Martin Walker published 36 shows at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe. Sadly he had to leave half way through due to Covid. Only shows that received three stars or higher were published. Apologies to performers Becky Fury, Chelsea Birkby, Kate Smurthwaite, Kyle Ayers, Raul Kohli, Sam See and Stuart Laws – due to Covid their reviews were published after the Fringe ended.
Traditionally, Drag Kings are women performers who adopt masculine attire and embody male gender stereotypes. Drag has been part of the British entertainment scene since the days of the nineteenth century music hall. Interestingly, in China, women took to the stage to perform as men as early as 700 CE. The great drag stars of […]
READ HEREAnd I Can’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore, details the true story of a comedian moving from his birth country of Singapore to his adopted home of London, England. This is a show about fitting in. How can an openly gay comedian survive in a country where he is not permitted to exist? […]
READ HEREHard to Say chronicles Kyle Ayers’ ongoing battle with Trigeminal Neuralgia, a crippling pain disorder often referred to as “Suicide Disease”. With daily flare-ups causing excruciating pain in his head and face, Kyle aims to find the humour in his situation, no matter how painful it is. The comedian describes his journey from initial symptoms, […]
READ HEREBecky Fury discusses her discomfort with fashionable identities. And she chooses to explore an unfashionable one – being British. She critiques the left-wing middle class’s distain of patriotism and the insularity of British politics. Describing her relationship with Britain as a “pansexual, non-monogamous situationship,” Becky emphasizes the importance of understanding cultural origins and suggests a […]
READ HERESome folks have that extra ‘it’ – the intangible that separates the greats from the rest of us. They see the world a little differently, but can successfully communicate offbeat ideas through their chosen art. In Stuart Laws Has to Be Joking? the comedian reveals that he has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). […]
READ HERERight at the top of the show, the comedian introduces herself as a worldwide top 0.1% fan of The Cheeky Girls. Best known (only known?) for their catchy 2002 debut single, Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum), the Romanian identical twin sisters Gabriela and Monica Irimia are apparently still going as a duo. Anyway, Chelsea Birkby […]
READ HERERaul Kohli was born to a Hindu Indian father and a Sikh Singaporean mother. Raised in a Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, in the northeast of England, his best mate was Pakistani Muslim. Raul has since lived all over the UK and has developed a deep appreciation for our nation’s cultural diversity. While his show was being performed in […]
READ HEREIn the age of AI, is it possible to review a show without actually seeing it? Dave Chawner agreed to send me a recording of his show, 6 Steps To Success From The “Award Winning” Dave Chawner along with the Press Release. I then fed both to ChatGPT, with instructions to create a three hundred […]
READ HEREStephanie tells us that she can be a tad clumsy. Apparently, on occasion, she’s been known to fall over her own feet. Perhaps she’s an unlikely recipient of arts funding for dance classes. Yet, here we are, in a show that seeks to blend stand up, dance, and er, emotional cartoon bears. We delve into […]
READ HERESid is half British, half Indian, half American “…and I really like saying it that way.” Or as my pedantry English brain insists on putting it, a person from the USA, of Indian descent, living here in the UK. In American Coloniser the comedian presents a fascinating and very funny show about our collective past […]
READ HEREWill Owen is obsessed with pop culture on television. Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. Perhaps this fandom reached its peak as he attended a taping of Loose Women. It’s an ITV show (which I’ve never seen) which apparently features celebrity women on a panel debating […]
READ HERE“Hello. My name is immigrant” UK based, North Macedonian comedian Vlad Ilich makes his Edinburgh Fringe debut. He has a lifelong obsession with chess, and the boardgame serves as the shows anchor. Introduced to chess by his family, Vlad quickly climbs the ranks, defeating his relatives one by one, from his grandma to his dad. […]
READ HERESpring Day, an American comedian now based in the UK, brings her eighth solo show, Exvangelical, to the Edinburgh Fringe stage. Spring has an upbeat, smart and very funny comedic style, and she shares a deeply personal story. Growing up in a rural suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, USA, the comedian dreamed of being on […]
READ HEREJohn Meager was born on a small island off the West Coast of Ireland but grew up on a working class Northern Irish housing estate. Being raised a Catholic in a 1980s warzone, the comedian recounts the survival lessons his dad taught him – how to handle people pointing guns at you, how to cope […]
READ HERENjambi McGrath examines the notion of giving – and the Western world’s obsession with charity for Africa. People give, says the comedian, for various reasons – sympathy, guilt and the avoidance of tax. There are around four thousand international charities in Africa raising money for the provision of water, food, healthcare, and so on. Africa […]
