Elouise Eftos: Australia’s First Attractive Comedian review – fabulously provocative jokes

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghA wickedly amusing fringe debut considers the relationship between comedy, feminism and sexinessCan you be funny and good-looking? You’d think the question barely needs asking – but Elouise Eftos has done so, and received …

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Ivo Graham: Orange Crush review – comic riffs on his favourite colour, from Irn-Bru to Wotsits

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghAt 34, the comedian has ditched the shy self-abasement for diss tracks and politics – even if his set is inspired by his fondness for orangeWith Orange Crush, Ivo Graham promises us either his best ever standup set, or a c…

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Jamali Maddix: Aston review – bursts of brilliance and a wicked sense of humour

Monkey Barrel, EdinburghIn an uneven show, one of the most intriguing comic voices of his generation tackles sex, race and British identity‘I used to be a cool young comic with cool young fans,” bewails Jamali Maddix. He’s certainly one of the most int…

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Jamali Maddix: Aston review – bursts of brilliance and a wicked sense of humour

Monkey Barrel, EdinburghIn an uneven show, one of the most intriguing comic voices of his generation tackles sex, race and British identity‘I used to be a cool young comic with cool young fans,” bewails Jamali Maddix. He’s certainly one of the most int…

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Jokers in the pack: eclectic shortlist revealed for Edinburgh comedy awards 2025

Seven 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…

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Jokers in the pack: eclectic shortlist revealed for Edinburgh comedy awards 2025

Seven 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…

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Australian breakdancer Raygun is lampooned in a new musical but the Olympics fiasco was no comedy | Lyndsey Winship

Rachael 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…

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Betty Grumble’s Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t review – nude, lewd and confused

Assembly Roxy, EdinburghEmma Maye Gibson’s outre alter ego conjures a bacchanalian helter-skelter of burlesque moments that never quite cohereThis experimental act from Australia knows how to create merry anarchy with incantatory rituals and boundary-f…

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Jeezus! review – queer musical’s revelations about love with no limits

Underbelly 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…

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‘Liam Gallagher is funnier than most standups!’: Is comedy the new rock’n’roll – or vice versa?

Oasis’s tour gobbled up Edinburgh audiences while fringe comics put on shows about Britpop and Arctic Monkeys. The music industry and the funny business could be more entwined than ever‘Comedy is the new rock’n’roll!” This line, variously attributed to…

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