Edinburgh Fringe dispatch #1
A week of comedy reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe
Hello
…from Edinburgh, where I am right now! Thanks so much for tuning into this weekly Fringe dispatch. Look, I’m seeing a lot, and I want to write about it all, so this weekly round-up is my personal solution for covering as many shows as I can without completely losing my mind. For select things, I’m writing full reviews on the LMAOnaise website and the rest you can find here, weekly.
I’ve absolutely RAMMED my schedule full. It’s the fullest it’s ever been, you wouldn’t believe how full I’ve made it, doctors HATE how full she is. I’m checking my show spreadsheet every two seconds like a compulsion and have so far made only one (1) scheduling snaffoo, but I rectified it so fast you’d never have even noticed.
If you have seen me make any mistakes in this newsletter, no you didn’t and no I haven’t! I am without fault except for being sleepy.
Coming up!
Over the next couple of days on the website, you’ll find reviews for Abby Wambaugh, Bella Hull, Reuben Kaye, Zoe Brownstone and Lil Wenker, all of whom I’ve seen and am in the process of writing up. I’ve got loooooads more to see over the next couple of weeks so follow on Instagram if you want to be the most up-to-date out of all of your friends and mine.
Strap in! Here’s my week in comedy!
[Order of viewing, no hierarchy]
Edinburgh Fringe shows to see
Ian Lockwood: The Farewell Tour
Underbelly George Square (Wee Coo), 22:20
Pop star Ian Lockwood has accomplished everything he ever dreamed of and is doing his final concert before he completes his life. The talent. The personality. The absolutely unhinged ear-worm of a final song… Such strong writing here from a fantastic musical comedian. It’s ten songs - all hits, no misses - with the expert help of a screen and scene-stealing backing dancers. Ian’s a brand new name for me this year, and I’m so glad that I was there on my first night to personally discover him (hair flick). He’s bringing star quality and representation to the perfect normal princesses of the world! Top tip: songs are on Spotify to satisfy your craving to hear them again, which will happen.
Amy Annette: Thick Skin
Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker 2), 16:25
Teen-hood nostalgia is back – remember FringeBEAT? The hottest Fringe magazine of this and every year actually? Available to pick up around the Fringe this week (self-plug)! –and I’m absolutely delighted Amy Annette is making her stand-up debut this year. She’s such a ray of sunshine on stage and a complete natural at connecting with an audience, bringing us in on her obsessions with collective nouns and any kind of bread (of which croissant is not one!!!! I am surprised!!! To have been in the minority believing it is a pastry not a bread!!!!) There is no doubt that, as a woman raised around Kate Moss quotes, Trinny and Susannah and Smash Mouth, the target audience for this show is me, but it’s to Amy’s credit that it feels like a show for everyone.
Jin Hao Li: Swimming in a Submarine - READ MY FULL REVIEW here on the website!
Pleasance Courtyard (Below), 19:10
Derek Mitchell: Double Dutch - READ MY FULL REVIEW here on the website!
Pleasance (Baby Grand), 22:50
Jake Roche: Neporrhoids
Pleasance Courtyard (Beside), 15:35
Jake Roche’s story of how he went from nepo baby to overnight viral chart-topping pop star, and how he lost it, is mostly true and fully excellent. It’s a high energy show and brilliant how something that begins with the worst case of haemorrhoids ever seen can turn into such a touching and vulnerable exploration of the craving to be known. The story itself is as thrilling as you’d expect from someone who has experienced the highs of life as a pop star in LA, but it’s Jake’s command of timing along with all of the on-stage gymnastic elements that make this special. Would see it again actually!
Eddy Hare: This One’s On Me
Pleasance Courtyard (Cellar), 17:30
Eddy Hare is full of pride. He’s proud to be an uncle of nieces and with great uncle comes great responsibility. Eddy is such a delight to watch, whether it’s his deadpan delivery of cracking jokes about his bald patch or a fantastic song about leaving his baby in New York (a certified bop, actually!) You may have seen him as half of Europe’s lowest energy double act, Crizards, last year performing their war themed show, but he’s struck out on his own this season to ponder his new responsible position and the wisdom he can pass on to the next generation (of uncles).
Dan Wye Am I Sam Smith?
Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker 1), 21:55
Is there anyone as naturally funny as Dan Wye? That’s not a rhetorical question, and the answer is no, there is not! This is an absolutely brilliant debut stand-up hour. We've seen Dan performing as Séayoncé for a while now, and we love her of course, but it’s gorgeous for Dan to take the stage as themself in such a majestic way. The joke hit rate is relentless, and the charisma is charisma-ing. There is one joke in particular that I have been thinking about for days! (A prize to whoever sees it and guesses which joke I’m talking about.) Dan Wye Am I Sam Smith? is all about the effect being a celebrity doppelganger has had on their sense of self and the pressures to conform to stereotype as a queer person.
