Monkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghThe frenetic Mancunian turns to quartz in search of inner peace – but his standup remains as crude and self-loathing as everI’ve seen two prominent comedia…
Underbelly, Cowgate, EdinburghAshley Blair and Drew Reilly send up gen Z anomie with hardcore ditties about awkward dinners, megachurches and centaur boyfriends‘How to feel whole in an emp…
Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh Heckling herself in character as the Greek goddess, the standup delivers an intelligent, in-your-face show about sex and expectationsYou can’t argue with the open…
Summerhall, EdinburghIntertwining his diaries with Anne Frank’s gives Brine a tough job, but his passionate performance and force of will combine in a heady brewIt’s a hell of a swing to…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThis fantastic comic play from the Radio 4 trio unleashes a torrent of great gags and illusionsHorror pastiche has a proud lineage at this festival – for exam…
Assembly George Square, EdinburghThe US comic’s troupe tell the tale of a special guest’s romantic encounter, in this case Travis’s frontman – but their incoherence makes for a scatt…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghEmotionally open and a little weirder than usual, the Glaswegian comic updates us on his recent marriageWhen SNL UK hit big earlier this year, it made stars of …
Three years ago, he won the Edinburgh comedy award with a work in progress. Now he’s back with a show inspired by Gerard Manley Hopkins and Friedrich Nietzsche. Isn’t this all a bit grow…
Whether Elf Lyons’ high-concept Hollywood throwback, Kate Dehnert’s disorientating rave or Ele McKenzie’s Bob Dylan fantasy, heartbreak fuels fine humour at the festivalBreakups. We’…
Summerhall, EdinburghConnor Dariol, AKA Australian clown Conk, does exactly what he claims – and with such skill and relentless pep we are helpless to resistWhen I saw the title to the Aus…
Monkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghA show about maturing and learning to listen to life’s signals doesn’t stint on tomfoolery and has some great gagsWhat a rich and enjoyable show this is fr…
Monkey Barrel, EdinburghThere are shades of Vic and Bob as well as Frank Sidebottom when this embittered git with bloodshot eyes holds courtEvery room in Edinburgh has its ghosts, and its pa…
Monkey Barrel, EdinburghThe Saturday Night Live UK writer, who is one-third of the sketch troupe Sheeps, balances sincerity and shtick in a show with big laughsThere are reasons to take up s…
CabVol @ Monkey Barrel, EdinburghA fringe fling is the backbone for a mischievous set with deft jokes and a fresh perspective but some of this material needs another draftAyo Adenekan’s as…
Two Edinburgh fringe shows feature savage send-ups of reviewers. Is this petty revenge or do they have a case? Our writer finds one ‘a hoot’ – and thinks the other let him off lightlyN…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghAs a half-horse half-woman who dreams of being a unicorn and performing Swan Lake, Schaal sheds little light but has plenty of sparkleFor a happy handful of yea…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThis one-man comic play, told at breakneck speed and featuring West Side Story-like dance-numbers, is highly entertainingIt’s as if Joseph Morpurgo had never …
Pleasance Dome, EdinburghThis is a spiky, interrogative and surprisingly conventional set from an act who usually pushes standup to its limitsYou can fall victim to your own high standards â…
Monkey Barrel, EdinburghA comic on the verge of the big time offers a ‘very silly hour’ around the highways and byways of her lifeA former winner of the Sean Lock award for comic origina…
Gilded Balloon Teviot, EdinburghWith charisma and craft, the Australian standup discusses childhood sexual abuse in a show with a healing qualityIf fringe audiences know Frankie McNair’s w…
Gilded Balloon TeviotPerformer cleared of death of her roommate in Italy uses new motherhood as framework for her defiant comedy show‘Welcome to the most controversial show on the fringe!â…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe fast-talking comic considers fraternity culture, gender discrimination and an unrequited crush in a cleverly engineered showFrom the outset, Olga Koch’s s…
Monkey Barrel, EdinburghThe SNL UK star’s romantic failures and house-share humiliations make for a fun hour of downbeat yet twinkling comedyA recent star of Saturday Night Live UK, Paddy …
Forget cheesy acts, these days cruise ships boast the cutting edge tech to stage hip West End productions and Olivier award-winning musicals – and young people are loving itThe phrase “c…
London ColiseumA quartet of conjurors, calling themselves the Horsemen, perform fine feats of escapology and mentalism that are undermined by smoke, lasers and pomposityIs there an opposite …