Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThough she emerged as 00s comedy royalty, Allen’s show about kicking back against dull domesticity only raises a few smilesHow to calibrate your expectations on approaching Fiona Allen’s new show at the Edinburgh fringe? O…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghMoving beyond the gag about Rishi Sunak which dragged her into a media storm, Navabi’s first fringe show introduces us to a comic of promiseLeila Navabi underwent a baptism of fire in comedy when, aged only 21, her Radio W…
Continue ReadingThe comedian, songwriter and actor on how Scotland’s annual arts jamboree has evolved, loathing corporate gigs and his Pick of the Fringe turning 30How did you get into performing?In the 1960s, I slid into folk clubs and came across Billy Connolly and …
Continue ReadingImaginary friends, runaway horses and Roger McGough’s take on the Wind in the Willows are among the treats for younger audiences at the festivalSummerhall, 11.30am, until 20 August Continue reading…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghPlumbing the realms of the unexpected, O’Neill plays both parts of a clowning double act, masterfully testing the limits of freak-out comedy‘One banana, two banana, three / Is this the show you paid to see?” Well might Bil…
Continue ReadingSummerhall, EdinburghThe comic relives being a carer for a lovably eccentric adopted uncle in a heartfelt show that demonstrates caring’s reciprocal flowThe “dead dad show” is a fringe comedy staple. But what about the dead not-quite-an-uncle show? Ben…
Continue ReadingTraverse theatre, EdinburghA high-school English teacher and his former star pupil meet in a brothel in Kieran Hurley’s new playWith this uneven three-hander, Kieran Hurley has fielded two plays in one. The first is a sex farce about a middle-aged man …
Continue ReadingPleasance Dome, EdinburghThe polarising comic overthinks relationships and family ties before leading his audience into territory where he’s not after laughsDrew Michael’s first televised set was called “the most polarising comedy special of the year” …
Continue ReadingMonkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghNational stereotypes aside, the cordial TikTok star delivers lively cross-Channel observations and adds a soupçon of substanceSocial media rewards high concept, quick-hit ideas, and Tatty Macleod had a peach of one when s…
Continue ReadingIn 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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