‘Like a naughty Siri’: friendly sex robot Vanessa 5000 asks audiences to test her powers

In her Edinburgh festival show, LA comic and clown Courtney Pauroso plays a latex-clad humanoid pleasure device. But are fringegoers ready to restart her?The last time I saw Courtney Pauroso, she was upside down, legs splayed, doing a naked, spotlit ha…

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‘Like a naughty Siri’: friendly sex robot Vanessa 5000 asks audiences to test her powers

In her Edinburgh festival show, LA comic and clown Courtney Pauroso plays a latex-clad humanoid pleasure device. But are fringegoers ready to restart her?The last time I saw Courtney Pauroso, she was upside down, legs splayed, doing a naked, spotlit ha…

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Courtney Pauroso: “Vanessa 5000,” at Edinburgh Fringe 2023

***** (out of 5) After a sold-out run of her debut show Gutterplum in 2019, Los Angeles clown Courtney Pauroso returns with an all-new production …

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The Invisible Man review – an ingenious show you’ll want to see again

Unicorn theatre, LondonConstantly surprising, this fresh take on the ‘it’s behind you!’ routine leaves its young audience asking ‘how did they do that?’Suppose you put on a play and no one turned up. Or the audience came but you just couldn’t see them….

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Encore! Surefire shows returning for the Edinburgh festival in 2023

In the run-up to the festival, our writers will choose new productions that have caught their eye – but here’s a selection of those we’ve already reviewedRichard Marsh has clearly seen Die Hard more times than he’s had Christmas dinners. He’s here in h…

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The best comedy shows of 2022

From dazzling comic debuts at the Edinburgh fringe to occult sketches, soul-searching standup and deeply strange revelations, it was a top year for laughing matters• More on the best culture of 2022A set delivering all the livid topical comedy we expec…

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Jellicle clown: Frankie Thompson on her unmissable feline fever dream Catts

Her cat-tastic stage show is a riff on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical that swerves into emotionally raw territory. The Edinburgh fringe sensation talks about trauma, taboos and the importance of being disgustingWas there ever a cat so clever? Move over …

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Sami Abu Wardeh review – a clown in character-comic’s clothing

Underbelly, EdinburghOutlandish physical antics and a spontaneous stage presence keep Wardeh’s audience laughing as he clowns through a cast of oddball charactersClown is in vogue again, coming at us wide-eyed wherever you look on the fringe – at Frank…

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