Steve Bennett (I)
- Journalist and reviewer
Press clippings Page 38
Brighton Fringe review, Gerry Carroll: When I Was Alive
The inventive idiots at the cult Alternative Comedy Memorial Society night have a permitted heckle: 'A failure - but a noble one.' That cry might have been invented for Gerry Carroll.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 21st June 2021Brighton Fringe review - Ali and Fran: Intense!!
Fran and Ali is a two-hander, rather than a double act, even if their contrasting chalk-and-Swiss-cheese personalities might seem ideally suited for comic juxtaposition.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 21st June 2021Brighton Fringe review - Aidan Goatley
It's Christmas in June, and Aidan Goatley is full of the 'goodwill to all men' spirit. And why wouldn't he be? He's doing two of the things he enjoys most: telling stories and sharing his love of movies. The Yuletide season itself he was always more ambivalent about, but every show's got to have a theme...
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 21st June 2021Is comedy taking care not to offend such a bad thing?
People are more sensitive about potential offence now than ever before, that's for sure. What's less clear, beyond the default reactionary stance of most print media, is why this is fundamentally a BAD THING and MUST BE STOPPED. For despite the naysayers, this is a pretty good time for TV comedy (at least until Covid put a spanner in the production works). Nostalgia always wins out because we only remember the excellent programmes, endlessly repeated, while the present contains warts-and-all.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 16th June 2021Inside No 9: Last Night Of The Proms review
This series of Inside No 9 ends with probably its weakest link, even though it's always fascinating to see what Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith come up with.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 14th June 2021Stewart Lee: Unreliable Narrator review
To research this Radio 4 essay about the role of the unreliable narrator, Stewart Lee spent almost three weeks with the Inrravat people of northern Canada, who believe in a trickster god whose stories cannot be trusted. What did he learn about this ancient culture? Well, almost nothing in a literal sense as all their stories - as you might expect - are based on lies and exaggeration.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 13th June 2021Brighton Fringe review - Fella: Give Me Some Credit
By rights, her show - performed in front of just five people at the Brighton Fringe - ought to be an embarrassment. But Fella has such an infectious joie de vivre, fully embracing the giddy jubilation of being on stage even in front of such a tiny crowd, that she transcends the dumb material she so enthusiastically peddles. She's living proof of the power of energy, enthusiasm and charisma in comedy: when it's a genuine as this, it's easy to get swept up in the preposterous moment.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 7th June 2021Brighton Fringe review - Pete Wells Does Not Exist
It has been a while since anyone was consistently on stage, so we can perhaps forgive some lack of fluidity, but Pete Wells' take on big tech is, to use the language of his subject, very buggy.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 7th June 2021Inside No 9: Hurry Up And Wait review
This week's episode of Inside No 9 hit that sweet spot between spookiness and humour that Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton are so good at finding. And a large part of that is down to the very game guest stars, playing against type.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 31st May 2021Jessie Cave: Sunrise - Soho Theatre On Demand review
I hope this isn't a sign of how slowly we're opening up. Earlier this month, Simon Bird released a stand-up special recorded in an empty theatre, yesterday Jessie Cave released hers, filmed in front of an audience of one: her sister, Bebe.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 28th May 2021