Michael Deacon (I)
- Journalist and reviewer
Press clippings
Punching up: this mindlessly woke cliché is killing British comedy
Comedy must punch up? Britain's enviable list of TV successes suggest otherwise, despite Jon Plowman's comments.
Michael Deacon, The Telegraph, 9th October 2024It's time the BBC put Have I Got News For You out of its misery
It was once the sharpest satire on TV. Now it's complacently predictable liberal-left pap.
Michael Deacon, The Telegraph, 12th December 2023Let's give these woke comedy hypocrites a taste of their own medicine
Threats to free speech are far more damaging and offensive than any joke Jerry Sadowitz could tell.
Michael Deacon, The Telegraph, 16th August 2022The new Ricky Gervais Netflix special has exposed woke comedy's biggest problem
In his SuperNature show the comedian has been accused of punching down, but those on the Left who make this supposed rule rarely follow it.
Michael Deacon, The Telegraph, 25th May 2022The BBC wouldn't dare make a comedy like Python today
Comedy isn't just a form of entertainment. It's also a form of social history.
Michael Deacon, The Telegraph, 4th August 2018Why shouldn't Al Murray mock Brexit?
The show was very funny. But it was also risky. Brexit is a sensitive subject, and some people take mockery of it personally.
Michael Deacon, The Telegraph, 14th October 2016But comedians are biased
This is the truth about political comedy today: pretty much everyone is Left-wing.
Michael Deacon, The Telegraph, 6th June 2015Modern comedy's unlikely hero: Bob Monkhouse
From panel shows to stand-up, you'll find imitations of his writing style, his assured but snappy onstage technique, even his work ethic.
Michael Deacon, The Telegraph, 3rd June 2015In defence of punning
In the right hands, punning is a minor art, says Michael Deacon.
Michael Deacon, The Telegraph, 12th February 2015Monty Python. You resent this reunion, don't you?
I wish Yentob had pushed them all on this point. "Look," he should have said, to each Python in turn. "Be honest. Not mock-honest - none of your ha-ha-we-can't-stand-each-other's-company-and-we're-only-doing-it-for-the-money-ha-ha. Give it to us straight. You actually quite resent this reunion, don't you?"
Michael Deacon, The Telegraph, 5th July 2014