READ HEREIn The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows, Abby Wambaugh presents a one-person variety performance. This is a grand tour of comedy. Playfully navigating the sub genres of comedic live performance, Abby weaves together storytelling, classic stand up, absurdism, impressions, prop comedy, friendly audience participation and more. We hear the phrase ‘something for everybody’ banded […]
READ HEREThe Stand 2 is a tiny space that looks like someone’s front room. I think it probably is someone’s front room from September to July, but I digress. Some comedians fit a specific space, and after seeing Seymour Mace several times at the Fringe over the years, this space is his. The curtains are open, […]
READ HEREI’ve been a fan of Susie McCabe’s since I saw her perform at Edinburgh’s New Town Bar over ten years ago – and she was very funny then. It says something rather wonderful about our society that everyday stories of lesbian relationships, once considered niche, are now heard out with the comedy clubs and gay […]
READ HEREThe Wild Women Circus are Vanessa Lee Baisch, Sarah Bleasdale, Sarah Lindermayer, Sari Mäkelä and Nicole Ratjen. This Berlin based all-women international circus troop present a comedic hour that sums up the Edinburgh Fringe itself – a modern variety show. The vibe is fast and fun and, dare I say, sexy. The women are all […]
READ HEREDr. Jo Prendergast is a stand up comedian, child psychiatrist, and author from New Zealand, making her Edinburgh Fringe debut. She presents a show, she says, for anyone who has ever been a parent or a child. Offering a parody of a conventional personal development seminar, The Cool Mum draws from the comedian’s experience parenting […]
READ HEREEach night marks the opening of the town’s hottest new musical, but there’s a catch… the writer hasn’t composed a single note and needs your assistance. A musical is created on the spot, using suggestions from the audience. It’s a wee bit tricky to write a meaningful review of a fully improvised musical show. This […]
READ HEREThe Canadian comedian and long time Edinburgh resident presents as a traditional shouty North American comic. Big, powerful, alpha male, mic at the chest. If you didn’t already know Tom Stade’s schtick, you’d be forgiven for anticipating an hour of my wife is so fat… material. In fact, this is a joke heavy hour of […]
READ HEREMark is a Fringe favourite and for good reason. He has been at the forefront of campaigning political comedy and activism for decades and his approach has never waned. Nor, to be superficial for a moment, does he seem to age. He’s also, very, very, funny. Targets are as you’d expect. Long term issues of […]
READ HEREWe asked AI to review Simon Munnery, as an experiment. The speaker discussed his experiences and ideas related to stand up comedy, heating systems, and the limits of perception and imagination. They shared their journey to the Aspen Comedy Festival and their act of supremacy, while he provided insights into the life experiences that shape […]
READ HEREA member of staff at The Stand enthusiastically tells me that Glaswegian comedians, Susan Riddell and Amanda Dwyer, run a mixed bill, all women, monthly stand up show in their home city. As we talk, someone chips in to recommend their podcast, also called, Material, Girl. There is a real enthusiasm for comedy among the […]
READ HEREExperienced comedian, Jojo Sutherland, presents her latest show, finding the funny in the changing generational attitudes towards bringing up children. An audience member is invited keep score. Who was the better mum? Jojo, or her mother? It’s performed at 11:30am, which is first thing in the morning EFT (Edinburgh Fringe Time). Perhaps, Jojo teases, she […]
READ HEREFirst the positives. Alex has some great jokes. He exudes nervous, energetic, scattergun enthusiasm. I’m yet to check out the comedian do a twenty-minute headline club set, but it’s easy to imagine him absolutely smashing it. Comedians who deliver the same routine, in the same order, every night, often behave as if the next joke […]
READ HEREJo starts her show, as she tends to do, by reminding her audience that they’ve arrived at a stand up comedy set, not a piece of theatre. There’s no grand narrative arc and we shouldn’t look for messages, “…just me just talking about myself and stuff that’s happened. If you want to talk about something, […]
READ HEREThe show explores the many things that infuriate the Irish comedian, which at times, seems to be most things. He rants about the chaos of selling items online, on hearing babies cry on a pane, seeking treatment after getting a cotton bud stuck in his ear, and so on… As an openly gay man for […]
READ HEREThree of Britain’s greatest comedy legends, Tommy Cooper (Damian Williams), Eric Morecambe (Bob Golding), and Bob Monkhouse (Simon Cartwright) find themselves together in a dressing room. As old friends and comedy colleagues, they discuss the secrets of life, death, and the essence of true humour. What does it mean to be… really funny? The comedians […]
READ HERESullivan is the last man on earth, living underground. And he can’t find Rosie. Is she his wife? His sister? His co-worker? Where is she? – we do find out later, but for now it’s enough that she’s lost, and so Sullivan can start a sketch without her. Sullivan starts: “Rosie hasn’t seen this sketch. […]
