Matt Forde

Comedians for Corbyn?

Stand-up is supposedly a leftie haven. But from what I saw this week, the scene offered little support for the Labour leader - and, despite some droll insights, a lack of real debate.

The selling point of Forde's satirical news show is that it is recorded very tight to broadcast, theoretically encouraging both topicality and spontaneity. The nature of the format dictates that the quality is uneven, with much obviously depending on which guests are available - April's interview with Tony Blair was deservedly acclaimed - but, in general, the gulf between this and The Daily Show is unmissably vast.

Satire is a dying genre - who could satirise this?

When the leader of the free world is a planet-threatening anti-hero so frightening that he would test the credulity of readers of Marvel comics, it's a challenging time for the political satirist.

Brits still waiting for full Brexit comedy dividend

They were the two stories that rocked the Western world last year. But while Donald Trump's election injected new life into U.S. political comedy, the British are still waiting for Brexit to usher in their new golden age of satire.

The UK's answer to John Oliver in format but sadly not execution (although John Oliver is surely also our own answer to John Oliver, being from Birmingham and all), Matt Forde's relatively ersatz Unspun returns for a new series of topical skewering. Guest comedians will include Oliver's former cohort Andy Zaltzman and Phil Wang, while political guests - unknown at the time of writing - will be drafted in to give their twopenn'orth.

Best of live comedy 2016

From classy confessional comedy to superlative solo sketch work, the year was filled with a plethora of live treats.

Leicester Comedy Festival line-up announced

Next year's Leicester Comedy Festival will have as many events as ever, despite the headline sponsorship deal coming to an end.

Matt Forde review

Lively mickey-take of Brexit-era omnishambles.