Introductions: A Musical Romcom about Political Differences, Braw Venues @ Grand Lodge, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

This superb musical romantic-comedy tackles the challenging subject of people adjusting their politics to fit in with their partner's worldview. 

Dylan, adeptly played by Ross Jamieson, tells a pack of porky pies to woo and keep attractive and politically correct Paige (Abbie Lois). It goes swimmingly at first but soon he has to practise mental gymnastics to keep other figures, such as her traditionist father Roger, happy. 

Roger is one of four characters played by versatile actor Edan Glennie who also puts in sterling performances as Freddie, who is Paige's co-worker; Mick, who is Dylan's friend, and Milo, one of their trendy neighbours when Paige's work forces them to relocate to the dreaded London.

Danielle Claire OHare also multi-roles skilfully as Mia, Paige's right-on best friend; Paige's grandmother, beautifully done, and Skyler, another annoying Londoner, 

Overall, the musical, written, directed and composed by Martin Green, was excellent, with scenes that cracked along, catchy songs and sharp dance routines. It is also very funny, and Jamieson and Lois perform very well together. 

Ultimately, Dylan's web of deceit becomes too much for him and he admits to Paige that he is a Tory-voting, politically incorrect bloke with no interest in feminism, ending their relationship. They both learn something - and become more tolerant to the views of others. Hurray for that! 

An absolute treat! 

Star Rating: *****

Sophie Sconcia: Mother Superior, Hoots @ Nicholson Square, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson

Sophie Sconcia presented a fun and fairly silly lunchtime show that was a joy to behold.

After the audience had been ably warmed up by gay comic Jack Henry, she walked on stage, looking a million dollars in a nun's head-dress, black skirt and fishnet stockings! A very sexy sister!

Her 'order' - that of Saint George Michael - relies on song lyrics and advertising slogans rather than the traditional liturgy of the Holy Mass.  And Sconcia has some great material about relationships, men admitting they are bad at sex, and how to get a new car in exchange for a blowjob.

It was an very enjoyable hour that whizzed past - and the audience thorough enjoyed it.

Star Rating: ****

The Very Best of Tommy Cooper, Gilded Balloon Patter House, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson

Actor Daniel Taylor does a decent job at telling much of the story of the great comedy magician Tommy Cooper - in a comprehensive show which is rich in classic gags and failed magic tricks.

It is clear he has put a lot of work into this show, with large number of props. tons of comedy material and good costumes. He even looks quite like a young Tommy Cooper.

However, the sound seems a bit loud towards the start of the show, drowning out some of the lines, and, although he is undoubtedly, an accomplished performer, Taylor does not entirely capture the genius of Tommy Cooper on stage.

But there is much to like in this production: a lovely song at the end, some brilliant blasts from the past in terms of jokes and a very likeable and talented performer.

Star Rating: ****

Andrew White: What a Life, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson

What a marvellous hour of cutting-edge, largely death-related comedy this is - from a highly accomplished stand-up.

I laughed like a drain at Andrew White's routines about living with his parents, looking older than his 26 years of age, Jonathan the Jester and his mother's demise.

White is enormously affable and an excellent gag writer. The material about celebrants was terrific - I have come across so very many crap ones, they are more than ripe for ridicule. 

And, like myself, he has a love for pursuing 'The Man' in wars of attrition over minor misfortunes. That's the spirit, lad! 

In a tough Fringe for pulling audiences, the room was packed - and you could see why. White was outstanding from start to finish. Lovely job!

Star rating: *****

Madeleine Brettingham: Legend, Gilded Balloon Teviot, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson

You don't see many stand-up shows with real balls, taking the piss out of men and women, embracing stereotypes before debunking them, and not giving an eff about political correctness. This is one such rarity.

Madeleine Brettingham uses her background of being brought up by an alcoholic single dad in not-so-sunny Bournemouth to expose the ludicrousness of 'man the legend'. With an exceptionally tightly written script, delivered in a machine-gun rat-tat-tat fashion, and a bit of a put-on ladette accent, her scathing lines rarely missed their mark. 'Women had tits, men had a van,' she said, reflecting on different times. And the showjumper clitoris joke was a killer!  

From geezers - 'half-man, half-crab' - to the Artful Dodger to serial killers, she combined wit with physicality and her imposing height with an ability to out-geezer geezers, out-bollocks blokes - and lampoon car-crash 'legends'. 

And, yeah, why shouldn't a woman behave just as crudely as a man, and be awarded popular 'legend' status for doing so? What geezers can do, birds can do better! 

The finale was a triumphant treat! And, overall, it is a beautiful piece of writing, poetic at times, without letting the facts get in the way of a great story. Yet at times it was also brutally honest. Brettingham, a Cambridge graduate, uses stock stereotypes as skilfully as Al Murray, an Oxford University graduate, did more than 25 years ago at the Edinburgh Fringe as the Pub Landlord to expose the absurdity of so much of the human condition. 

The inspired greatness of this show is beyond a shadow of doubt.

Star rating: *****   

David Tsonos: Club Comedian, Laughing Horse @ Kick Ass Cowgate, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

With 10 people in the audience, half of them Scousers, veteran comedian David Tsonos had his work cut out. . . but he did all right.