READ HEREWhoever said that woke is killing entertainment didn’t know what they were talking about. Woke is fun. The Hairy Godmothers from Perth, West Australia – comprising lawyers, engineers, PhD graduates, and more – present two shows that blend self-love, sex positivity, and fairy-tale magic. Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody is an hilarious, fantasy-driven […]
READ HEREElf Lyons is an award winning comedian, theatre maker, director, comedy writer, and voice artist. She has earned a cult following as one of the most innovative performers in the diverse universe of comedy and theatre. Her body of work includes re-enactments of classical ballets, musicals about the economy, immersive horror shows, and lectures on […]
READ HEREDerek was born in the US, lived in the Netherlands for much of his life, and now resides in the UK. Broadly, this show explores the cultural and language differences between the territories. The show title, Double Dutch refers to a term that originated in 15th century England. The English people, not known for being […]
READ HEREI wouldn’t sit and read a book of poems, no matter how brilliant the poet. Poetry, for me, needs to be spoken, or if required, shouted out loud. A passionate performance that lifts words off a page. Poetry is audible. Before I left home, I told my pall Louis that I was going to see […]
READ HEREThis is the middle instalment of Marjolein Robertson’s trilogy of shows, which began last year with Marj. Fear not, you don’t need to have seen part one to enjoy part two. Marjolein recalls her thirteen-year-old self, learning about periods for the first time at school. No boys were allowed in the class. These days most […]
READ HERE“Performers have endured a couple of years of hell. Over the pandemic, thousands of shows were cancelled, and not enough funding was given. At one point, the British government put out a campaign, telling performers that we should all pack it in and retrain. But luckily for you guys, I didn’t listen!” First impressions of […]
READ HEREJojo Sutherland says that at the age 56, she has finally “gone feral”. Long term fans and friends of Sutherland assumed that this had happened years ago, but I digress. Her kids are now grown up, and she’s single for the first time in decades. What next? Growing Old Disgracefully, obviously. Unlike too many observational, […]
READ HEREMacKeith is a talented musical comedian, who delivers observational songs with a twist. His young, capacity, Underbelly audience lapped it up. His opening number is one of his strongest. MacKeith had to endure the Covid lockdown living with his father, “the lock-daddy”. It sets the warped lyrical tone of the rest of his set, which […]
READ HERESo, this is one of those tricky reviews to write, as I don’t want to give anything away. Frankly, the less you know about this fun show, and its surprises, the better. I strongly suggest you stop reading this now and scroll to the bottom of this page, where you’ll find a link to buy […]
READ HEREEmmanuel Sonubi was born and raised in North London, with five older sisters. A big fan of musical theatre, he became a stage actor, but worked as a nightclub bouncer between acting roles. Emancipated is a show about treading the boards, working the doors and finally, becoming a comedian. It’s also his story of being […]
READ HEREJo Caulfield’s set borrows from the best of American stand-up traditions. “Don’t look for any theatrical arc, there’s not a bit at the end full of meaning. None of that shit. I just want to cheer some people up.” And so she does. We are treated to an hour of acerbic observations and short stories, with […]
READ HEREWelcome to the darkness. Will you make it? Sitting on the top deck of a bus, packed full of people, the lights go out. And as if by magic, we are in another world. Alright then. I’ll be mummy. We are treated to an improvised, absurdist show crossed with a dark new age style comic […]
READ HEREHuman behaviour is subject to emotions, feelings, and several other factors, some of them innate. It is difficult to measure, or predict, especially when it comes to sexuality. Robin Perkins says that a fellow scientist has come up with evidence that male bisexuality exists. My immediate, emotional response from the audience was, I know it […]
READ HEREComedians lie all the time. According to Alfie Brown, his partner, actor and comedian Jessie Cave, wanted to try for a third child. He was initially reluctant, but eventually, he agreed on the basis that the comedian could sleep around while on tour in Australia. Jessie did become pregnant, and the following week, the global […]
READ HERETony Law is very much a, er, law unto himself. He simply does comedy differently to everyone else. If there is a message in this deliberately shambolic hour (there probably is no message) then it’s a celebration of difference. This is illustrated by Law’s prolonged use of diverse regional accents, some of which are surprisingly […]
READ HEREAs part of their current sell-out, 137-date international tour, multi-award-winning musical comedy duo Flo & Joan (real life sisters Nicola and Rosie Dempsey) are back at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The piano/percussion pair mix music genres as they tell stories of relationships and personal quirks, and touch on topical matters. I’ve followed the duo with […]
