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: ****

Ele McKenzie: Bringing It All Back Home, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson

What a weird experience this was! Ele McKenzie seems half-Sloane, half-geek, from a very strange background.

If her show is to be believed, she has a terrible relationship with her mother Jane, has had a shocking break-up from her ex-boyfriend - as well as suffering from haemorrhoids and a verruca. Ele, who says she is 30, has some odd ideas. She said she was seeking 'elderly penis', which she imagined was gnarled and wrinkled! Someone aged around 60, such as myself, must appear to be 105 to her!

Ele is extremely talented as a stand-up and very funny. But listening to her flights of fancy about being 'fingered' by a Bob Dylan with long digits and how, somehow, miraculously, this affair would heal her family's rift, you did wonder what the hell goes on in her head.

Ele McKenzie has funny bones and I liked her. So, I am giving her four stars.

Star Rating: ****

Chip and Gus: A Comedy with Balls, TheSpace @ Venue 45, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Laura King and Ollie Wilson

Chip and Gus, played by John Ahlin and Christopher Patrick Mullen, are two middle-aged, socially awkward New York academics who meet once a month to play ping pong. Each pretends it is not that big a deal to them, but over the back and forth of their table tennis emerges academic one-upmanship, regrets, petty squabbles and an unfortunate propensity for falling for the same women.

What seems like a small favour assumes epic proportions. The neuroses of Woody Allen meets Proust mixed with cheesy humour. It is an intelligent, energetic and sassy play. Gus is an extraordinarily pedantic and erudite professor. Chip is a struggling music teacher in a state of panic.

Both actors put in remarkable performances, arguing in complex scenes while proficiently playing table tennis. However, we did not particularly care for the play, written by Ahlin and Mullen. Being clever is not the same as being interesting and engaging. Nonetheless, the production is an impressive achievement. Therefore, we are giving it four stars.

Star Rating: ****

Shaggers, Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson and Laura King

Shaggers has become an institution at the Edinburgh Fringe - after providing 18 years of sex and relationships club comedy.

We love it, although it can be quite hit and miss in terms of the quality of its content. The show we attended was not a classic. Compere Nik Coppin was his usual enthusiastic and funny self, and opening act Jeannie Jones had some good material in defence of ladies' 'bushes' and against the vogue for shaving off pubes.

Michael Shafar was very funny, working each member of the front row to great effect. However, Ivor Dembina cut a shambling figure, trying to read gags from scrappy pieces of paper, treating the gig like a new material night and relying heavily on the generosity of the afternoon crowd. He was a last-minute stand-in, but, surely, after more than 40 years in show business he must have learnt some dirty jokes by heart! And Jay Sodagar got some good laughs but wasn't really taking the roof off.

All the same, it was an enjoyable hour - and I love the concept. So, I am giving the show four stars.

Star Rating: ****