Do we still like Ricky?

Poor Ricky Gervais. The one time king of quality control was last week he was forced to dance humilatingly by a Wembley-full of Express readers, the most embarresing television dance since Shabnam left the Big Brother house.

On the back of the poor Simpsons episode, the patchy second series of Extras and all sorts of other celeb appearences at the Ivy, has Ricky undone all his good work? Or is he just showing he’s human? Afterall who would turn down Matt Groening or the future King of England when they come knocking?

Smug busting Briain

You never know what you’re going to get when you plunge into the cultural pick and mix that is the average Hay audience, but you’ll normally be party to some surreal blathering or other that is well worth the ticket price alone. Tonight’s Radio 4 listener, sat directly behind me, was busy telling her long suffering friends that as a rule she didn’t like stand-up, however she does believe Sandi Toksvig is a natural comedian. Turning her attention to tonight’s act her, pre-show verdict was that “he’s very Irish, but very funny” as if the two don’t normally sit well together; and I have to say I wholeheartedly agree with her… at least about O’Briain.

The freedom of the stage combined with harsh lighting transformed O’Briain from the cuddly host of Mock the Week into an almost demonic looking redneck Celt. Machine gunning through the performance with a professional mania the excitable Irishman rattled from one story to another as if unable to stop even if he wanted to. Late in the gig he checked his watch and, realising he was now clashing with Reg. D. Hunter’s gig across site, promised to finish soon before effortlessly ploughing on for a further 20 minutes.

It is clear from watching him on stage exactly why he has enjoyed such televisual success in recent years, but it is also comedian’s curse – on more than one occasion I was familiar with his material. Even then O’Briain’s stage technique gave it a fresh quality.

Henry Widdicombe www.suchsmallportions.com 

Brigstocke bites (a bit)

Marcus Brigstocke has always been a bit Radio 4; middle-class, intelligent and a tad smug. So what better place for him to perform than the festival that is essentially a live version of the sleepy radio channel (literally at some points – Brigstocke has just come from performing Just a Minute)? It’s unashamed middle-class armchair liberalism, but there’s nothing wrong with that.

 

In all there are seven Hayite rounds of applause, for anti-Blair, anti-Bush, anti-Littlejohn rants, and the smugness does at points become a bit stifling in the crowded tent in the middle of Wales. But beyond this Brigstocke is charming, interesting and original; everything the Hay crowd would like to think they are (but aren’t).

 

He’s taken on a harder edge recently, whether it’s a reaction to the state of the world or a career move it doesn’t matter, he has more bite and that can only be a good thing. Of course he hasn’t become some sort of corduroy-clad Bill Hicks but he comes across as one of the few comedians peddling political material because he actually cares and his act makes you think far more than a lecture from AA Gill or Simon Schama ever will.

Josh Widdicombe www.suchsmallportions.com

Sarah Kendall at Hay Festival

45 seconds. That’s how long it takes Sarah Kendall to point out that a) she’s an Australian, b) this isn’t Australia, this is Wales and c) ho ho ho aren’t they different and isn’t she a fish out of antipodean waters? It’s material based on topics as obvious as the rain hammering down on the canvas above our heads. Let’s just say that if the beer at the Hay Festival was as cheap as some of Kendall’s jokes ssp would have enjoyed her set a whole lot more.

Festival line-ups are all about balance and it’s easy to see why Kendall made the bill. Her jape-by-numbers routine offers a soothing brain balm to an audience exhausted from the day’s programme of political debate and literary sparring. However, for those of us too stupid to even feign an interest in the ‘meat’ of the festival, her patter is so much candy floss – sticky, sweet and as light as air.

There is one fantastic moment when someone in the audience gets up to go to the loo. Kendall does the obligatory “don’t go, it’ll get better” bit until the loo-leaver gets to the door, then she hisses “Aren’t we glad she’s gone? I couldn’t believe she came, can you?” It’s both spiteful and conspiratory and for a fleeting moment we join the intelligentsia in roaring along to her observational wit.

For rest of the time we’re plagued by the feeling that this is one of the rare occasions at Hay that ssp will be the authority on something. And we’re supremely confident in our knowledge that, despite what these fiercely intelligent people may think, Sarah Kendall is just no good.

Henry Barnes - live editor at www.suchsmallportions.com

Peep Show 4: a bit desperate

With all six episodes built to what was hoped to be some sort of monumental final episode wedding extravaganza, the fourth series of Peep Show has been the first to have a truly conventional story arc. Viewers have overlooked the slightly dodgy episodes with plots based around desperate attempts to make Mark and Jeremy’s actions more extreme as they waited for the greatest car crash wedding since Britney/K Fed. We saw Jeremy eat a dog (for no real reason), Mark going feral in a car park (in an unlikely change of character) and the whole show just becoming a bit too silly. Much like the new Derren Brown series it was paired with on Friday nights, ideas had been sacrificed in favour of extreme scenarios.

