Tom Rosenthal (I)

My Edinburgh: Tom Rosenthal, comedian

Edinburgh can be a hard and wet place.

Is the political joke on its way back to power?

Topical material is creeping back on the agenda. Even Tom Rosenthal is getting political - in a gentle sort of way.

This week's new comedy: Edinburgh special

Simon Munnery, Hannibal Montanabal and Tom Rosenthal

I'm quite sort of talented

How is Tom Rosenthal planning to make punters laugh? With stories about his brilliance at egg and spoons races.

Fringe 2011 comedy: 5 shows about parents

Featuring Scott Capurro, Tom Rosenthal, Catie Wilkins, Des Bishop and Jack Whitehall.

A vintage year: an interview with Tom Rosenthal

Emma McAlpine talks to Tom Rosenthal about Friday Night Dinner, his first stage role and upcoming Fringe debut.

Tom Rosenthal interview

Tom Rosenthal talks about his latest stage role in Chicken Soup With Barley and how he enjoys 'taking the p***' out of his Dad for his stand-up routine.

Fringe preview: Naz Osmanoglu and Tom Rosenthal

Award-winning stand-up Naz Osmanoglu and Friday Night Dinner star Tom Rosenthal are presenting their first Edinburgh preview shows tonight at the Hen and Chickens theatre in Highbury.

Apart from the smatterings of mildly bad language, this Jewish take on My Family remains a surprisingly cosy sitcom for a Friday night on Channel 4.

You can't fault the cast - which includes Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal as bickering brothers who revert to toddlerhood every time they step through the front door into the family home.

The dramas are small ones and this week a family squabble manages to break out over the colour of mum Jackie's new curtains. The bright spots in all this are Paul Ritter as the bare-chested shirt-phobic dad and Mark Heap as the oddball neighbour Jim.

Those three little words: "And Mark Heap" at the start of any sitcom are like a British Standards kitemark guaranteeing that there'll be nuggets of bizarre brilliance tucked away inside - and tonight's scene involving Jim's trip to the pub with his lager-loving dog is very odd indeed.

A family comedy like no other, Friday Night Dinner is well on its way to becoming the kind of small-scale Channel 4 hit that keeps the cognoscenti coming back year after year. The chemistry between Tamsin Greig, Simon Bird, Paul Ritter and Tom Rosenthal is terrific. Tonight's antics revolve around gin, bin bags and Mrs Goodman's efforts to improve the living room décor; it's astonishing how much comedy can be mined from a pair of pee-coloured curtains.