated.

Review - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Savoy Theatre)

The first thing to say is: it's a dream partnership. Robert Lindsay and Rufus Hound as a pair of vulgar, deceitful, skirt-chasing conmen on the French Riviera tear up the stage, and the good taste rulebook, in this effervescent Broadway musical comedy.

Kerry Godliman review

She may not be the most experimental comic but Kerry Godliman tackles technology and modern life with a righteous ire.

Lee Hurst interview

Many comedians base their shows on anger. Few have gone to court after losing it on stage. There is much for Lee Hurst to weave into his latest gig, then, which he calls, Things That Make You Go Arrggghh!

Review: The Comedy Of Errors, Theatre Royal, Newcastle

It's difficult to put into words exactly how hilarious The Comedy Of Errors is.

TV comedy has a problem and advertisers can solve it

Henry Normal, whose production company Baby Cow was behind TV hits such as Gavin & Stacey, The Trip and The Mighty Boosh, told an audience at Advertising Week Europe on Wednesday that surprisingly few brands approach him about working together on content.

Rhys James interview

Rhys James is one of those early twenties 'haircut comedians' whom older comics winge about. How can anyone under forty be trusted to tell jokes?

The Rhys James three minute interview

Rhys James is one of those early twenties 'haircut comedians' whom older comics winge about. How can anyone under forty be trusted to tell jokes? It is true that Rhys has a nice hair, but funny and intelligent story telling doesn't start when it turns grey.