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Ricky Gervais would be a kind of modern comic genius, if geniuses hailed from Reading and thought skits about drinking gallons of spunk were the highest form of humour. Science, a blend of expertly told anecdote and faux school lesson, was in places very funny and original. Gervais is at his best when insolent – about fat Americans, Ken Dodd, Amanda Holden or the absurdities of Christian teaching. But his chirpy bloke-in-the-pub style means he doesn’t come across as cruel. A likeable show, perhaps lacking a coherent theme, but his meandering chat-over-a-drink attitude made it work. Does his material deserve to be called offensive? Possibly. But you’d hear worse in the playground.
Brighton Centre, 17 August
4/5
Rachel Pegg

Last year I pootled along to the Brighton Comedy Festival and saw a lovely Liverpudlian chap do his set in the Pavilion Theatre on New Road. That chap’s got rather more bums on seats this year. He’s playing the Brighton Centre. His name was John Bishop. Yup, that fella off of weekend telly.

Although this year’s Brighton Comedy Festival isn’t until October, now is definitely the time to start booking tickets. We’ve all heard of the Jimmy Carrs and the Frankie Boyles that fill out the Dome Concert Hall come the autumn, but there are cracking comics playing the smaller sites too. Kevin Bridges – of C4’s Stand Up For The Week and the BBC’s Michael McIntyre Roadshow – is playing the Corn Exchange on 12 October. Baggsy seeing that engagingly thoughtful, Glaswegian early-twenty-something!
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Blazing A Trail:Noomi Rapace talks to Glen Ferris about taking on the role of troubled heroine Lisbeth Salander in The Girl Who Played With Fire

Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander is one of modern literature’s most fascinating characters and she’s obviously got a huge following. How did it feel when you first took on the role?
I was terrified at first. It felt like a suicide mission in a way because how could I possibly live up to everybody’s expectations? So I just said to myself, I have to give up and do it my way because there’s no way I can please everybody. I just had to push away all those outside thoughts and instead concentrate on finding Lisbeth in myself.
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Curated by The Wedding Present’s David Gedge, At The Edge Of The Sea promises to be festival heaven for Brighton indie fans. Jeff Hemmings reports.

Now based on the South Coast, Wedding Present frontman David Gedge has firmly devoted himself to the area by curating and co-promoting At The Edge Of The Sea. This ‘festival’ has become a family affair, as it also involves alter-egos of the band (Cinerama), off-shoots (The Ukranians), solo sets by members past and present (Terri de Castro, Paul Dorrington), and many friends. “To be honest I feel like a fraud,” says David. “It’s a Wedding Present concert with a load of mates and former colleagues… It’s my festival, so I can do what I want I suppose!”
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