Tag: Review

Marc Jennings shows why he’s one of the most versatile and strongest all-round stand-ups in Scotland

Part standup, part monologue, The Abyss sees Brendan Scannell dive deep into his own trauma and upbringing

Katie Norris embraces her Mother Succubus alter-ego as fiercely cynical agony aunt for younger women

Alfie Dundas’s reflections on his privileged upbringing hits a snag after some destabilising crowd work

Abigail Weinstock’s quirky new solo play follows a young girl as she stands accused of stalking her neighbour

Sketch comedy duo Burger and a Pint explore compromised masculinity with easy chemistry

John Kearns may be at a crossroads in his life, but on stage he’s exactly where he ought to be

Frankie McNair’s show excavates childhood trauma with humour

Kate Dehnert’s emotional show explores the fall-out from a ten-year relationship

Zoe Wohlfield delivers a committed performance exploring grief as she stages a funeral for her furry best friend

Ele McKenzie bears her heart, soul and body in her debut comedy hour

This satire of the Indiana Jones trilogy has roots in postmodern panto

Rob Copland grapples with professional woes and becoming a father in his latest show

Interactive kitsch nightmare has the makings of a future cult classic

Beckettian Aussie Absurdism from Sons of Susan

Ed Night delivers a tight set that is as introspective as it is mischievous

The comedian draws on his past as a death row lawyer to examine the US justice system

Rob Auton’s shaggy dog tale is an elaborate vehicle for his mix of standup and storytelling

Gleeson squeezes meaning into every line that she can, but backs herself into an imaginative corner

Hotly-tipped Glaswegian comic Tia Rey gives us a charismatic hour exploring psychedelics

Fringe fairytale debut from Charity Shop Sue shows great promise but offers little levity for the audience

The debut Fringe show from Jonno, SNL UK’s head writer, is unsurprisingly excellent

Warm, weighty debut exploring geezer culture from natural comic Madeleine Brettingham

Sam Eley debuts as Basil Crumbwick, his papier-mâché-headed alter ego

A surprising, stellar third show from the Crybabies, exploring a washed-up exorcist who takes on one last gig

Slick, effortless comedy from stand-up and Saturday Night Live UK star Larry Dean

Written and polished to within an inch of its life, God’s Favourite lands as theatre just as much as stand-up

Li Jin Hao’s hour possesses a weighty structure but sometimes errs too far into overblown whimsy

An upbeat, joyful second hour from Fest cover star Kemah Bob

A raucous hour charting a fictional 70s pornographer’s journey from precocious leery youngin to sleazy Soho entrepreneur

Freddie Meredith embodies a recognisable archetype: the guy determined to be seen as a nightclub legend

Gareth Waugh unpacks a cracking Fringe-show tale with some nice true-crime touches

Jordan Brookes is a juggernaut spectacle of disturbing fascination

SNL UK’s Ania Magliano performs a sophisticated show with precise and effortless delivery

Eric Rushton delivers an hour reflecting on his mum and his upbringing with seven siblings

For her debut hour, Maya Ricote embodies a parodic version of a telenovela star

The comedian follows up last year’s standout show with a polished, high-production hour

Deeply autobiographical debut introduces us to a confident, prismatic new stand-up

A truly sensational hour of standup exploring grief, love and family

Hasan Al-Habib’s polished show can’t quite support a late dramatic tone shift

Funny, travel-obsessed stand-up sells us a slice of life as a supermarket data collector

Amy Matthews takes on heavy subjects with aplomb, in this tightly structured set

Lizzy Hoo delivers a polished hour with outstanding writing and delivery

Nate Kitch delivers an hour of jazz-inspired deconstructionist, experimental comedy

Scattergun hour is delivered with commitment and energy but lacks focus

Crucial, well observed and all-too contemporary stand-up hour hails Tamsyn Kelly as one to watch

Jennifer Jane is an extraordinary person telling an extraordinary story, in no-frills fashion

Ex-footballer Sapphire McIntosh delivers a confident stand-up debut that nevertheless isn’t quite a clean strike

Lukas Meintjes’ camp clowning show sees an alien crash land into a gay nightclub

For his sophomore show, Sami Abu Wardeh offers a personal hour exploring his family and upbringing

Jess Fuchs archly engages with the regressive impulses of the post-feminist moment

Rory Marshall goes broad with characters that lack a sharper, more defined edge

Ifrah Qureshi’s debut Fringe hour engages with one of the manosphere’s canonical texts

