Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh The comic pores over the insecurities that attended his twisty journey from Black Country boyhood to TV celebrityThis isn’t the first of Darren Harriott’s shows to alight on a compelling subject for standup, then not dig …
Continue ReadingAssembly George Square, Edinburgh Material about Hindu-Muslim relations aside, this award-winning performer’s material covers familiar confessional ground, delivered with engaging skill and graceIn India, I’m edgy, says Urooj Ashfaq; in Edinburgh, not …
Continue ReadingBut if I’m going to watch the Britain I loved expire slowly, I’d rather do it from the top of the Royal Mile in AugustOn Monday I traversed the igneous peaks of the Pentland Hills from Edinburgh to Stratford-upon-Avon, having finished a run of my curre…
Continue ReadingThe Edinburgh comedy award-winning show Ends is a superb set about Shah’s grandfather, the standup’s imminent wedding and multicultural Britain The cliche about Edinburgh fringe comedy is that, instead of jokes, it’s all tears and dead loved ones. No o…
Continue Reading32-year-old comedian whose set explores race, class and migration becomes first British-Asian to take prizeA show about multiculturalism has won best show at the Edinburgh comedy awards. Ahir Shah, the first British-Asian to win the prestigious award, …
Continue ReadingFed up with the white boys’ club of British standup, a one-way ticket to LA finally brought fame to the ‘comedy Beyoncé’. Now she has written a memoir detailing her rise from bullied teen to transatlantic hit“Let me think,” says the comedian and actor …
Continue ReadingMonkey Barrel Comedy at The Hive, EdinburghThe Edinburgh comedy award nominee dials up the silly to 11 as he delivers a series of shambolic gagsThere is no more uproarious opening sequence at this year’s fringe than Phil Ellis’s. Yes, it’s really happe…
Continue ReadingEdinburgh fringe comics portraying cancelled standups and rightwing politicians talk about the dangers and successes of their satireThe US comedian Martin Urbano has always enjoyed mocking lazy standup jokes – the sort of routines that open with “Anyon…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe comic’s material on years lost to drugs, booze and drama school is delivered with energy but this show lacks context and heftYou know you’re in trouble – or you have been in trouble – when Paul Gascoigne hugs you after…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghHer material may be crude but there is no denying the bawdy Brummie comedian’s craft, nor her gift for getting the audience onsideThe defining routine of Lindsey Santoro’s full fringe debut, Pink Tinge, finds her laughing …
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