In the end, the final episode was just more of the same. Mark and Sophie’s wedding was predictably disastrous, while Jeremy pissed himself. That was about it. This series has been a bit Mitchell-heavy throughout with Robert Webb restricted to playing bit parts as the vacuous Jeremy. It’s a disservice to Webb who, although maybe not as funny as David Mitchell, puts in a brilliantly desperate performance as Jeremy which deserves more screen time. Perhaps now the “el dude brothers” are set to be reunited in series five, the problems we have seen over the past six weeks will be remedied.

Josh Widdicombe - editor www.suchsmallportions.com

SSP interrogated

On Monday, 30 April, editor Josh and I joined “On The Fringe”, resonance fm’s flagship fringe theatre show.
Poor old resonance.
The studio, which basically shares a space with the neighbouring restaurant’s toilet, suffers badly from a leaky roof/holey floor and nowhere near enough money to fix itself. Recently, the station laid on a fundraising comedy gig in Soho (read our review) but if you missed it, and still wanna donate money, well you can do that too. Here

Anyway, when we get a copy of the show, where Josh and I pimped SSP ourselves for all we’re worth (how much is that?), we’ll put it on a podcast or something.

Thanks to all who listened – the multimedia comedy takeover is nigh.

georgie x

’sleb spots

Spotted! Hot goss from the states comin atch’a.

On a recent trip to Hawai’i, who did Hobbs come face to face with? None other than lady killing ‘Victorian werewolf’, Russell Brand. On the shores of Turtle Bay (the only 5 star resort on the isle of O’ahu’s surfing mecca, the North Shore) Brand strolled leisurely along the beach, accompanied by a one-man camera crew. He stopped briefly only to pull a strand of 70 per cent cocoa-coloured hair from his lips – the wind is pretty narly out there after all.

He wasn’t filming at the time, but, while walking on the sand in front of the exclusive sea-front villas, he could well have been walking to, or from, a set. Equally, he could be involved in the new Milla Jovovich vehicle they are currently filminh there. Or maybe, Lost, which is filmed just round the corner in the jungle-sided town of Hale’ewa…

Anyway, I’d say the strangest thing of all was Brand’s ‘look’ - veritably draped in white linen, he looked quite at peace with the new wave beachy lifestyle, and if it wasn’t for the up-close view of his trademark un-trimmed hair (both on scalp and face), I’d have been hard-pressed to believe the metrosexual neo-hippy before me was you now know who.

About 4 days later I was headed back to London Heathrow from LAX, and who did I share a lounge and seating section with? Other than stewardess’s fave, Charlie from Busted (recording solo album in LA) and Chris Martin from Coldplay, I mean.

Well, in faux-Communist style cap, aviator shades and shiny laptop - it was Simon Pegg, I tell you. After ordering a glass of red wine when we boarded, Pegg flipped his seat into a bed and slept for most of the 11 hour flight. So, other than bumping into him coming out of the plane’s loo, somewhere over France, that was all the gossip I could grab.

If there’s any more ’sleb peep peeks , I’ll keep ya posted…

Georgie “I work too hard to tan” Hobbs

just a (techie) beginning

suchsmallportions is up and running after a lot of work from everybody here at SSP. But really, it’s just a beginning. Getting the pages up on site is great, but it’s all a bit, well, static at the moment. So now part two of the work begins. We want people to engage with the site, to tell us if they disagree with what we say, to show is what’s good in comedy out there. There’s only a finite number of us and we can’t cover everything (even if we try really hard). So, keep your eyes peeled for digg and del.icio.us buttons, the ability to comment on posts, even forums. So, if you have more suggestion of how we can make this site really interactive, leave a comment here on the blog or get in contact via the site.

Aaron, the man with the glasses…

The SSP “pimp your plant pot” pot is complete

See the relevant article here
Now all it needs is an appropriate flower… Any suggestions?

(posted by Holly, TV Editor)

Ricky Gervais - total rip-off?

Tickets went on sale at 10am this morning for Ricky Gervais’ dates at the Hammersmith Apollo later this year. If you book through TicketMaster you’ll be spending just over £40, including booking fee and postage, for the privilege of sitting in a seat in six months’ time and watching one slightly pudgy man standing alone on a stage (I’m making assumptions based on his last tour).

Is it just me, or does £40 seem a bit much?

Given live stand-up generally has such low production costs compared to, say, Opera or a classical concert, or even Kylie, it does seem like a bit of a rip-off to me. Huge bands command this kind of ticket price, with a lot more over-heads to cover with the takings. Yes, I must admit I’m not the biggest Gervais fan anyway, but honestly I wouldn’t pay £40 to see any comedian. Unless they had seven costume changes, a team of dancers and perhaps threw in a few free drinks.