READ HEREComedian Marjolein Robertson is from Shetland (not the TV show, the islands located 106 miles north of Scotland). I admit that I knew nothing of the place before this entertaining, illuminating and very funny hour. I now know much more than I imagine is offered by the Shetland Tourist Board. Robertson is an open and […]
READ HEREEvery live stand up show is an unique event and the possibility of failure is real. Will the audience behave as anticipated? Stewart Lee has been touring Snowflake for some time and the 2020 Edinburgh Fringe run at The Stand’s New Town Theatre marks the end of its life. This afternoon, this is what happened […]
READ HERESeymour Mace Presents Captain Winky’s F*ck Off Olympics is a title, Mace confirms, that he came up with in February before he had written the show. As such, it has absolutely nothing to do with the unpredictable happenings in this bizarre and very funny hour at The Stand. The show is almost entirely improvised, based […]
READ HERE“Tonight!” Proclaims musical director and pianist Michael Roulston, “Live at the Gordon Aikman Theatre, Edinburgh, it’s… Bananarama.” Fascinating Aïda and Bananarama are both all women muscial trios, who were first popular in the 80s. And both are still going. These days, it is the former that are selling out the bigger rooms. This beautiful fringe […]
READ HERESimon Munnery has been performing comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe for over thirty years. I admit to having seen most of it. Here, he presents his straightest story-telling stand up set for a while, though it’s still wonderfully offbeat. The opening ‘thought police’ sketch, with Munnery using a colander as prop was fun. Later, after […]
READ HEREPoet, Luke Wright, announces that he’s forty years old, though he tells us, he still gets asked for ID on occasion while buying wine. In truth he is older and wiser, and he likes to explore new ways to challenge himself while writing. Oulipo (or OuLiPo), were an Avent-Garde French-speaking literature clique founded in the […]
READ HERENicholls and Brown (actors, Rosie Nicholls and Sullivan Brown) present a rapid series of twenty-two ‘Domestic Horror’ sketches. Everyday situations, like going to a coffee shop, are warped into absurdist and unexpected short skits. Opening to the tune Chaise Longue by Wet Leg, we’re treated to an absurd, comically sexual dance that perhaps goes on […]
READ HEREIvor Dembina agrees to perform a comedy fundraiser to help pay for a new synagogue roof. But what does the Rabbi think of Dembina’s old Jewish jokes? This show quietly sets about defending freedom of speech, while exploring one Jewish man’s relationship with his own community. There are, of-course, old Jewish jokes a-plenty, including a […]
READ HEREZumba Gold is a low intensity dance class designed for beginners and older people. For ten long years, Cathy Campbell has worked as a Zumba Gold dance teacher, twice a week at the local Deenside Leisure Centre. Cathy has unfulfilled dreams. She’s a performer in search of an audience, held back by the mental scars […]
READ HEREThe show kicks off with a Britain’s Got Talent montage. I don’t know if BGT finalists are contractually obliged to do this, but it’s unnecessary and falls flat. The audience is either here because of the magician’s acclaimed appearances on the ITV show, or they are not. It’s like seeing a trailer for a movie […]
READ HEREA fresh remix of dance, circus and sketch comedy, Barely Methodical Troupe’s BROMANCE is an intelligent, witty exploration of awkward (miss)connections between three young men. Created by Beren D’Amico, Louis Gift and Charlie Wheeller, in collaboration with Director Eddie Kay, this presentation of BROMANCE is performed by Adam Fullick, Arthur Parsons and Peter (Pee Wee) […]
READ HEREWhen Guto Harri took the knee on GB News, live on air, viewers were so outraged that the presenter was suspended. Management said that Hari’s actions were “an unacceptable breach of our standards”. When GB News and its viewers cancelled Guto Harri, was it justified? Leo Kearse’s show, Cancel Culture, sadly doesn’t quite nail what […]
READ HEREAccording to Muppet Wiki Paul Currie is a puppeteer, street performer and stand up comedian most notable for playing the lead Muppet, Potto on Sesame Tree, the Sesame Street spin-off that aired on BBC2 and CBeebies in the UK. According to The Skinny, Currie is stand up comedian, “filled with so much comic energy, it […]
READ HERE“What you have to understand ladies and gentlemen, is that Jerusalem is very important to the Jews. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s important to other religions as well, but the Muslims, they got Mecca. The Catholics, they got Rome. The Christians, they got the White House. But to us Jews, Jerusalem is very […]
READ HERELet’s get straight to the point. Darius Davies is a brilliant comedian. In Don’t Be Shit, he presents his greatest hits from the last ten years. It’s the best stand up comedy show I’ve seen this Fringe. God only knows why Davies isn’t signed to a major label, touring international venues. He has the complete […]
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