Amanda Dwyer’s debut show flips easy survivor narratives on their head for a caustic, complicated hour

Potently leftist yet politically incorrect, Eva Peroni’s gleeful bravado glosses over the young comic’s contradictions

Sophie Duker offers a fresh and charming voice to the discourse on male loneliness

Jonathan Oldfield’s unpredictable debut show stitches together sketch comedy gold

Even Gareth Mutch’s natural talent and likability can’t save a poorly defined and under-developed show

Annie Rauwerda turns her popular Instagram account @depthsofwikipedia into a fully-fledged comedy show

Sid Singh reflects on the role of political comedy amid global crisis in an earnest, likeable hour

This absurdist art world satire riffs off of Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous banana stunt to mixed effect

Jack Brookmyre offers up whip-smart storytelling, savvy observations and caustic gags

Chris Rutter’s debut set is calmly delivered, full of solid gags with similar beats

Demi Adejuyigbe delivers a skilful hour with super sharp comebacks and chaotic energy

Joke-a-minute stand-up expertly skirts the line

Matt Jenner’s one-man sketch show falls short

Drily delivered subversive takes from the US comedian

A riotously funny and upbeat insight into deviancy, fuelled by pettiness

Funny and moving show yearns for a stronger build-up to its climax

Acclaimed New York sketch troupe bring their smart, absurdist act to the Fringe

Ingenious send-up of bike obsessives is a cracking ride

Tale of motherhood and grief bristles with righteous anger

Big laughs come naturally in loving look back at lad culture’s problematic zenith

Much-loved internet comic dives deeper into his Irish-German upbringing in Fringe debut

Self-deprecating hour is light on ambition but full of charisma and warmth

Wonderfully daft antics give way to bitter eulogy of extinct species

Charming autobiographical tale deliberately avoids the fast track

Journey through performer’s past starts strong but fizzles out

Savvy and self-aware stand-up from acclaimed brainbox

Talented impersonator swipes light-heartedly at US news

Acid-tongued hour feels a bit like punching down

Expert room-reading gets huge laughs from tough topics

Beautifully crafted, naturally delivered hour of low-key stand-up

Surprisingly polite hijinks from the frequently brilliant absurdist comic

‘Yorkshire’s biggest bastard’ returns from the dead for more dishonest fun

Warmly delivered tales of navigating growing pains

Cantankerous third hour from off-beat contrarian comic

Impressive debut from chartered accountant turned stand up

Musical character comedy that is an ode to mid-noughties emo

Ali Brice dusts off the suit and tie and returns to his absurdist alter-ego

Tale of leaving home makes for delicately balanced stand-up with huge laughs

Confident hour of observational stand-up

Self-reflective tale of being American in the UK

A brain scrambling kinda-whodunnit from the Fringe veteran

An ode to Britain’s faded camp glamour set in the Isle of Wight’s last surviving launderette

Long is on terrific form with a deceptively rousing prehistory show

A comic with a charmingly idiosyncratic worldview

Tale of Tudor obsession is lightly plotted but delivered with gusto

Charming and bizarre nostalgia ride through early internet culture

The Welsh-born, Manchester-based comedian combines reality and fiction in an offbeat hour of stand-up

The Edinburgh-based Australian’s latest is a densely crafted stand-up hour

A witty and moving debut hour from American stand-up Alex Berr

A stand-up hour full of class, heart and laughs, but which could do with paring back

With the charismatic Matt at the helm, this enjoyable all-ages throwback will appeal to the cynics and believers alike

Hull returns to the Fringe, signature sarcasm and mischievous misdirection in tow

A commanding, hilarious stand-up hour with pathos to boot

A blistering, cathartic and vivid exploration of the trans experience

A unique social media experience is the catalyst for Jodie Sloan’s creative debut

With easy charisma, Mary O’Connell delivers a tightly woven hour about late-twenties growing pains

The comedy writer brings her TV writing chops to the stage, with a debut that takes aim at the wellness industry

Deadpan and intimate, Amy Mason’s unapologetic show recounts the comic’s absurd experience of being hacked

Kit Loyd puts in a committed performance, but strong execution fails to lift his derivative mime show

The character comedian outdoes her previous show with another slick hour that blends cringe humour with surrealism

Andrew Doherty’s satirical play-within-a-play sends up the nature of arts council funding in the UK

Irish-Palestinian comic Sami Abu Wardeh’s densely layered Fringe comeback roars with defiance