Anna

Another candidate for afternoon TV

Help! My Dog’s as Fat as Me, Tues 27th March, 7.30 pm, BBC Three (ok, this is just into evening tv)

A weight loss show in which owners and their dogs aim to lose weight together. Really, what do BBC Three ideas people do? Use those word fridge magnets, and make programmes out of random arrangements? Picture the meeting now:

“Cat” and “Sun” – “No”

“Dog” and “Fat” – “Excellent, we can have an early lunch now”

Holly

The last hurrah of a one-time comedy bandit

Anyone who managed the heroic task of watching through Paul O’Grady to the more saucy bits of Comic Relief last Friday would have noticed a budding satirical comedian in the making. Call me blind for not seeing the gag, but I found Tony Blair’s sketch with Catherine Tate to actually be quite amusing. It is hard to imagine a Jacques Chirac or Bush doing anything of the sort, not to mention any of the other Prime Minister we’ve had in the past; John Major was terrorized by Spitting Image’s pea sketch for Christ’s sake. But if this is part of the final farewell tour that (courtesy of a leaked document from D street) will leave us wanting more, did Comic Relief play into a retiring PM’s publicity hands?

P.S. Highlight of the night has to be Jonathon Ross’s accidental quip to Fern Cotton about her sounding common. No stage school in the country could teach someone to hide a face that drops that fast.

Tim

Pimp My Plant Pot

Last Saturday, at around 1pm, I received a text reading: “I’m the one with the plant by the bus map.” I spotted her instantly; this was environmentalist extraordinaire, Nicola “Pimp My Plant Pot” Awford who I’d arranged to meet at Liverpool Street station. She was weighed down by three plants and several bags of clothes (having recently moved to the big smoke, Nicola’s reliant on friends for a place to sleep).

Her generosity was amazing - she amiably handed me a little cactus, some kind of exotic red thing (I’m crap at the environment) and a hyacinth and refused my offers to pay her for them. Plus, I’ve recently noticed, she’s top friended SSP at Pimp My Plant Pot

After posing for a few photos with me and the plants, Nicola was off again to North London to spread some plants around and find a bed for the night.

Read my article about Nicola’s attempts to save the environment by helping urbanites to pimp their plant pots in our features section. And when I free some space on my memory stick, you’ll get to see some picks of our office plant, Robert. TV and Radio editor Holly will pimp out its pot tonight.

Georgie

We don’t need specially made TV comedy

The Radio Times’ description of ITV’s new afternoon show:

_______________________________________

Soapstar Superchef 5:00pm - 6:00pm ITV1 London

VIDEO Plus+: 8703 Subtitles, widescreen

New series in which the nation’s favourite soap actors reveal their hidden culinary skills in a series of head-to-head battles. Each day two teams of soap stars must recreate the signature dish of one of the country’s leading chefs in front of a live studio audience and an unforgiving panel of judges. In today’s show, Coronation Street takes on Emmerdale in the ultimate celebrity cook off.

_______________________________________

If you need counselling after reading about this new ITV low, please dial the SSP helpline on 08000000000000000.

Holly

‘Cause we are living in a material world…

…and terrible films get made for a quick buck.

Forced myself to watch Hilary Duff-vehicle Material Girls last night, one of the worst films I’ve seen since Lord of the Rings 2. And I’m pretty forgiving towards shallow chick flicks. I even quite liked Drive Me Crazy, starring Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the guy who’s now in Entourage, but then it did have the Donnas playing at their prom. I can’t imagine the production team of Material Girls even accidentally doing anything as cute as that.

Watch the trailer here. No, on second thoughts - don’t. Watch the Donnas’ ‘Skintight’ video here.

Jess

Those Mitchell and Web Ads

It was inevitable - a comedy duo as popular as M&W were bound to be offered a lucrative advertising deal sooner or later. But do you giggle at their Mac ads or feel compelled to put a picture of their faces on the nearest Mac screen then smash it with a large hammer?

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih41uU17P_o - Lee and Herring’s take on the ads)

Discuss… you can see them all here: http://www.apple.com/uk/getamac/ads/)

(posted by Holly)

The Simpsons and overwhelming dread

Judging by their current anti-Virgin ad campaign, Sky are very proud to be the home to new episodes of The Simpsons. I can’t imagine why. For me every new episode is another startling disappointment. I should know better but I keep going back to the show like a beaten wife blaming herself. I know what I will get, needless celebrity cameos, nonsensical levered-in gags, oh-so-risque references to Fox and Homer being ‘hilariously’ stupid, but there is always that hope that they will stumble into 23 minutes of series 6 standard gold.
And this year we get the movie. God help us. The proposition is as exciting as a new tour from The Rolling Stones, but sadly I will probably be there on the day of release ready to be let down again.

Josh

Bujalski-fest

SSP film&dvd is off to see an Andrew Bujalski double bill tonight (Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation) at the ICA. Will the lo-fi, Cassavetes-influenced comedies be any good? Will I fall asleep before the marathon is over? Can I crowbar Le Tigre lyrics into the review (Alcoholic! Messiah!)? Check the section for more deets.

And please, please, please - will someone go and see Norbit?

Jess x

Open for breakfast

It’s a fry up. Such Small Portions is nearly up and running, and we’re working the early shift this morning. The lattes and superfrappacinos have been lugged, and we’re getting down to work. Over the next weeks and months we’ll be working hard to deliver the best in news, reviews, features and audio/visual extras from the comedy world. We want to keep the menu fresh though, so keep in touch through the Blog and let us know what whets your appetite and what makes you queasy…

Will