Rachel Aroesti
- Journalist
Press clippings Page 8
Tim Key interview
The eccentric poet, standup and actor on the things that make him laugh the most.
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 29th June 2017Hot on the heels of Gavin and Stacey, two of the sitcom's stars (the male ones, obviously) were given their own sketch show. Much like the recent election, it started off as a safe bet - riding the wave of Gavin and Stacey's astounding popularity - before ending up such a spectacular failure nobody could remember why it ever seemed a good idea in the first place.
It wasn't just because Horne & Corden was bad - although it was. Many of the sketches relied almost exclusively on jokes about Corden's weight, making for an uncomfortable not to mention inane half hour. But when Corden stops jiggling his stomach, the show isn't as heinous as its infamous critical mauling might suggest. What was most objectionable about the pair's below-par japes was that it was such a nightmarishly crap imitation of the friendship between Smithy and Gavin that it threatened to dull the brilliance of Gavin and Stacey itself.
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 29th June 2017It would have been great if The Wright Way had worked. Ben Elton - instrumental in the creation of classics like The Young Ones and Blackadder - had by 2013 completed his transition from comedy hero to punchline (Get a Grip, his current affairs show featuring Alexa Chung, hadn't helped). Elton's place in the narrative of British TV history was becoming incomprehensible. But The Wright Way, sadly, was irredeemably bad.
Centring on an uptight health-and-safety worker called Gerald Wright (your cue to groan internally), we follow the man of the half-hour as he battles with his daughter, her girlfriend Victoria, and his colleagues. For its laughs, The Wright Way mines the topic of health and safety regulation, which is bad enough for the most radically right-on comedian of the 80s. But its main crime has to be the treatment of Beattie Edmondson, who plays Victoria. Jennifer Saunders' daughter was dealt one of the worst hands in sitcom history when she was cast as the cringe-a-second DJ, who recites youth jargon (and Jamaican patois) so awkward it's like she's a 54-year-old father of three channeling the spirit of a 21-year-old (oh...). Elton may have been willing to further sully his name, but he didn't have to drag the next generation down with him.
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 29th June 2017Sofie Hagen interview
The Danish comedian and podcast host on the things that make her laugh the most, from Will Smith to The Green Butchers.
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 23rd June 2017Joseph Morpurgo interview
The cult character comic on the things that make him laugh the most, from Corbyn kebabs to Hans Teeuwen.
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 16th June 2017Sarah Kendall interview
The Aussie comic on the things that make her laugh the most, from tomatoes on toast to 30 Rock.
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 9th June 2017Stuart Goldsmith on the things that make him laugh
The Comedian's Comedian host and comic on the things that make him laugh the most, from Arrested Development to the South Park movie.
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 2nd June 2017White Gold: Inbetweeners double-glaze UK in the 80s
Stars of The Inbetweeners and Gossip Girl have come together to flog windows in a new TV comedy that perfectly captures the cash-flashing, un-PC 1980s.
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 24th May 2017Alfie Brown: 'John Gordillo made me laugh so much'
The funniest stand-up I've ever seen: John Gordillo in Kentish Town. His routine about Zippos Circus made me laugh so much it became quite disruptive and hard for him to continue. I have quite an obnoxious laugh.
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 20th May 2017Natasia Demetriou's funniest things
The People Time actor and character comic on the things that make her laugh the most.
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 12th May 2017