Nominated in three previous years, the rambunctious standup – one half of The Delightful Sausage – wins the prize for his show Rewilding while Marty Gleeson is named best newcomerThe annual Edinburgh comedy award has been won by the standup Chris Cantr…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Hopping from a PowerPoint on hairlines to songs about favourite motorways, Towelling’s set is fun but drops a stitch or twoThe route from the classroom to the comedy stage is well travelled, and ex-maths teacher Tom Towel…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghIn his award-nominated show, the standup ruminates on myth and memory with some lovely observations‘There’s a moment when that ends,” muses Li Jin Hao, “and this begins …” As well as being jam-packed with swoonsome one-lin…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh The comedian delivers a tour of his peripatetic childhood, with stops for risque gags and to ponder his resemblance to a ‘porn Super Mario’Comedy fans have seen Sami Abu Wardeh in several guises, from a capering clown cat…
Continue ReadingPleasance Dome, EdinburghThis show about Olesker’s lengthy journey to becoming an Orthodox Jew in order to marry his partner is both elegant and nuanced‘I would do anything for love,” Meat Loaf sang, “but I won’t do that.” Max Olesker would, if his sol…
Continue ReadingEdinburgh comedies by Whisper Theatre, Lightning Rod Special and Olaf Falafel are exploring what it’s like to be a dad, from the hilarious and melancholic to the devastatingly accurate cringeIn a historic masonic lodge in Edinburgh’s New Town I find my…
Continue ReadingVoodoo Rooms, Edinburgh Cheka considers her tendency to ‘live life like a joke’ in a frank hour, with her frustrations leaving a lasting impressionKate Cheka wasn’t supposed to be here. After her debut hour two years ago, she swore she would never do t…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghFrom Jacob Rees-Mogg as a child to Frank Sinatra’s ego in space, this is a wild collage of clowning and performance artThere are plenty of works-in-progress on the fringe. Frankie Thompson insists (or has the voice of Pepp…
Continue ReadingA succubus, a cycling champ and Sir Elton Scone walk into a bar … and our photographer Murdo MacLeod was there to capture every momentAll our Edinburgh festival reviews Continue reading…
Continue ReadingAssembly 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 scatty if fun showIt’s a lovely format for improv: a special guest tells Da…
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