Paul Foot: The Future

 By Ollie Wilson

With the name Paul Foot, I suppose it was inevitable that he would turn to politics in the end, like his political journalist namesake. 

I have been observing the comedian Paul Foot's career on and off for around 30 years from the days when he played the small clubs of London in the mid-1990s, and his persona has certainly changed a lot in that time. Now he seems to lurch around the stage, always at risk of falling, although the audience clearly loves it.

Paul is a University of Oxford mathematics graduate and has applied his knowledge of calculus and science in general to the political sphere. He does it with the panache of a super-intelligent stand-up making something complex and convoluted into something simple and absurd.  I loved his 'good sign' material - frequently called back and taken on a surreal flight of fancy. But I must confess I was bemused by his trams and shot-putter routine. I just didn't get it, till, towards its end, I realised he had actually said 'trans' and not 'trams'. Maybe, I need a hearing test!

It is interesting see that three decades on, Paul Foot is reverting to some of the wild ways of the nineties London comedy circuit, with abortive crowd work, extreme characterisation of his persona and a mixture of compassion and ruthlessness in his set. The audience absolutely adored it.

I didn't entirely buy into the sincere bit at the end. But what Paul really thinks doesn't matter to me. He's a brilliant comic and this is a courageous and great show!

Star rating: *****

Dom McGovern, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

An excellent show by this charming and talented comedian making his Edinburgh Fringe debut.

Dressed in 'Oxford bags' and city-slicker shirt and tie, McGovern cuts a stylish figure and has a natural way with the audience, seeking out fellow lapsed Catholics and victims of social pressure to lose weight. He takes you into his fascinating world, full of anxiety, obsessions and eating disorders.

He's engaging and kindly in his approach, playing with people but gently. I felt I learnt so much! 

A big star in the making!

Star Rating: *****

Claire Robin: NUN SLUT, Gilded Balloon Patter House, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

A packed room awaited the arrival of the nun, Sister Claire, who entered in her habit by the audience door to accompaniment of organ music. The sister worked her way down the aisle, past the tech desk, and onto the stage to sing rather tunefully in Latin, before a twist that totally cracked up the audience.

Then there was a good deal of vacuum cleaning and sweeping of the stage and front row. It reminded me of the sort of clowning around that the legendary Jimbo used to do on the London comedy circuit of the mid-to-late 1990s. If I can seen it in a small comedy club, I would probably have found it hilarious. But, somehow, in its Edinburgh setting, I found it ponderous.

Australian performer Claire Robin is clearly a talented character comedian and clown. With a quick change of headwear, she became a Christian youth club leader lecturing the youngsters on 'S-E-X'. In no time, she had the audience on their feet, thrusting and dusting to Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing. And so it went on. As Sister Claire again, she ripped up bread - the body of Christ - and stuffed countless grapes into her mouth, not a pretty sight, before spitting them out and asking for a volunteer from the audience to eat the disgusting mess! Ugh! However, a strange giant sitting in front of me obliged with alacrity!

As I was making notes, I kept the page with an old card from a Roman Catholic Archbishop friend and wondered what he would make of it all. Was it profane? Blasphemous? Obscene? I guess the clergy in the main would be bemused. 

But it was a gutsy and unusual performance and the audience absolutely loved it, praise be to God!

Star Rating: ****

Every Ghost Story, Hoots @ Potterrow, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

Billy Morton - in the guise of Billy Bones - takes you through a rapid and very funny tour of the supernatural world in this erudite and entertaining show.

Clad in cravat, silk gown and suit trousers, Billy, who has something of the demeanour of the great Troy Hawke, is a character actor with a lovely gentle sense of humour, teasing out the inconsistencies and risible flaws in classic ghost literature. I loved the passages on the Curse of Tutankhamun, the Marie Celeste and Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle literally away with the fairies.

And Bones, who has an attractive voice, involved the audience in the tiny 'Wee Container 1' at the commendable Hoots venue skilfully, chancing on a professional actor in the crowd to perform to one of his ghost stories with another audience member. 

It was all most pleasant and thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile. And the miraculously working old TV and classic radio set and other vintage props added an additional layer to a well-planned piece of performance.

Well done, Billy boy!

Star Rating: ****

Phil Nichol: Aren't We Lucky, Gilded Balloon Teviot, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson

Phil Nichol is one of the world's greatest club comedians! I have been following his career for 25 years, ever since he used to headline at my Soho comedy club, Joe's Comedy Madhouse, and have always been amazed by his speed, musicality and power of delivery!

Now he is 60 and, rather than slowing down, he seems to have sped up, talking 39 to the dozen, and trying to cram in as much material as possible. It is incredible to watch, though I do wonder sometimes why he has to go so super-fast. 

This show contains new and old material, such as his classic dry-humping his ex-girlfriend's dad routine, and plenty of storytelling and acting, playing his elderly mother, a camp dancer and a host of other characters. 

It is amazing! And I am endlessly impressed by Nichol's versatile acting skills and his need to fit a shed load of very different comedy ideas and stories into one existential theme, connecting us all. 

His performance left me happy but exhausted. It is always a sublime joy to see him perform!

Star Rating: *****