Miles Jupp

Comedy review: Miles Jupp, Glasgow

Plenty of comics bemoan the loss of social life and ambition that comes with parenthood. But Jupp's elegance with language, exquisite timing and ability to sustain a flounce makes his carping more memorable than most.

Does a sitcom actually need to make me laugh? That's the question I asked myself during the first episode of the third series of BBC Two's Rev. I certainly was glad to be given another opportunity to return to Saint Saviours and follow the exploits of the Reverend Adam Smallborne (Tom Hollander).

Once again Rev looks at the way that different people deal with faith by showing how many more people attend the local Mosque every week than come to Adam's church. James Wood's script is brilliant at combining this fairly deep subject matter with a light-handedness that makes it easy to like. Rev also excels due to its fantastically decent central characters Adam and Alex who are surrounded by a cavalcade of oddballs and mercenaries. Tom Hollander is brilliant in the lead role as he plays Adam as thoroughly down-to-Earth chap albeit one who constantly is worried about something or other. The brilliant Olivia Colman adds a bit of gravitas to her role of Alex whilst Simon McBurney and Miles Jupp continue to provide the laughs as Arch Deacon and Lay Preacher respectively.

As a fan of Getting On, I'm ecstatic that Scanlan and Pepperdine have joined the cast as a brilliant double act who may end up closing St. Saviour's. Even if the church does indeed close I hope that doesn't mean the end of what is brilliantly written and extremely well-acted series.

While it never makes me laugh out loud, Rev still provides plenty of good humour and that's sometimes all you need.

The wonderful thing about Rev. (BBC Two, Monday) is that it is meant to be funny and it is genuinely hilarious. Tom Hollander and Olivia Colman play the leads but it is more an ensemble comedy with top performances, too, from Simon McBurney as the Archdeacon, Miles Jupp as Nigel and Steve Evets as Colin.

In fact dear Colin provides all the jaw-dropping, non-PC moments; not least for his fundraising efforts for St Saviour's which amounted to supplying drugs to the estate. He knows his market.

It was especially touching to see him present Adam (the Rev), with some oversize track pants from Sports Direct for his new baby as part of his campaign to be "godfather". Who knows what that term means to him?

Rev also pushes the boundaries or let's say, gives them a nudge. Last week, Adam bumped into Yousef, the local Iman, who had a sense of humour, "within limits". I could not understand why Adam did not jump at the chance of attending one of the Iman's "Jihadi barbecues". The mind boggles.

The best line, however, came from the archdeacon who said he was off to hear "Rageh Omaar giving a talk on Djibouti pirates". I was gutted to have missed that one. If only the Church of England could harness the power of Rev., it would have no trouble filling the pews.

Review: Miles Jupp, Ambassadors Theatre, WC2

A show that is not totally revolutionary in various senses, perhaps, but all exquisitely delivered.

Miles Jupp interview

If you had to name a comic less likely to star in an imaginary remake of Men Behaving Badly, then Miles Jupp would possibly come to mind.

Miles Jupp is the Chap You're Thinking Of - review

There are one or two sections that feel like filler, but this is a sharp and smartly structured show that should ensure Miles Jupp is the chap everyone will soon be talking of.

The stand-up: Miles Jupp, on tour

A brief profile of Miles Jupp.

Review: Miles Jupp, touring

Superb mix of personal and political material.

Radio Times review

Another enjoyable meander through the gripes of the rich and famous. The temptation is for celebrity guests to overstate their bugbears. Are sliding doors truly "an abomination", Miles Jupp? Is there really "nothing worse" than people with limp handshakes, Kelly Hoppen? But Frank Skinner always has a nice way of either undercutting the grumbles or trumping them with a funnier observation of his own. ("Don't you find that litter can brighten an otherwise grey pavement?" he enquires of Vernon Kay.)

The host also has viral video clips at his fingertips that are worth the price of admission on their own: tonight, the classic moment when a sleeping commuter is swept aside by sliding train doors, plus a man doing the washing up overreacts to a shock from his daughter.

Miles Jupp Is The Chap You're Thinking Of, review

A master of metaphor, a seigneur of similes (for Jupp leaving the old school MySpace site would be like "Julian Assange popping out of the Ecuadorian Embassy to the local shop to buy memory sticks"), Jupp's return to the 'eloquent bumbling' he honed in his earlier Edinburgh Fringe shows is a welcome one.