The Definitive Guide to Comedy
⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you haven’t ever seen him, see him. Dan Rath is an awkward Aussie joke machine. He may offhandedly describe his act as “just a string of non sequiturs held together by mental illness,” but it’s a very strong string of laugh-out-loud lines over the course of 45 minutes …
⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Am I a disappointment?” How could Glasgow’s Larry Dean think himself a disappointment? Thrice nominated at the Fringe (for best newcomer in 2015, and best show in 2018 and 2022), Dean has just come off of his first season as a cast member of SNL UK. And yet, even …
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Abby Govindan grew up in Houston and first gained attention in her early 20s through a Tweet where she made fun of the Golden Globes nominations for Emily in Paris by claiming she’d created the Netflix series as a prank. Now in her late 20s, the comedian has a harsher …
⭐⭐½ “Welcome to the most controversial show in Edinburgh!” Amanda Knox knows why the house is packed each night at Fringe to see her perform her debut hour, so she addresses it immediately, although even that opening line delivery does not come off as comedically as she intended. They’re coming …
⭐⭐⭐ The posters for Mario Adrion promise a story “about being hot, and sad.” There’s a worthwhile hour in there somewhere, but for now, at least, Adrion is offering competing themes and tones for us, opening ominously by revealing that “Hitler is my safe space.” He is German, after all. …
⭐⭐⭐½ The show must go on. It’s a classic show business mantra. No matter if an act is injured or missing, if a prop doesn’t function as intended, no matter what, just go with it. Improvise! The Brits adopted the philosophy and expanded it across society in the 20th century …
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Earlier in the day that I would see Sam Eley’s latest creation, Jonno joked on the Monkey Barrel 2 stage that comedians who lack confidence in their jokes just say them louder. So what happens when you put a giant papier-mâché head over your own head? Then your jokes …
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ For all of the talk in American entertainment about the emergence of the Los Angeles clown scene, few in L.A. or anywhere else are taking clown to the heights and across genres quite like the British comedian Elf Lyons. Lyons’s 2017 show, Swans, received a Best Show nomination at …
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Daran “Jonno” Johnson is no stranger to the Fringe as one-third of the sketch trio Sheeps. But it’s kind of a big deal for Jonno to go solo this year. Not just because he tells us he hasn’t done a solo show, and especially not as a stand-up, in …
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Kinda busy just whimsymaxxing!” That’s one way to sum up Bebe Cave’s hour-plus this year at Fringe (and just how long could this show be if she really took her whimsy to the max???), and she’s the one summing it up that way. Her show provides us with a …
