Leech or saviour? Edinburgh fringe show spotlights theatre’s vexed relationship with critics

Attachment: The Leech Show is a merry romp about an influential reviewer and sums up the industry’s paradoxical attitude to theatre criticismAdvice has been circulating among fringe companies about how to appeal to theatre critics. The idea is to dig u…

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Julia Masli: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha review – healing hilarity

Monkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghA clown by trade, Masli here sets about tackling the audience’s problems. Her leftfield efforts to ease them are one of this fringe’s true tonicsAt any given fringe, a show will emerge that crystallises the festival spiri…

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The hell and humanity of touting myself at Edinburgh: ‘I sidle up to strangers like a stray dog’

For all but the biggest names, handing out flyers in the street is still essential. That doesn’t make it any less awkwardThe key to performing standup is to convince your audience that you don’t want their attention or approval as much as you obviously…

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Avital Ash Workshops Her Suicide Note review – oil-slick black humour

Monkey Barrel @ the Tron, EdinburghAsh’s audacious conceit dares to find the funny side of tragic events, and partly succeeds, until this rawly emotional show slips comedy’s mooringsIf you thought trauma-comedy reached its limit with Hannah Gadsby’s Na…

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The Edinburgh fringe is back! But is it still the heart of the comedy scene?

After the pain of the Covid years, the festival has returned with a roar. It can make a new standup’s career – if they are willing to sleep in a nuclear bunker and expose their own traumaSomebody is crying themselves famous. Somebody has been forced to…

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Adam Flood: Remoulded review – high-kicks and comedy gems in energetic debut

Monkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghShowing off an impressive range of facial expressions, the comic takes us on a whistle-stop tour of his life with songs and sketchesI’ve seen Adam Flood tell the joke about his haircut, which appears in his debut hour, ab…

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Edinburgh’s superstar magicians on secrets and surprises: ‘You have to be very good at lying’

Magic and mentalism abounds at this year’s festival. But how are the tricks done? Some of the best performers remain tightlipped – while others reveal all“That feeling you have right now,” says Colin Cloud, putting his cards down, “it’s wonderful, righ…

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James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome review – comic boldly goes with the flow

Theatre Royal, GlasgowDelivering his own ‘origin story’, with interruptions encouraged, Acaster skilfully pieces together big-yield routines from inauspicious beginningsWe all learned something during lockdown, says James Acaster, and he learned that …

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Need a good laugh? The 10 best jokes from the Edinburgh festival 2023

No one-liner list would be complete with Olaf Falafel. He’s here alongside nine other standups with great quips from this year’s festivalOlaf Falafel: Getting mythology wrong is my Hercules ankle.Leila Navabi: I have an unconscious bias. I’m biased fir…

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‘My family were horrified’: comedian Sophie Zucker on her hilarious cousin-kissing funeral musical

A writer on The Daily Show who has been compared to Barbra Streisand, the New York comic has an unashamedly attention-seeking show at the Edinburgh fringeIn the musical fringe comedy Sophie Sucks Face, an attention-seeking young woman hooks up with her…

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