Steve Bennett (I)
- Journalist and reviewer
Press clippings Page 119
Review: Ballot Monkeys
Comparisons with the The Thick Of It are inevitable. With less swearing and less cynicism, Ballot Monkeys doesn't have savage bite than Armando Iannucci's classic, but can still boast plenty of sharp lines as well as the ability to reflect the realities of campaigning.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 22nd April 2015Review - Max & Ivan: The End
Crucially, the busy plot is driven forward by a two high-wattage performances - not least a surprisingly athletic sex scene that shows off their physical skills to great advantage. Aptly for a show about nuclear meltdown, it's a blast.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 20th April 2015John Kearns: Shtick in Melbourne
The audience, always leaning forward to figure out what is going on through the layered complexities of his soul-searching, are mostly won over, initial reservations dissolving as they buy into his unconventionally endearing wit.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 16th April 2015Review - Alan Carr: Yap, Yap, Yap
'I enjoyed that,' I overheard a woman saying on the way out. 'I just wish I could remember any of it.' That seems the perfect summary of the empty distraction Alan Carr offers.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 30th March 2015TV review: Inside No 9
This is classy TV, a cracking start to an anthology, in which each episode offers fresh delights unlike the last. Bring on No 2 in this bunch of No 9s.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 26th March 2015Review: Pompidou, with Matt Lucas
Maybe Matt Lucas can take solace from the fact no one liked Paris's now iconic Pompidou Centre when it first opened. For his new physical-comedy namesake is not an obvious initial hit either.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 2nd March 2015Pompidou review
Pompidou is a commendably bold attempt to produce a style of comedy missing from TV - exactly the brief which the BBC should be following. But the problem with experiments is that sometimes they don't quite work.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 2nd March 2015Dara O Briain: Crowd Tickler review
This Southend gig is his first 'proper' UK date after an Irish run and a few warm-ups; and as he wraps up he talks of tweaks he intends to make. They will be minor. The strength of his affable personality makes for an unpretentious couple of hours of comedy in which the laughs flow as fast and fluidly as his pacy material.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 12th February 2015Review: Michael Mittermeier at the Soho Theatre
A couple of his routines are a little pedestrian, but overall Michael Mittermeier is a much sharper English-speaking comedian than when he first made his debut two-and-a-half years ago. More English-speakers should hear him.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 11th February 2015Review: John Shuttleworth
This tour's title A Wee Ken To Remember, is based on yet another poster misprint that his hapless manager and next-door-neighbour Ken Worthington apparently failed to notice. Of course the limited horizons of Graham Fellows's alter-ego is the joke.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 10th February 2015