Boy With Tape On His Face. Underbelly On The Southbank.

The Boy With Tape On His Face is back in the UK! He's doing a few shows before returning to the Edinburgh Fringe with his Best Newcomer nominated show. I took the opportunity to see it again at Underbelly on the Southbank.

It was a very wet day and the venue wasn't very rainy day friendly, but I had a blast nonetheless. The involuntary volunteers were all so wonderful - well done them. The standing ovation was more than deserving.

A thought.

The Boy With Tape On His Face is even better at facial expressions than Tim Minchin. Fact.

The Penny Dreadfuls Present: The Revolution. BBC Broadcasting House.

Richard E. Grant, Sally Hawkins and Maragret Cabourn-Smith joined Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Tom Tuck for the recording of The Penny Dreadfuls Present: The Revolution ("written by Humphrey Ker and David Reed with additional material by Thom Tuck").

What a bloody cast! What wonderful writing! Guys, you've got to tune in to this! 9th of July on Radio 4 at 2.30pm. I did learning and lots of laughing.

A thought.

Love, love, love The Penny Dreadfuls. Couldn't pick a favourite at this recording (HA), but I do have a very soft spot for the Mighty David Reed.

Mark Watson Book Event. Foyles.

Mark Watson has some pretty enthusiastic fans. Am I one of them? Maybe. A lovely little event to promote the paperback version of Eleven.

Mark read a few extracts from the novel, none of which were about the main character, before answering a few questions. I like the way he looks after the minor characters throughout the book, a style which he picked up from one of his favourite authors (her name escapes me - awful).

A thought.

If I was a famous person, I wouldn't want pictures of my face on public display. I would be so devastated if they were defaced.

Party Recording. BBC Broadcasting House.

Party, written by Tom Basden, really is the best thing ever. Nothing makes me more happy than seeing Tom Basden, Tim Key, Jonny Sweet, Katy Wix and Anna Crilly play Duncan, Simon, Jared, Pheobe and Mel. Jot Davies joined the cast to provide the voices of all the other characters needed.

This. Is. Talent.

A thought.

I hope to see/hear more Party in the future. Let's hope this 4-part Radio 4 series isn't the last.

Feature Spot Presents: Miles Jupp. 100 Club.

Feature Spot continues to put on a great comedy night at the 100 Club. The line-up at this gig included the likes of Kevin Eldon, Arnab Chanda, Doc Brown, Miles Jupp and MC, Humphrey Ker.

Having forgotten about the gig and sporting a bit of a cold, Eldon gave a great set that set the course for the rest of the night. I really enjoy his routine with a black bit of tape on the end of a stick - clever.

Arnab is so god-damn good at stand-up. I love his jokes. I like his style. Kinda wished he hadn't said "yeah, i'm going to kill myself soon".

Doc Brown bought the house down! Absolutely killed it. It was great to see the older, middle class couple in front of me really getting into the raps.

Miles Jupp is a very nice man. Never has a comedian come up to me while I was doing the door and introduced themselves. I mean, there's no need, i'm just a silly little girl marking names off a list, but it was very lovely. He gave quite a long set that very much appealed to the audience.

I wish Humphrey Ker could MC every gig I go to. So brilliant. I adore his turn of phrase.

A thought.

Comedy, bunker-style is the bomb. Hooray for Oxford St and their roadworks. (Half of this is sarcastic).

Operation Greenfield. Soho Theatre/Government Inspector Preview. Young Vic Theatre.

I would've kicked myself if i'd missed Operation Greenfield during it's run at Soho Theatre; it received brilliant reviews at last year's Fringe and during the tour.

The play showed the growth of a teenage religious rock band over the space of, say, a year. It culminated at a band competition which Operation Greenfield end up winning.

The 4 young performers from Little Bulb Theatre Group were all incredibly talented (acting/singing/playing several instruments).

----

The preview for Government Inspector was a tad long and I lost interest towards the very end. Stunning cast who all gave wonderful performances, especially Fergus Craig, Julian Barratt, Amanda Lawrence and Kyle Soller. I'm sure it has improved since I saw and is more than deserving of 5 star reviews.

Due to my rubbishness (is so a word) at writing reviews, i'm going to link you to Anna's blog.

A thought.

I only have thoughts worth noting down when i'm extremely tired.

John-Luke Roberts Distracts You From A Murder. Soho Theatre.

There are so many clever jokes in this show that most of the time I struggle to keep up. I really don't understand why it wasn't nominated for Best Newcomer at last year's Fringe - madness.

A thought.

Tom Bell did a great job of impersonating Gareth Gwynn.

Freeze. Kings Place.

This would've been the best Freeze gig i'd ever been to if they'd danced; I heard a snippet of You! Me! Dancing! too. Loved the sketch about feminism, the acoustic version of Cka and the Richard Madeley/Mamma Mia duet (pretty sure Mamma Mia wasn't meant to be a duet).

I've heard terrible things about the rooms at Kings Place, but I thought it was absolutely fine. Oh, and it had a piano - bonus.

A thought.

The lyrics to Mamma Mia should always include a side story about a seagull.

Alex Horne: Ten Years In The Bathroom. Canal Cafe Theatre.

A lovely, lovely preview from Alex Horne about the average amount of time we spend doing certain things in our lifetime. This is, by far, my favourite Horne show to date. I can't wait to see the finished show in Edinburgh - it's almost there.

A thought.

I'm a fan of both of these people and this Twitter exchange made me quite upset.

Tom Rosenthal: @danielrigby "I've won a Bafta so I don't need to gig" the genuine highlight of our in-depth conversation on the art of stand-up comedy... We've got the same amount of followers. You're not famous yet. Genuinely very hurt otherwise I wouldn't feel the need to do this... Just wanted to chat about being an actor who does stand-up.

That was that. LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS. Probably nothing as we're both nothings. Hear that, mate? We're both bloody nothings... Although, hang on. No, still nothing.

Daniel Rigby: @rosentweets Just woke up to your very public character assassination. I didn't say what you put in quotes and was a bit drunk... I don't think i'm famous and i'm sorry if one encounter has given you such a wrong impression of me... I'm sorry as well if I "hurt your feelings". I really didn't mean to. It was a drunk conversation... Completely baffled and hurt by your choice to do that based on 1 meeting with someone you don't know. Rude and aggressive.

They're appear to be "all good" now, but still. Evil Twitter, evil.