Much has changed for Josie Long since her last Fringe run, and not just the troubling but oddly liberating injury story she begins this show with. Upheavals at home, and globally, loom large. Long has been doing political comedy for 17 years now, and it’s probably an understatement to say that she isn’t thrilled with how things have turned out. So much so that this show is largely about how to cope with that.
The title is a quote from the Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci, which sounds timely, but actually concerned the political climate in 1930s Italy. “Don’t think about that too much,” says the Glasgow-based comic, keeping it light, for the moment. The Time of Monsters also refers to one of Long’s coping methods – researching extinct charismatic megafauna with her oldest child; huge fantastical creatures that bestrode varied lands, then vanished, but certainly put today’s political big beasts into perspective.
Long is on terrific form here, roaming the Queen Dome’s stage and stairs with illuminating anecdotes and wicked asides, exhibiting her hand-sketched monsters, eventually hunkering down for some home truths, before regathering those threads for an unexpectedly grand finale. There’s also a genuinely gripping bit about a hamster. Tiny beasts can be charismatic too.
Josie Long: Now is the Time of Monsters, Pleasance Dome, until 24 Aug (not 13), 7pm