Ben Elton
- 65 years old
- English
- Writer and stand-up comedian
Press clippings Page 9
Comedy review: Ben Elton, Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow
Offering a sober analysis of Brexit and the backsliding of Enlightenment debate, he builds to a lethal character assassination of Boris Johnson.
Jay Richardson, The Scotsman, 3rd October 2019Ben Elton review
Fifteen years since he last performed standup, Elton's new show humbly embraces the madness of the modern world.
Brian Logan, The Guardian, 1st October 2019Ben Elton Live 2019 review
What is [pBen Elton's place in the world? At 60 years old and 15 years away from the front line of live comedy, can the stand-up who made his name by being radical and relevant still cut it?
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 1st October 2019Ben Elton review - does anybody edit him?
Is Ben Elton as culturally redundant as a Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go bumper sticker? Aged 60 and touring for the first time in 15 years, with the shiny suits of his heyday as the high priest of Eighties alternative comedy now replaced by Marks & Spencer polo shirts, Elton establishes his sense of his obsolescence from the off.
Dominic Maxwell, The Times, 1st October 2019Ben Elton Live: unexpected pining for Margaret Thatcher
No longer wearing the spivvy suits of yore but casual dark jeans and stripy top (and glasses, as per usual), he declares his theme early on at his first UK stop-off. "I don't understand anymore," he wails. "My confusion isn't just increasing going forward, it's increasing retrospectively. I do not even get what I got."
Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph, 1st October 2019Ben Elton's return to stand-up: I'm as scared as I get
Back on tour for the first time in 15 years, the trailblazing comedian has some scores to settle. How can he be a sellout, he asks, if he was never radical to begin with?
Brian Logan, The Guardian, 26th September 2019Ben Elton v Stewart Lee
One particular remark in the interview has caught some people's attention. When he starts talking about always being questioned about being a sell-out he responds by saying: "I haven't said anything for 30 years. But it's been wearying. It just keeps coming around, every interview - 'So do you feel you've sold out?' Tell me what - apart from that Stewart Lee, whoever he is, thinks I have - might make you ask that?" People on social media have been wondering if this was a wry ironic joke or does Ben Elton really not know who Stewart Lee is?
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 26th September 2019Upstart Crow to become a stage show
David Mitchell will star in a stage version of the BBC sitcom Upstart Crow. The show will run in the West End between February and April 2020.
British Comedy Guide, 25th September 2019Ben Elton on 'shame' of PM using 'girly swot' jibe
The TV writer reveals he is planning to lay into the Prime Minister when he is back in Scotland during his stand-up comeback.
Brian McIver, Daily Record, 15th September 2019Ben Elton speaks his mind on Boris, Corbyn and Trump
As the Blackadder writer makes his return to stand-up comedy after a 15-year break, he tells of his struggle to satirise today's world leaders - and his deep interest in Jewish history.
Lee Harpin, The Jewish Chronicle, 12th September 2019