The Definitive Guide to Comedy
**** (out of 5) In her official 2023 Fringe show description, Alice Fraser says: “The moment you think you’ve got a handle on things, life throws you a twist.” I’m not going to tell you her latest twist, but the previous twists included the pandemic and her becoming a mother. …
**** (out of 5) If, even after all of these years, you still question why Pierre Novellie has a French first name, even though his last name is Italian and his heritage spans from South Africa to the Isle of Man, well the comedian still will entertain you with the …
**** (out of 5) for the show ** 1/2 for the venue This is a four-star show in a two-and-a-half-star venue. Sometimes the room really can undermine and upstage the act. It means more work for the crowd to get into and stay in a proper mood. More work for …
*** (out of 5) Nicole Travolta has a fascinating story that’s more clever than funny in the delivery. In case you’re wondering, and you most definitely are, her father was “the cheapest Travolta” but the family name still carried a heavy burden even in Orlando because of her famous uncle, …
*** 1/2 (out of 5) **** if you’re British Sometimes I just have to slide the rating scale, knowing when something is for thee, but not so much for me? Simon Brodkin is a prankster who comes off initially as a bit of a wanker, but that combination makes him …
** 1/2 (out of 5) Yuriko Kotani, a Japanese comedian who’s spent almost two decades in the UK, has plenty of TV credits to her name, and even met the king, didn’t seem ready to bring this show to the Fringe. Kotani says if she delivered her routines in Japanese, …
*** (out of 5) For one hour only, you’re cast in the role of an employee at the fake company, Men-ses Period Panties. Of course, you’ve volunteered for this mission, but in the fictional world where people buy and sell Men-ses, the company’s executives (played by Rebekka Johnson and Anne …
*** 1/2 (out of 5) An English comedian of Nigerian descent, who’s married to a Pakistani woman, and father to two daughters, Nabil Abdulrashid worries about how to provide and protect for them. That’s the masculine legacy he feels has been handed down to him, combined with the mean streets …
*** 1/2 (out of 5) Lulu Popplewell knows you don’t go to the Edinburgh dungeon to support aspiring actors. You go to see the dark weird stuff. So a recovery show without war stories? She’ll cram some in via song. And yes, don’t you worry: She’ll also get to Love, …
*** 1/2 (out of 5) Nominated for Most Outstanding Show at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Laura Davis returns to Edinburgh claiming she had performed this hour down under in full character. She’s keeping the hat and the outfit intact at Fringe, but says she wants to tell this …
