Ben Lawrence
- Stand-up comedian
Press clippings
The Pythons skewered cancel culture 40 years ago
Forget Cleese's recent decline - the Pythons' great crusades against groupthink and frothing mobs seem more timely than ever.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 5th August 2020Fleabag 'just for posh girls'? That's inverse snobbery
Phoebe Waller-Bridge's second series of Fleabag was instantly and rightly hailed as a masterpiece. Its intoxicating clash of religion and romance; its bravery in articulating the problems of worshipping God in the 21st century; its effortless humour and its sophisticated structure made it the most perfect work of televisual art in years. And yet, a glowing Guardian review of Fleabag by Ellen E Jones came with a ridiculous caveat - that the privileged lives of the show's characters made it "a little less lovable".
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 5th July 2019Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, review
Why is the Python so obsessed with money?
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 13th October 2018Sally Phillips interview
'Women aren't allowed to do absurd comedy - they'd prefer us to talk about bras and shopping'
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 5th October 2018David Mitchell: 'I stay away from edgier jokes now'
David Mitchell can pinpoint the moment when Britain's sense of humour changed. In 2008, Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross left a series of lewd messages on the answerphone of the Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs which included, among other things, comments about Brand's relationship with Sachs's granddaughter. Questions were asked in Parliament.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 24th August 2018Bring back the silly genius of Monty Python
The discovery of unused Monty Python material from Michael Palin's archive last week shed light on a forgotten world
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 5th August 2018People can't deal with anything perceived as soft porn
The name Su Pollard evokes a certain time in recent cultural history. As the lowly, lovable chambermaid Peggy Ollerenshaw in sitcom Hi-De-Hi!, she caught the public imagination and for a time in the Eighties she seemed to be the most famous woman in Britain.
She scored a No 2 single with Starting Together and released an album. Elton John was a fan and Freddie Mercury once asked her for an autograph. While at a charity event in the House of Commons, Princess Diana approached her and they started tap dancing.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 2nd August 2018Flowers, series 2 review
Fiercely imaginative and emotionally truthful
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 15th June 2018Why the British novel lost its sense of humour
Visit any bookshop and it is incredibly hard to find anything that is likely to raise a smile. Thrillers and chick lit abound, of course, but in the loftier realm of literary fiction we have lost our sense of humour as writers strive to convey big ideas or whimsy in an earnest fashion.
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 16th May 2018Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was a classic
A new stage version of the Seventies sitcom opens this week - but can we still laugh at its 'simple' hero?
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph, 8th March 2018