Pleasance, EdinburghMaddix is a fluent, playful comic, but the window opened here on his conflicted psyche feels unresolved – for him as much as his audience‘I needed to say it more than you needed to hear it,” says Jamali Maddix towards the end of Kin…
Continue ReadingAssembly George Square, EdinburghThere are few bells and whistles in Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher’s fringe debut, just two seasoned US comics in effortless harmony with each otherHere’s the secret to ensuring your Edinburgh debut is a success: accru…
Continue ReadingThe baby-faced oddball has gone from performing to tiny audiences to winning live comedy’s most coveted prize, the Edinburgh festival fringe comedy awardWhat does an Edinburgh comedy award win mean for Sam Campbell? And what does a Sam Campbell win mea…
Continue ReadingI’ve spent my whole professional life loving and writing about the fringe. But rocketing rents, a lack of diversity and its overwhelming scale are pushing this world-class cultural crucible to crisis point. No wonder artists are asking themselves: is i…
Continue ReadingYoung Latina whose act tackles disability is among the winners at prestigious awards ceremonyBoth of the top prizes for being funny at the 2022 Edinburgh fringe festival have gone to foreign talent. The Australian comedian Sam Campbell is the winner of…
Continue ReadingThe comedian on metallic hardcore bangers, the TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman and where to get the best mushroom parfaitBorn in Hammersmith in 1986, Ed Gamble is a comedian, writer and actor. He studied philosophy at Durham University and s…
Continue ReadingMonkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghThe standup puts her working-class status front and centre in this compelling and cathartic journey through her Covid yearsLauren Pattison had two ambitions for 2020: get engaged, and take a comedy show on tour. By the su…
Continue ReadingWhile debates about cancel culture rage on at Edinburgh, a trio of performers are critiquing ‘edgelord’ humour, while still remembering to be funny‘Cancel Anti Wokeflake Snow Culture” is not an out-of-context Piers Morgan quote but the title of comedia…
Continue ReadingMonkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghPugh shambles his diffident way into the spotlight with a stealthy, clever and heartwarming showIncompetent, negative, a follower not a leader: Josh Pugh is highly conversant with his own shortcomings. His Edinburgh show …
Continue ReadingMonkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghDean’s great skill is to make the audience feel like intimate confidantes, but sometimes his impatience to get to the next laugh weakens the shtickIt’s a sign of the times that even the sunniest standups are now deliverin…
Continue Reading