Aidan Greene: Stuttermilk Pancakes, Underbelly Bristo Square, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

This is a brilliant show from the king of stammering comedy, Aidan Greene - and I loved every second of it.

From Greene's childhood memories of a teacher who he believed actually had eyes in the back of her head (a theory he tried to test by orchestrating a daring ambush!) to his abortive appearance as Prince Charming in the school pantomime, it had his 16-strong audience in tears of laughter.

I loved his Joe Biden material, although, to be fair, having once allegedly had a stammer was the least of Joe's issues! And I thorough enjoyed his childhood list of likes and dislikes about himself, dutifully produced to satisfy his school speech therapist. Moreover, his 'Scatman' material was lovely.

It is the gifted Irishman's ninth show at the Edinburgh Fringe; all, it seems, related to his stammer, although he has branched out into a couple of other conditions (it seems stand-ups collect them like trophies these days!) 

And, of course, he is right to regard his stammer as a strength. I am a bit prone to stammering, particularly when I would really rather not (such as job interviews or trying to talk to celebrities!), while my wonderful elder brother has always had a far more severe stammer than me. Yet it did not stop him from graduating with a top Oxford University mathematics degree, doing a doctorate, having an accomplished City career and retiring comfortably early. Not once, in 65 years, has he complained about his stammer or even mentioned it!

In a similar vein to that, Greene' 'Daniel story' was moving, interesting and inspiring. As is Greene's own remarkable history and approach to a successful life. 

Stammer on, dude! This outstanding show is easily worth five stars!

Star Rating: *****

Star Rating: ****

Andrew O'Neill: A Short, Aggressive Lecture on Krill, Then Jokes

 By Ollie Wilson

For more than 25 years I have been following the comedy of Andrew O'Neill, from the little comedy clubs of Stoke Newington and Soho, London, to his numerous and oftentimes esoteric Edinburgh Fringe projects. So, I was a tad surprised to enter, on an inclement Monday night in mid-Fringe, a packed venue including the legendary Frank Skinner, quietly sheltering in the crowd, for a 'work-in-progress' O'Neill show.

I have always thought of Andrew O'Neill, from his debut as a fresh-faced 22-year-old to now, as a great and original comedy talent. And the bare bones of this show - from rap about cupboards to hilarious and also mundane 'celebrity tips' to an inspired audience-participation in the Alphabet Song, accompanied in G on the unamplified xylophone - were gloriously funny.

Drawing from his carefully structured notes, some of them stream of consciousness, some meticulously layered, he performed it all with enormous stage presence, so, for once, no one minded that he didn't know every syllable by heart. Work in progress, he explained, meant in practice that not much progress has been made, not a lot of work done!

O'Neill is most affable. And I loved the apparent randomness of his set. For instance, his crowd work: 'Are you are Nazi?' Or the star tip from Keith Richards to call the postman by his first name, so he hung around far longer with a parcel. Sage advice from the drug-addled from the Rolling Stones' veteran guitarist.

It was the joyous way O'Neill told them that made it comedy gold. I couldn't see but I strongly suspect that Frank Skinner was laughing like a drain. How could he not, when everyone else was? This is a top-end five-star show.

Star Rating: *****

 

Burger and a Pint, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson and Laura King

The problem with sketch comedy is it is easy for anyone with a bit of performance experience to give it a go - and many, many do so with middling results or worse.

First-class comedy material is essential to make it work better than that and, unfortunately, James Trickey and Ted Milligan fell short. In fact, most of their jokes sucked.

They were playing to an almost-capacity crowd in the Cellar - usually a students' newspaper office - but two audience members walked out some 20 minutes into the show. It was easy to see why.

The funniest part of the show for me was when I (Ollie) realised my girlfriend Laura had fallen asleep and I caught the eye of a guy in the row behind me whose girlfriend had also dropped off!

Repeated jokes about Phil Wang, being half-Asian, being bisexual, that film about The Beatles not existing et cetera do need to inspire some mirth. I daresay the aspiring journalists who use the room in term time could have written more amusing jokes.

The funniest part for me (Laura) was the fucking puppets but it went on too long, stretched wafer thin.

It was a shame because Trickey and Milligan are talented performers with a lot of self-confidence. They just need an excellent comedy writer or to improve drastically their own comedy writing skills.

For that reason, we are - generously - giving them three stars.

Star rating: ***

Shane Torres, Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson and Laura King

American comedian Shane Torres walked on stage wearing mod trainers and a Vans top - always an excellent start in our book! He quickly explained, however, that he was not good at starting shows and reflected on the size of his audience, around 30 people. But very soon you sensed there was something very special about this man-mountain from Texas, a master-storyteller, and we settled in for a treat. . . 

A half-Mexican, half-Irish American stand-up, he has a gift of a traumatic backstory and a lovely deep voice. Torres has turned his dysfunctional upbringing, a very sad tale of family disintegration, into comedy gold. He delivered it in the gentlest, most laconic way imaginable.

Very different from his 'criminal' alpha-male brothers - one elder, one younger - he was the one who was left with his single mother, when the others had been farmed out to other relatives or had flown the nest. Shane was the one who was expected to help his dad move into a homelessness hostel, populated by uncaring staff, weirdos with enormous dicks and perverts who fancied his young butt.

Transforming pathos into laughter, his language is poetic, his frequent pauses Pinteresque. You could bottle those beats, those silences and, unlike the vast majority of stand-ups, he is not afraid of taking it slow, cherishing the still air between his thoughts. 

It is partly a tale of acceptance and redemption. He managed to understand his parents with all their flaws and surprising strengths better than they had ever understood themselves. He found a way of seeing the value in his spendthrift, deceitful car-crash of a father ('a good dude but not a good man'), and his lustful, needy mother. And he sees the unspoken tragedy of parenthood: 'As you soon as you are born, you take away their youth.' He also understood what people experiencing homelessness go through; with all their worldly chattels in a shopping trolley, his old man reduced to living in a clarty corner of a downtown hostel.

Shane Torres made it all very funny. A star in the States, we are sure he won't be in want of a capacity audience for long at the Edinburgh Fringe. 

For you would be hard pressed to find a more hilarious or moving comedy show - and that's why we are giving it five stars.  

Star Rating: *****

An Idiot's Guide to Murder, Laurence Tuck as Dr Laurence Tench, Laughing Horse @ The Brass Monkey, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson

Entering this room was like walking into an oven. Clearly, the murderous Dr Tench had been planning to incinerate us all. It was also very crowded. As one punter whispered to me: 'There really is no escape!'

That said, I enjoyed the show - a whirlwind tour of serial killers and other bad folk. Laurence Tuck is gloriously amateurish and shambolic in his approach, with ponderous delivery and some gags so bad you wouldn't put them in a cracker. But, despite the sweltering heat, he managed to keep his audience engaged and laughing at the best of his jokes (and make a potentially libellous comment about Michael Barrymore into the bargain).

Moreover, Human Top Trumps was good, as were the OJ Simpson routine, the undercooked chicken gag and the drill sector. And his terrible singing somehow added to his revision of Robert Palmer's Addicted To Love - Addicted to Death!

What's not to like? This kind of half-baked, madcap show is what Edinburgh Fringe should be all about.

And Dr Death has promised not to murder me if I give his show four stars. So. . . 

Star Rating: ****