Kemah Bob: Miss Fortunate review – a rollicking Edinburgh fringe debut

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe Texan comedian delivers a playful show about a holiday from hell that tackles mental health and wokenessIt is rare for an act to firmly establish themselves in UK comedy, and then make their fringe debut. That’s the wa…

Continue Reading

Jordan Brookes: Fontanelle review – heady mix of uneasy laughs, sexual candour and Titanic spoof

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghA show about unresolved masculinity combines elements of musical theatre with the experimental comic’s own ruminations on ego and oblivionIf you were picking a comedian likely to branch out into musical theatre, Jordan Brookes …

Continue Reading

Joe Rogan’s Netflix special is another tired, and unfunny, tirade | Jesse Hassenger

The streamer’s latest remarkably laugh-free comedy special is another procession of eye-rolling jokes about cancel culture and LGBTQ+ peopleHe’s the guy from Fear Factor, right? That would be the just and normal response to hearing the name “Joe Rogan”…

Continue Reading

‘This isn’t going to be sensible!’ Olaf Falafel, Edinburgh fringe’s king of one-liners

Children’s author, YouTuber, ‘sausage bird’ designer … the comic who was born Derek Chickpeas (maybe) talks about cooking up his hilariously daft alter ego – and we pick some of his funniest gagsThey say that, for comedians, the Edinburgh fringe is a r…

Continue Reading

Chris Thorburn: Cineman review – heard the one about Sex Times at Spring Break High?

The Stand, EdinburghThis movie-mad comic lampoons Hollywood through sketch and song but some of his material could have been left in the cutting roomFilms are the best art form, declares Chris Thorburn, so he’s created a comedy show to evoke a trip to …

Continue Reading

Katie Norris: Farm Fatale review – this cat-lady comedy becomes a moggy melodrama

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh This tremendous solo debut finds the comic veering between stranger-than-fiction verisimilitude and hilarious gothic exaggeration‘Childless cat ladies” have been much in the news since Kamala Harris strode into the presid…

Continue Reading

Susie McCabe begins Edinburgh run less than two weeks after heart attack

Glaswegian, 44, says angioplasty was ‘shot across the bows’ and she will now swap Red Bull for hummusA car breaking down when you’re hours away from an important Edinburgh fringe warm-up gig might sound like the start of an entertaining bit for most co…

Continue Reading

Emma Sidi Is Sue Gray review – bureaucratic blabbermouth’s lurid disclosures

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghDowning Street’s chief of staff is imagined to be gossipy and gregarious in this wickedly silly showSue Gray is one of the most recognisable names in the UK, but few of us know a thing about her. Into that breach steps Emm…

Continue Reading

Hannah Gadsby: ‘The Edinburgh fringe might make your dreams come true – or it will give you scurvy’

Tooth pain, lost cash and lots of crying – the award-winning comic has had a difficult relationship with the fringe. So why come back for more?10 of the best shows at this year’s Edinburgh fringeAlfie Brown and Jessie Cave on their fringe double actEdi…

Continue Reading