John Robins (I)

Greenwich Comedy Festival with Josh Widdicombe review

Residents of Greenwich in South London have become used to a giant marquee popping up in the grounds of the historic National Maritime Museum each September, attracting the cream of comedy to the borough's comedy festival. This year it's different - because everything is.

Live review: Greenwich Comedy Festival

I've been to all sorts of comedy shows in the last few months, but this one seemed to be the best. Maybe it's because Greenwich Comedy Festival gigs always have an al fresco vibe as they are usually in marquees. Maybe I just needed a laugh more than ever. Or maybe the acts were just excellent and that's what a comedy gig needs most of all.

Stand-up Under the Stars review

Bridget Christie pokes fun at Madonna, Suzi Ruffell talks smear tests and John Robins is heckled about Butlins. Our critic Brian Logan's first stand-up gig in months is a riot of joy and tension.

How Do You Cope?... With Elis And John gets new series

After a popular first series, How Do You Cope?... With Elis And John will be back on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds for a second series.

John Robins: there are men in our industry raping women

As someone who was once in a relationship with a comedian I will always value the insight it gave me into just how different things are for my female peers - the abuse online, the comments about their appearance, the derogatory remarks made before they were brought onstage, the endless references to having sex with them, the groping (and infinite attempts made). But I also remember the guilt at how little I had known about it, how blind I had been to the problem.

John Robins's show The Darkness Of Robins is new to Netflix, but in 2017 it won him top prize at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. The Darkness Of Robins is not a game-changer but it's a bold and winning hour, inspired by Robins's split from his unnamed girlfriend (actually fellow comedian Sara Pascoe).

Robins's ironic celebration of all his newfound freedoms -- unfettered access to power points at the home they used to share, say -- are a masterclass in stand-up comedy. The show flags when it moves too far away from the split, but it ends with tender wisdom as well as real laughs.

Comedy Against Living Miserably, Dave, review

A commendable initiative in which stand-ups discuss their mental health was unfortunately stilted and lacking in laughs.

The comics standing up for mental health

As the series Comedy Against Living Miserably launches, two comedians explain how their jobs affect their emotional wellbeing - and how they hope to help their audiences.