Mad as a March Hare, entertainment that has comedy and satire in spades!
TV: ‘The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin’, airing on Apple TV
Noel Fielding is Dick Turpin, the most dangerous highway robber of the 18th century. Sort of.
Dick Turpin sets out on a journey of wildly absurd escapades when he’s made the reluctant leader of a band of outlaws — and tasked with outwitting corrupt lawman and self-appointed thief-taker Jonathan Wilde (Hugh Bonneville). In this irreverent retelling set in the 18th century, Turpin is the most famous but least likely of highway robbers, whose success is defined mostly by his charm, showmanship and great hair. Together with his gang of lovable rogues, Turpin rides the highs and lows of his new endeavours, including a brush with celebrity, all whilst trying to escape the clutches of the thief-taker. This show is crammed full with the great and the good of British comedy!
Film: Drive-away Dolls, dir Ethan Cohen
Ethan Coen’s first solo feature film since his rise to notoriety as one-half of the Coen Brothers alongside Joel Coen. Co-written with partner and long-time collaborator Tricia Cooke, the comedy thriller is set to open in cinemas this March. Most comparable to movie classics like O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Big Lebowski, this film is “filthy fun.” Nursing her wounds from yet another split, the free-spirited Jamie (played by Margaret Qualley) and her uptight friend, Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan), take to the road en route to Tallahassee, but their plans are thwarted when they get tangled up with a group of inept criminals.
Music: Where’s My Utopia?, Yard Act
The follow up to the Leeds band’s critically-acclaimed debut record The Overload which arrived in January 2022. Written in snapshots of time between a relentless touring schedule, and produced jointly by the band and Gorillaz’ Remi Kabaka Jr, the quartet’s second act is a giant leap forward into broad and playful new sonic waters. Across the record, influences ranging from Fela Kuti to Ennio Moricone via Spiller’s ‘00s pop smash ‘Groovejet’ make themselves known. It seems that frontman James Smith has allowed himself to reach lyrically deeper into himself than ever. Gone, largely, are the outward-facing character studies of yore, replaced with a set of songs that stare fully into the headlights of life, wrangling with the frontman’s own fears, all the while laying down a rebelliously creative narrative - but with jokes.
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