BCG Daily Friday 17th March 2023

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Press clippings

Allelujah. Jennifer Saunders. Credit: Pathe

Allelujah, review

A moving love letter to the NHS set in a world of death and incontinence.

Geoffrey Macnab, i Newspaper, 17th March 2023

Graham Linehan: the trans debate left me cancelled and broke

He was adored for creating the sitcoms Father Ted and The IT Crowd. Then Graham Linehan's tweets about gender whipped up a storm of controversy that swept away his career and helped end his marriage.

Andrew Billen, The Times, 17th March 2023

Russell Brand platforms climate conservative's 'reckless' net-zero cost claims

The Danish commentator Bjørn Lomborg has been accused of continuing to misrepresent findings about the costs of cutting emissions, despite pleas from scientists.

The Guardian, 17th March 2023

Village Idiot at Nottingham Playhouse. Credit: Marc Brenner

Village Idiot manages to tackle and explore a wide variety of themes ranging from village life and politics, ableism, gentrification, racism, LGBTQ+ rights, ecocide and wealth inequality. The show is a breath of fresh air, and never once does it feel too complex or that it is trying to tackle too many topics.

Sam Harvey, LeftLion, 17th March 2023

Graham Linehan turned down £200k to take his name off the Father Ted musical

Graham Linehan was offered £200,000 to walk away from the Father Ted musical so it could be staged without toxic links to his gender-wars fights - but turned it down.

Chortle, 17th March 2023

Tony Robinson on reviving Blackadder's Baldrick for Comic Relief

Tony Robinson tells Radio Times magazine about his delight when Richard Curtis asked him to grab his turnip to become Blackadder's Baldrick one more time.

Toby Earle, Radio Times, 17th March 2023

Rory O'Keeffe. Copyright: Arsalan Sattari

Rory O'Keeffe: I proposed with a bus timetable

Rory O'Keeffe has told how he proposed to his fiancée with a doctored bus timetable.

Chortle, 17th March 2023

Bristol Comedy Garden returns

The Southwest's biggest comedy festival Bristol Comedy Garden presented by heycar returns to its roots in Queen Square this June 14-18th, with a Big Top bursting with incredible comedy.

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 17th March 2023

Allelujah review

Standout performances but it is almost scuppered by a tone-deaf ending.

Kevin Maher, The Times, 17th March 2023

Comic Relief's outlandish origin story - inside Nether Wallop festival

Was this impromptu event - a farmer's field in Hampshire that hosted comedy talents including Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Billy Connolly and Rik Mayall - where the first seed of Comic Relief was planted?

Alan Burles, The Guardian, 17th March 2023

Village Idiot review

Definitely not one for the faint-hearted or easily offended but it's extremely funny and well worth a visit.

James Garrington, The Reviews Hub, 17th March 2023

Made me laugh for all the wrong reasons: Allelujah reviewed

If you're going to do Alan Bennett, don't meddle with Alan Bennett.

Deborah Ross, The Spectator, 17th March 2023

Allelujah review

A cheery adaptation of Alan Bennett's play that flatlines after a jarring final act twist.

Time Out, 17th March 2023

Janey Godley is a comic with the common touch - her final tour is as much communion as stand-up

Not Dead Yet addresses the return of Godley's ovarian cancer. But mostly it is a celebratory farewell from a performer who has welcomed the crowd into her remarkable life.

Brian Logan, The Guardian, 17th March 2023

Kim Noble: Lullaby For Scavengers review

A show of genius (that you maybe shouldn't see).

Tristram Fane Saunders, The Telegraph, 17th March 2023

Operation Mincemeat starring SpitLip. Image shows left to right: Claire-Marie Hall, Natasha Hodgson, David Cumming, Zoë Roberts, Jak Malone. Credit: Matt Crockett

Operation Mincemeat creators interview

It'll be strange when we can't write something on the bus on the way to the show.

Alex Wood, What's On Stage, 17th March 2023

Film crews take over Leeds pub filming Hullraisers

Pictures show filming taking place in Deer Park pub and restaurant, Roundhay, with a police car forming part of the set. The Yorkshire Evening Post understands the crew are filming a new series of Hullraisers, a female-led comedy from Lucy Beaumont.

Abbey Maclure, Yorkshire Evening Post, 17th March 2023

Comic Relief 2023: David Tennant leads reassuringly traditional show that tugs at the heartstrings

This year's BBC charity broadcast for Red Nose Day was a chortlefest low on stress and high on laid-back laughs.

Ed Power, The Telegraph, 17th March 2023

Videos

TV & radio

8:10am
10 min

Danny & Mick

Series 5, Episode 15 - Gold Diggers

Through an accident at the leisure centre, Danny and Mick discover what they think is a treasure map. The hunt is on to follow the golden route, but they end up digging their way into trouble!

11:30am
30 min

Lemn Sissay Is The One And Only

Episode 3 - The Only Black Man In The Village

This week, he's the only Black man in the village, drawing upon his experience of growing up in an all-white town. Through a mixture of poetry and stand-up, he talks about how it felt to be stared at and treated differently, as well as how things changed when he moved to Manchester and wasn't the only Black man in town.