The Definitive Guide to Comedy
**** (out of 5) “Are straight men OK?” It’s a valid question for Rhys Nicholson to ask, or for anyone paying attention to the news inside or outside of comedy these days. Nicholson’s newest hour, which won Most Outstanding Show earlier this year at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, worries …
***1/2 (out of 5) A nominee for Best Newcomer to the Fringe in 2018, expat Sara Barron has returned to Edinburgh with a cracking new hour. Even after a full decade living, working and starting a family in Britain, Barron concedes that she’s still easily described as having “American energy.” …
**** (out of 5) There’s a wristwatch onstage, but it’s only correct twice a day (it’s stopped). But time plays a crucial element both in Alice Fraser’s new show, as well as your potential enjoyment of it. Ostensibly a show about writing a show, “Chronos” recounts a train ride Fraser …
*** (out of 5) Americans like me first caught a glimpse of Paul Foot some 14 summers ago, courtesy of Season 6 of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. Foot made it to the final 12 (Iliza Shlesinger won that year). So I was a bit curious to see what he’s up …
**** (out of 5) Don’t let the bowl cut fool you. Atsuko Okatsuka doesn’t think of herself as cool, and definitely not cool under pressure. A simple query from a teen-ager can make her crumble. So how could she ever hope to cope if there were an actual intruder in …
**** (out of 5) You’ll likely never see a comedian take to the stage quite like John-Luke Roberts does in his 2022 Fringe show. The title also doubles as a recurring set-up (not a catchphrase, I repeat, not a catchphrase). “There’s a world just like our own, but…” is not …
****1/2 (out of 5) Get ready to see Randy Feltface as you’ve never seen him before. And if looking at him is too much for you, just take his suggestion: “Close your eyes and pretend I’m a podcast.” The purple puppet from Down Under is back at the Fringe for …
**** (out of 5) Zach Zucker is wearing many hats at the Fringe. Zucker’s production company, Stamptown, is helping run multiple shows in Edinburgh this month. He’s hosting a late-night variety showcase (Stamptown Comedy Night) over the next three weekends, in addition to performing as one of the world’s worst …
**** (out of 5) Titus, the FOX sitcom based on the life and stand-up comedy of Christopher Titus, went off the air 20 years ago this week. Perhaps not the first Yank you’d figure to be making his Edinburgh Fringe debut in 2022, but then perhaps you don’t know much …
**** (out of 5) After an initial experience at the Fringe in 2019, Emmy Blotnick became convinced she should return with her own one-person-show for a full run in 2020. She landed upon a simple enough premise: Superstar Jennifer Lopez had put out 30 uniquely different perfumes and colognes. Whip …
