Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe Londoner delves into more personal territory in his new show, including the story of his heart failure while on stage several years agoEmmanuel Sonubi has always hidden behind how he looks: beefy, intimidating by choic…
Continue ReadingPlayful set about Nicoresti’s life as a trans woman wins main award, with Ayoade Bamgboye named best newcomerThe Edinburgh comedy award, the annual “Oscar of comedy” given to the best show at the fringe, has been won by Sam Nicoresti for Baby Doomer, w…
Continue ReadingMonkey Barrel, EdinburghThe Mancunian manchild shows wild commitment in a show about dyspraxia, drug use and internalised homophobiaWe say we want men to talk about their mental health, Dan Tiernan has noticed. Is this what we had in mind? The joke is …
Continue ReadingSeven of the eight nominees for best show have not previously been nominated in the same category at the ‘Oscars of live comedy’Standup about infertility, jokes about a Georgian gourmand, and an experimental clowning fever dream: the shortlist has been…
Continue ReadingSeven of the eight nominees for best show have not previously been nominated in the same category at the ‘Oscars of live comedy’Standup about infertility, jokes about a Georgian gourmand, and an experimental clowning fever dream: the shortlist has been…
Continue ReadingRachael Gunn’s disastrous summer at the Paris Games in 2024 has inspired a silly show about ‘Spraygun’ but its jibes are unfairEveryone can have a bad day at the office. But for most of us, it doesn’t take place in front of millions of viewers at the w…
Continue ReadingUnderbelly Cowgate, EdinburghA Peruvian boy has a sexual awakening in a show about religion, patriarchy and homophobia, featuring sweet and smutty songs with a Latin twistThe image of Jesus has been used by some to shame and subjugate queer people acro…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghChakira Alin’s buoyant show is shot through with bitterness as she gives a lucid account of Hackney’s transformationIn her solo show about the aftermath of gentrification and austerity, Chakira Alin bemoans the rise of cos…
Continue ReadingZoo Playground, EdinburghBelgian actors Verona Verbakel and Anemone Valcke share anecdotes about their industry in a knotty show about ambition and failureWhen we arrive, the screen behind the performers is displaying the entry for The Ego in the onlin…
Continue ReadingSummerhall, EdinburghHannah Maxwell’s delightfully meta hour, namechecking Richard Gadd and Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s breakthroughs, is a blueprint for three potential shows – with the audience as focus groupHannah Maxwell would dearly like a bad review. …
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