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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
Description: Rebooted for the 21st century, the legendary Amnesty International comedy and music night returns with a line-up including Al Murray, Chevy Chase, Eddie Izzard, Russell Brand, Jennifer Saunders, Jimmy Fallon, The Mighty Boosh, Dylan Moran, Jon Culshaw, Meera Syal, Omid Djalili, Jessica Stevenson, Ronni Ancona, Seth Green, Andrew Maxwell and The Magic Numbers, plus surprises featuring Patrick Stewart, Joanna Lumley, Jimmy Carr, Tara Fitzgerald, Jo Brand and Brian Cox.
Alan Carr effectively explored his decaying frame
Big cause, big but patchy gig. For more than 30 years the Amnesty International benefits have regularly delivered magical moments.
Rowan Atkinson’s classic schoolmaster sketch springs to mind, while in 2006 Russell Brand and Sarah Silverman were both revelations.
This year’s four-hour epic packed in plenty of laughs, if few dizzying heights.
The structure did not help. The absence of a single compere — celebs including Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton, Fearne Cotton and Gok Wan jobshared — meant that things never quite flowed.
Ten-minute sets sufficed on the brutally edited version aired on C4 last night, but they were not ideal on Saturday evening.
Too short for the strong acts, too long for the indifferent ones. Opener Frank Skinner, for example, left everyone wanting more.
His superbly bawdy reflections on middle age proved that while his body might be seizing up, his comedy brain is as agile as ever.
Alan Carr also effectively explored his decaying frame, bemoaning his ailing knees: “I can’t mince, I’ve lost work.”
Other highlights included Australian Tim Minchin’s rudely clever songs and American Kristen Schaal’s engagingly dippy humour.
Shappi Khorsandi was one of the few acts to refer to human rights, saying that there was free speech in her native Iran, though not after you’ve spoken.
Favourite memories? Sean Lock’s swan impression and Jon Culshaw’s dead ringer of Boris “Cripes” Johnson. Eddie Izzard closed with an evolution riff that was funny, if not particularly coherent.
In that sense, he summed up the entire event.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
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The televised version of the show was horrendous. Frank Skinner was a flat and tired opener - Heather Mills has one leg? Abu Hamza has a hook? Who knew!?
He was followed by an embarrassing skit featuring Matt Horne and James Cordon, during which Cordon jumped around and screeched like a child on a sugar high.
Sadly these two openers set the tone for the subsequent hour or so. Brief highlights came in the form of Sean Lock, Mitchell and Webb, Tim Minchin and Eddie Izzard.
The Secret Policeman's Ball is something my family and I always look forward to watching but I am disappointed to say that we watched most of Sunday's programme in bemused, awkward silence.
- Charles Thomson, London, United Kingdom
