In standup especially, a joke is indivisible from its context. The ‘you had to be there’ rule should be more carefully observedDelayed in transit with Mr Z, I was looking for a way to fill precisely one minute. I’d scoped out my responsibility in the c…
Continue ReadingOne standup asks moral questions about her family’s post-Soviet wealth, the other uses a self-satisfied persona to survey his gilded lifestyle. Both strike comedy gold at Edinburgh fringeAt a festival where everyone’s losing money, and some can’t affor…
Continue ReadingMonkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghThe Mancunian’s sophomore fringe set, addressing his diagnosis of gout, is delivered with feral roars and fine one-linersIn these days of intensely autobiographical comedy, acts often rinse their identities, and empty the…
Continue ReadingWith a seaside-postcard sensibility, the standup delivers racist and sexist material that jars with the spirit of the fringeAs if we didn’t know to expect old-fashioned from Bobby Davro, the three shows preceding his, in his niche fringe venue, are tri…
Continue ReadingPhotographer Murdo MacLeod covers Scotland’s annual arts spectacular, from a musical Mexican seance to colourful juggling Continue reading…
Continue ReadingGilded Balloon at the Museum, EdinburghAlan McHugh’s play explores grief and the agony of treatment – but also hope and laughter in the face of adversityWhat a lovely thing to have done. When the great actor Andy Gray was being treated for leukaemia be…
Continue ReadingComedian was in top 10 on three previous occasions – here are this year’s best gags, as voted for by a public panelA joke by Mark Simmons has been declared the funniest of this year’s Edinburgh fringe festival, chosen by a public panel from a shortlist…
Continue ReadingDebuts rich in neurodiversity and self-analysis jostle for attention at this year’s festival with a beloved grandma, the Russian elite and a misguided attempt at an apologyWe’ve reached the halfway point at the Edinburgh fringe, where more than a third…
Continue ReadingA zesty courtroom drama about cakes (or biscuits?) and a combat epic using dozens of jelly teddies offer sweet and sour clashes at the festivalThe sweet spot for Edinburgh fringe comedy is finding a subject the whole audience can tuck into. Gigglemug T…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe standup weaves real-world experiences of racism with whimsy about angler fish and joining the yakuzaThere are few things more tedious, they say, than listening to the contents of someone else’s dreams. Jin Hao Li seems…
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