Dee Allum: Deadname - READ MY FULL REVIEW here on the website!
Pleasance Courtyard (Below), 16:30
Kemah Bob: Miss Fortunate - READ MY FULL REVIEW here on the website!
Pleasance Courtyard (Baby Grand), 19:05
Paulina Lenoir: Puella Eterna - READ MY FULL REVIEW here on the website!
Assembly Roxy (Downstairs), 22:00
Zoë Coombs Marr: Every Single Thing in My Whole Entire Life
Monkey Barrel 4, 17:00
As someone whose entire month in Edinburgh revolves around a colour-coded, zone-based spreadsheet, I’m totally on board for the work of art that Zoë Coombs Marr has created to categorise all of the memorable events in her life. A couple of people who saw this show before me said, “you won’t BELIEVE this spreadsheet”, and I was like OK cool, I love a good spreadsheet. But I was not prepared for what I saw, and no words can actually do justice to this majestic data organisation - it’s like trying to describe the pyramids(?), you do have to see it for yourself (…I haven’t seen the pyramids yet). Shocked by her inability to remember significant moments in her live, Zoë sat down and documented every single thing in her whole entire life. She bears her soul by giving us access to this, adding in lovely little choose your own adventure moments that let the audience wonder around in the recesses of her mind palace.
Luke Rollason, Luke Rollason Let Down Your Hair
Pleasance Dome (10 Dome), 19:10
Real life Disney prince Luke Rollason is living in a fairy tale - actually, as many fairy tales as you can feasibly cram into an hour. It’s the perfect choice because it’s the perfect comedy vehicle for Luke to do what Luke does best: play. From a long-haired princess in a tower to Hansel and Gretel (acch nein) leaving a trail in the woods, he uses loo roll in ways I PROMISE you have never seen before and will definitely enjoy. It’s vintage Rollason: as silly as it gets and as many unexpected uses for household objects as you can find. A wonderfully interactive, bananas show. Now, a moment’s silence for Humpty Dumpty.
Knight, Knight - READ MY FULL REVIEW here on the website!
Underbelly, George Square (Wee Coo), 20:50
Emma Sidi is Sue Gray
Pleasance Courtyard (Upstairs), 16:15
If I’m going to watch anyone do political comedy, it’s going to be Emma Sidi. If I’m going to reminisce about the Tory-Covid-Partygate shit show, I want it with a side of water cooler gossip and extended routines about elves in Spanish. We get insight into what was really happening when BNOC (big name in the civil service) Sue Gray was working on that report. Emma’s characterisation of Sue Gray as a gossiping, superhero porn-obsessed procrastinator who loves Gap couldn’t be better - no surprises there from such a brilliant character comic.
Isobel Rogers: How to be Content
Pleasance Courtyard (Below), 17:50
Isobel Rogers a super accomplished songwriter, a sharp lyricist and has written a bonkers amount of scarily perceptive songs about modern life as people of our general age. Sue me, I’m a millennial! I get it! I also had to move back in with my mum a few years ago and regress to being a teenager (I had to)! And my friends are getting married, and I’m agonising over the whole babies thing, and I’ve had therapy, and I’ve tried and failed to be mysterious…the amount to which I can relate to Isobel’s songs is a bit much maybe?
Ladies Who Ranch
Pleasance Courtyard (Below), 23:05 until Aug 12th
It’s not the Fringe without a little bit of late-night improv. Ladies Who Ranch are a supergroup of five American comedians made up of Sophie Zucker, whose show Sophie Sucks Face was one of my faves last year, Kelly Cooper, Caitlin Dullea, Maya Sharma, and Caroline Yost. They are joined every night by a special guest - my night it was Lara Ricote - for a guessing game and a wheel spin. Totally silly, wonderful and extremely fun. Top tip: Go and see Lara’s show as well, Tiny Little Wet Show (Baptism), which I reviewed in London and ADORED. Lara is a dream.
Kate Cheka: A Messiah Comes
Hoots at Potterow (Wee Yurt), 12:25
If there is one question circulating the Fringe this first week it’s: Is Kate Cheka the Messiah? Or at least that’s the message we should be spreading. Kate’s debut show is all about her feeling like she’s the one who is going to save the world, and honestly, I wouldn’t be mad about it. Funnily enough, this audience seemed to be full of scientists, which I’m pretty sure means it’s about to be empirically proven. Her style is so warm and there’s no doubt that she’s totally herself on stage. From jokes about the billionaire submarine incident (remember that?) to the solution to her European sexual escapades, there is so much to love! I’ve been a fan since seeing her win the Funny Women Awards last year and am so happy she’s here, spreading the gospel.
Find WEEK TWO OF SHOWS HERE!!
