by ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Do you suffer from low self-esteem? “Not after tonight! We’re fixing it!”
Frankie McNair is a star! Or she’s living proof of the success of following her own mindset, living life as if she has a huge ass. The Australian comedian has several live shows and TV credits to her name Down Under, but her debut Fringe hour comes hot and heavy with plenty of trigger warnings, backed up by McNair promising audience members there’s nothing to fear here, and yet should they feel too much, they’re free to leave. “I’m not processing something in this show,” McNair declares. She’s already processed her trauma, quit drinking, done the healing. Her previous show, the magnificent character-based tribute, An Intimate Evening with Tabitha Booth, demonstrated McNair’s ability to channel both Lucille Ball and Liza Minnelli. That mixture of madcap and madness comes across here, too.
McNair is a survivor of childhood sexual assault. That she not only can joke about it eloquently and hilariously, but also find the sweet spot connecting the jazzy themes of Law & Order: SVU and Seinfeld, is a testament to her charismatic character work and joke-writing abilities. For every gag or gut-wrenching story about her dad, who disappeared from McNair’s life for 18 years, only to pop back up in what could possibly be the worst way, there’s an interactive bit where McNair introduces us to Mrs. Googly, or that odd moment that can only happen at Fringe where operatic singing can bleed through the walls from another show to break what might otherwise have been a dramatic silent pause. Finding community. Healing oneself. Laughing at the chaos. All of these are fundamental to personal growth, and it turns out none of it, no matter how incremental the progress may feel, is boring when conveyed by Frankie McNair: A huge-ass star.
Frankie McNair: Huge Ass Mindset plays at The Den at Gilded Balloon Teviot during the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe.
