The Definitive Guide to Comedy
⭐⭐⭐⭐½ Thank goodness some straight white men of a certain age haven’t become reactionary idiots. That’s as true in comedy as it is everywhere else, it seems. And Pierre Novellie stands tall, or rather, big and tall, in the UK comedy scene for staying outrageously funny even as he gets …
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Uh oh! Don’t ask why Daniel Maseda is dressed in a brown cardigan and named Paulette. Best not to ask any questions of this American’s clown show. Better still to sit still and exchange whatever pleasantries Paulette decides to share with you. We’re all just trying to make sense …
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Awarded Best Show at the Edinburgh Fringe 2025 On the hunt for the perfect skirt suit, Sam Nicoresti has changed her name but five years on, she’s still waiting to get on the good estrogens and not just the hormones in the drinking water. Nicoresti’s suit search comes with …
⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Splash Zone could be the front row of a live comedy show (particularly in the Gallagher era), but it’s also a reference to any spot of insecurity that may exist for anyone, audience member or performer alike. What about when Zoe doesn’t feel like telling anyone she’s a …
⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Norwegian comedian based in the UK, Thor Stenhaug may define himself may his titular status as the product of a one-night stand, raised separately by his parents. But his comedic North Star, and perhaps the feature that shapes his story, is how his love of American sitcoms made …
⭐⭐⭐⭐ You know who else started out joking about pigeons? Hannibal Buress. But Buress was joking about kicking them and selling T-shirts about them. This young bloke has other ideas. A Best Newcomer nominee at this year’s Fringe, Toussaint Douglass introduces himself to us, having grown up in the Lewisham …
⭐⭐⭐ it’s fun to imagine every pitch presentation going like this, but in a studio exec’s cramped office. Erica Bitton gives it her all to show us the day in the life chaos of a Brooklyn waitress with a dreamy side of stardom taking her and us to different eras …
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ian Smith received a Best Show nomination this year, as he had two Fringes ago in 2023, but he’s not holding out any hope that his local newspaper will herald his success. His failures, however? They’ll report ’em! It probably doesn’t help much to have a “bland name” that …
(unrated, work in progress) Seaton Smith’s Fringe debut is an intimate affair, not just because he’s telling stories about his family and his relationships, but even more so because of the cramped quarters of the Pleasance bunker he’s performing in this month. Perhaps that’s why Smith is treating this more …
⭐⭐⭐⭐ The irony of Ireland finally becoming a pro-choice nation just as the United States begins rolling back abortion rights for women has not been lost on Irish comedian Katie Boyle. Particularly as she found herself navigating the American citizenship web site in 2025, now with a “Make America Safe …
