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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Bruce Dessau's rating
Reader rating
Keeping it clean: Michael McIntyre included some sublime observations
Smart: Jimmy Carr performed edgy, rug-pulling routines
Michael McIntyre
Lyric Theatre, W1
****
Jimmy Carr
Brixton Academy
****
A recent survey suggested that the neatly told joke is dead, killed largely by non-verbal email and texting culture. If this is true then nobody has informed Jimmy Carr and Michael McIntyre, two smart-suited, smart-brained, unashamedly middle-class quip merchants both currently making the subtle art of the simple punchline resemble child's play.
In Brixton on Saturday Carr rattled through two hours of crisply-constructed comedy. His show is called Repeat Offender but a better title might be Have I Got Taboos For You. As ever he was big on the X-rated Factor, with edgy, rug-pulling routines on everything from rape to homosexuality, 9/11 and beyond: "As a child I was terrified of the dentist. He was a paedophile."
At heart, though, Carr is a master craftsman who just happens to have chosen pure filth as his preferred building block. Which is a shame because he can be just as witty without reverting to smut: "I bought a home pregnancy test. Turns out my home is pregnant."
Michael McIntyre also had a great gag about self-testing last night. He tried for a baby for a year, buying monthly kits from Boots: "£13.99 each. I could have had broadband." Elsewhere his riffs included sublime observations on the way people walk, talk and generally cope with whatever obstacles daily life throws at them.
Carr and McIntyre share the ability to "find the funnies" everywhere but McIntyre keeps it clean and mainstream, homing in on human behaviour's minutiae like a stand-up anthropologist.
With his babyfaced charm, physical clowning and unshakeable confidence, West End runs rather than one-night stands clearly beckon. Unless a shrewd, shiny-floored TV series snaps him up first.
• Jimmy Carr, Carling Apollo, 14, 15, 22 December (0844 847 1626, www.jimmycarr.com).
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
