Embedded Files
Simon Evans: The Work of the Devil
Eloquent storytelling and masterfully crafted jokes, steered by an astounding command of the English language
50% laughs, 50% narrative
Cleverly ties together apparent ‘one-off’ jokes and ‘isolated’ skits into a rewarding and surprising ending
Paid
Michelle Christine: 50% Canadian, 100% Crazy, Let’s Laugh Again
Admittedly did not see her first show, though the sequel was prefaced with the reassurance this was not necessary
Slightly manic yet ultimately inspirational storytelling, made more rounded (or let-down?) by base and overt sexual tones to wrap up
Free
Out of the Blue
Surprisingly entertaining a cappella from the Oxford Boys in Blue
Highlights: The Lion Sleeps Tonight and Billie Eilish’s No Time to Die
Paid
Rob Duncan, Dan Lees and Tom Curzon: Extreme Nonsense
Absolute chaos, as promised
Heart-warming, free-flowing, audience-participating musical interlude, but sandwiched by aggressively loud screaming; the extremity of the nonsense was manageable (just), the volume was not
Free
Simon South: Close Up Conjuring
With a decent repertoire of classic tricks (from Cards to Chinese Rings), Simon doesn’t fail to keep the audience entertained
Comparison really is the thief of joy for Simon, who comes on just after David Alnwick’s hugely popular show. As he flyers for himself, watching streams of entertained revellers in awe of David’s magic, he must stand at the exit racking his brains as to why he hasn’t had his big break. While the answer may require more of a multi-varied analysis, I think a key difference is charisma; despite being a lovely fella, you can feel his nerves (and see it in a trembling ace of hearts)
Free
Alistair Barrie: Unfurloughed
Seasoned professional 49-year-old Barrie takes us through his 18 months from touring-comedian to house-husband, as we slide down the slippery slope of lockdown insanity, greased up by the maddening energy of a 3 and 5 year old
Deserving of a larger venue and a paid ticket
Free
Obie: Jocks, Geordies and Aussies without the Geordies and Aussies
Likeable Glaswegian comedian who provided a buoyant solo act with good audience participation
Effortlessly bonded the audience with gentle, jovial, low-intensity Scottish ‘patter’ all round
Free
Bob Walsh: Wrong Comedy
Bob Walsh carefully curates a line up of ‘wrong’ comedians who reside communally on the outskirts of polite society, and who come together in the cover of darkness (and a spotlight) – through wicked one-liners and outrageous stories – to revel in the darker side of comedy
Free
Dave Alnwick: Super chill Magic
Super charismatic and talented magician, with daily afternoon and evening shows that always have a queue way out the door
Well paced and consistently mind-boggling, with constant audience interaction
Despite being sat near the back, we still felt repeatedly wowed, perhaps a classic case of folie à plusieurs, or the madness of crowds, as we all suspended our disbelief and bought into his magic, quite literally, with almost everyone tapping his card reader (the money kind, not his clairevoyant friend) at the end
Free
Luke Rollason: Bowerbird (WIP)
Masterful visual comedy at the Monkey Barrel Comedy club; if Bo Burnham spent 5 more years ‘Inside’, perhaps he’d emerge as Luke Rollason, but probably still less weird
Totally bizarre skits with philosophical analysis of ‘what it is to be funny’ make this manic show a real (monkey)-barrel of laughs
Paid
Police Cops: Badass By Thy Name
Super original and very creative, laden with film and theatre references, excellent puns, hilarious-on-a-budget-props and laugh-out-loud improv moments
Seamless execution between slow-mo fights, heartfelt-confessions and devil-dancing-cabaret made this a unique and inimitable performance by the comedy trio
Paid
Mariam Batsashvili: Edinburgh International Festival
Not technically the Fringe but if the two coincide in time and place then it’d be rude not to include something from EIF
Incredible talent as Bastsashvili takes us on a Lisztful journey; unfortunately 3 Army helicopters had a call out and completely obscured the last 10 minutes – winged fingers should not duet with piano fingers
Paid
Dr Hoppenbopper: Psychoanalysing The Audience
Clever, cutting and quirky – attempted demonstration of how easy it is to severe the thin veneer between civilised humanity and base animal instincts
We, the audience, are treated as a homogeneous whole, as Dr Hoppenbopper ridicules our fragility and does well to push our buttons – thankfully, no blood was spilled in the bizarre finale!
Free
Ross Collum: Golden Retriever in a Man Suit
Sub-optimal performance, with multiple unfinished jokes either with forgotten premises or conclusions, and no overarching story (which is not a necessary condition of a good show, but does help when it starts in story mode)
Musical interludes and self-deprecating humour propped the show up, but barely
Free
Alex Leam: The Joy of Decks
Feel good set from a comedian who has struggled and could be filled with anger, but instead channels this into making the crowd happy through funny, innocent, clean humour with perceptive comments on classic songs
Free
Jolly Boat: Daft Puns
Wholesome, geeky and high energy performance from these long-established Fringe comedians
Super witty, super fresh, super original and super funny with a fast-paced Pirates of the Karaoke intro that got the whole audience screaming with laughter
Particular highlight (both times I saw the show) was the novel ‘interactive Pub Quiz song’ idea, where the audience shouts out answers to questions, to the tune of Park Life, and, in turn, where the answers rhyme with Park Life – genius!
Free
Trevor Lock’s Show
Fantastically absurd idea of presiding over the audience and making them the main characters of the show
‘Let’s get started’, ‘let’s start the show’, ‘time for the start of the show’ were cleverly dotted around the 1hr show, suspending the audience in confusion and then realisation that there is no ‘show’, and instead it is the idle chat, quick-wit, awkward comments, toilet breaks and perplexed glances from the audience that is, in fact, the show
Cleverly ascribing roles to audience members – ‘highlights man’ shouts out his ongoing new favourite highlight from the show, ‘explaining lady’ attempts to clear up any confusion, ‘caring man’ asks members if they are doing OK and so on – meant for fresh material every few minutes
No single show would be the same, which is exciting – and for that, as well as his ability to integrate both as arbiter and audience member, I would go again
Free
Joanna Tilley: I Am Not Phoebe Waller-Bridge
First time stand-up (and that was evident). A drawn-out piece centred on the theme of jealousy
Relatively painful viewing (especially in the front row, being asked things like whether I preferred incest of bestiality porn)
A confident end, jumping onto the elevated blocks and singing Dido’s Thank You, after referencing Eminem’s Stan – no prizes if you can guess the connection between the play and the song…
Free
1902
Powerful and emotional stuff from Saltire Sky Theatre
We felt nervous at the stark pre-start warnings – ‘no leaving once the show starts’, ‘keep your feet tucked in and drinks under seats’ etc – but all became clear as this high-energy show got underway, with bleary-eyed hooligans yelling and chanting their way round this intimate set in the Leith Arches
The energy levels of the actors were infectious and the intensity of their delivery spiked the collective audience adrenaline, culminating in a potent and tear-jerking finale
Paid
Best of Burlesque
Poorly executed on the night, with the compere at one point disappearing to call a missing act as she was ‘the only one with her number’
Nonetheless, some laugh-out-loud moments as well as an impressive musical saw interlude of Moon River, which was definitely a first
Paid
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