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Julian Hall
Julian Hall is the comedy critic for The Independent, a role he has held since 2003. Previously, he spent two years writing for, and eventually editing, the paper's "Pandora" gossip column. As comedy critic he has reviewed most of the major figures in comedy (including Eddie Izzard, Ricky Gervais and Chris Rock) either at the Edinburgh Festival or on national tours. Julian has been on the judging panel for the Chortle Comedy Awards three times and for the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year Award twice. He was also a member of the judging panel for the if.comedy awards (formerly The Perrier Awards) in Edinburgh in 2007 and in 2008. Julian’s book, Rough Guide to British Cult Comedy' was published in October 2006.
Julian's online portfolio can be found on: jnhfreelancearchive.blogspot.com
Julian's online portfolio can be found on: jnhfreelancearchive.blogspot.com
As the festive season gets underway the comedy calendar gets into a real yule log-jam and an already vast choice becomes that bit harder and suddenly going to see comedy becomes an agonising chore, well almost. Let me do what I can to ease the pain by flagging up a few gigs that have caught my eye.
First up is a great bill at the atmospheric Union Chapel on Upper Street in Islington, London this Saturday. The affable and up and coming Jon Richardson hosts turns from old hands John Hegley and RIchard Herring plus the celebrated Irish comic Andrew Maxwell. That's not all folks as everyone's favourite all girl retro pop outfit The Pipettes will be the house band. More info here. Definitely a winter warmer, which is useful as it can be chilly in the Chapel.
Also, Stewart Lee is doing a number of gigs in preparation for his long awaited return to TV (a BBC 2 series called 'Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle' airing in February). Lee plays 15 hour long shows at the Hen and Chickens, Highbury Corner from 7 - 11 and 14 - 18 December and 4 - 8 Jan. You can web-book tickets here or phone 020 7704 2001.
Meanwhile if you want to go to the filimng of the actual stand up sections for the BBC2 show they are being recorded at The Mildmay Club in Stoke Newington, London over four nights, Jan 12 – 15 Jan. You can register to be told about tickets for the recordings.
More gig suggestions to follow...
First up is a great bill at the atmospheric Union Chapel on Upper Street in Islington, London this Saturday. The affable and up and coming Jon Richardson hosts turns from old hands John Hegley and RIchard Herring plus the celebrated Irish comic Andrew Maxwell. That's not all folks as everyone's favourite all girl retro pop outfit The Pipettes will be the house band. More info here. Definitely a winter warmer, which is useful as it can be chilly in the Chapel.
Also, Stewart Lee is doing a number of gigs in preparation for his long awaited return to TV (a BBC 2 series called 'Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle' airing in February). Lee plays 15 hour long shows at the Hen and Chickens, Highbury Corner from 7 - 11 and 14 - 18 December and 4 - 8 Jan. You can web-book tickets here or phone 020 7704 2001.
Meanwhile if you want to go to the filimng of the actual stand up sections for the BBC2 show they are being recorded at The Mildmay Club in Stoke Newington, London over four nights, Jan 12 – 15 Jan. You can register to be told about tickets for the recordings.
More gig suggestions to follow...
