Steve Bennett (I)
- Journalist and reviewer
Press clippings Page 100
The 1996 Edinburgh Fringe
Clearing out this week, I unearthed the 1996 Edinburgh Fringe programme and some flyers So for no other reason than nostalgia, here's how the festival has changed in 20 years.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 21st September 2016Review: Rob Carter is Christopher Bliss
There's a sweetness to the spoof, and Bliss's awkwardness is well-judged. Carter portrays his lisping creation with tight precision, making him credible despite the ridiculous script.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 16th September 2016Red Dwarf XI, episode one review
As always with Dwarf, the jokes are a mix of the smart and the dumb, with quips about quantum mechanics tempered with daft jokes about Kryten's nipple attachments of banter aimed at the uptight Rimmer. Odds are, you already know if you like the Dwarf brand of humour or not, and this is unlikely to change minds either way, but the pace of the narrative keeps things interested.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 15th September 2016Unspun with Matt Forde review
A bold commission from what was once the home of the repeat, an ultra-topical political show recorded the night before transmission.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 14th September 2016Holly Burn: I Am Special review
'I'm not special,' says the woman in the spotlight, all chairs pointed at her, in a glamorous art deco bar in Central London. We're not expected to believe her, and she doesn't really believe it herself.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 14th September 2016Comedy Feed: JPD review
JPD is the only one of this year's batch of Comedy Feeds that's a sketch format, rather than a sitcom pilot befitting the BBC's current celebration of the narrative genre.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 9th September 2016Comedy Feeds: Man Like Mobeen review
Man Like Mobeen starts imposingly, with Guz Khan's alter-ego delivering a direct-to-camera missive about the 'neo-conservatives' illegal war' on brown people as a voiceover reiterates the views of Fox News terrorism 'expert' Steven Emerson that Birmingham was a 'no-go' city for non-Muslims, patrolled by religious police. But it quickly becomes clear this is a silly mockery not only of the rhetoric of cultures at loggerheads, but also of the Muslim rude-boy culture.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 7th September 2016Comedy Feeds: Limbo review
The show is stuck in a limbo of its own between these highly exaggerated moments and the realistic style. Add in some underdeveloped characters and it all adds up to rather unsatisfying viewing.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 6th September 2016Motherland preview
Frenetic, stressy and trying to juggle several balls at once... the whole tone of Motherland has a lot of parallels with the chaotic realities of parenthood, which it represents so well.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 6th September 2016A Brief History Of Tim review
A comedy centred around a guy with cerebral palsy... a bit of worthy, inclusive box-ticking from the BBC, making sure disabled people are shown in a positive light? You'd only say that if you don't know Tim Renkow.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 5th September 2016