The jolly journeyman is certainly no stand-up star - his material is a bit on the weak side. But he has bags of experience from 25 years of cracking jokes at clubs and comedy festivals around the world, and is pleasant to listen to, despite his trademark squeaky voice.

Canadian David may not have quite understood what nicknames are, but he had the odd good routine and gag, such as the triangle joke and his farm/firm bit. 

But I enjoy this kind of thing: a decent guy with a good heart, trying his best, with modesty and workman-like professionalism. On a good day, he might have taken the roof off.

Star Rating: ****

Well-Balanced Dads, Alba @ Hill St Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

This was a tremendous show combining sharp comedy, amusing audience participation and acrobatics.

Two American dads, missing their kids, go on a camping holiday together, picking up hitch-hikers, staging dance competitions in the woods - and learning more about themselves and their relationships with their children.

It was very funny and touching. Whisper Theatre are extremely skilled and talented - and undoubtedly deserve a far larger audience than they have been getting.

Well-Balanced Dads was the 34th show I have attended at this year's Fringe, and one of the most enjoyable. 

Star Rating: *****  

Patrick Monaghan: I'm Not A Terrorist - I'm Freddie Mercury, Gilded Balloon Patter House, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

Patrick Monaghan has a very engaging manner - exploring the audience and quickly locking them into his act. On this night, he encountered an interesting selection, ranging from a 12-year-old boy at the back to an old drama school mate at the front.

He fished for their schooldays nicknames, landing a small haul including 'Kitty', 'Gaylord' and 'Cougar'. His own schooldays, in Middlesbrough, after this family had fled Iran, were fascinating. He was nicknamed 'Terrorist' because 'Foreigner' was taken - assigned to boy from nearby Gateshead! 

Monaghan's storytelling is marvellous. He spins the yarn of growing up as an Iranian exile in a sometimes-hostile North-east England most skilfully. You can picture him as a child in a suitcase being smuggled out of Iran or taking part in his school Nativity play. He also has a good sense of generational differences, drawing out blasts from the past like 'the sliderule', 'chess' or 'paper' (!) from baby-boomers to confound the digitally addicted Gen Z. 

Most of all, there is joy in his act, a rich musicality and great fun. I was at the gig with my fellow cast members from another show, having had, admittedly, a few refreshments, and it felt like Patrick was weaving magic in front of our eyes. We all loved the show - and loved him, too! And the Freddie Mercury finale was brilliantly entertaining. 

Star Rating: *****

Gregor Fisher in Conversation with Nigel West, Gilded Balloon Teviot, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

This was a very interesting run-through of super-talented Gregor Fisher's illustrious career - to a very appreciative, predominantly Scottish audience - who thoroughly enjoyed the 'conversation' with Nigel West.

I have always been interested in his work, watching Rab C Nesbitt, although it was not entirely my cup of tea, and absolutely loving Para Handy. In fact, I recall I was the only UK national newspaper television critic to give The Tales of Para Handy TV series a rave review. 

It was fascinating to hear about the other things he has done and to get a sense of this great man (back in the day, my interview requests were always turned down!) He has a gentle wit and is wonderfully indiscreet. On his impending, top-secret role in TV drama Shetland, he said: 'I might be the thing [that's done it], I'm not allowed to say!' 

Now I am myself working primarily as an actor, I probably laughed louder at the his drama school tales than the rest of the audience, as he joked about being forced to learn Received Pronunciation and doing 'tree and vine work', getting a boner in his leotard. In fact, I picked up quite a lot on acting from what he said in this conversation, so thanks for that, Gregor. And the repertory theatre black-and-white pictures of a young Fisher in various servant roles were gorgeous. In one, he was pictured with his wife to be, a posh lass. 'My mother said to me, "Do you not think you are aiming a bit high?".' 

The section about his first series, Scotch and Rye, was fascinating. . . and I had forgotten about his brilliant Hamlet cigar adverts. Nigel West had done his homework and did a good job at keeping the show clicking along. 

The Al Pacino bit was also excellent and hilarious, and showed to me how humble Gregor Fisher is, a private, grounded Scotch bloke with a lot of skill, talent and dedication to the art of acting. I left the hall, feeling very glad I had just spent a wee bit of quality time in his company.

Star Rating: *****

Phil Nichol: The Naked Racist, Gilded Balloon Teviot, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson and Laura King

Stand-up great Phil Nichol reprised his 2006 Comedy Award-winning show The Naked Racist on its 20th Anniversary - to a capacity crowd and a tumultuous reception.

Following a bust-up with his then girlfriend, Nichol headed to Amsterdam alone to embark on a four-day drink and drugs binge - largely magic mushrooms - which turned bad and mad!

Inspired by the Doukhobors, who were peace-loving people from Russia who countered threats by getting naked and apologising regardless of who was in the wrong, his crazed adventure (hooking up with a crazed American ex-squaddie, fleeing a road traffic accident, arguing with an Armenian barman about war, experiencing a heavy metal band etc.), culminated in him dealing with a gang of skinheads, who believed he was gay at a LGBT Holocaust memorial, by removing his clothes, and chasing them. Only to find, in his drug-addled state, he was pursuing a couple of innocent black kids instead.

Nichol stripped entirely naked for half of the show as he delivered an anti-war message as apposite today as it was 20 years ago. He also persuaded his heavy metal band to do the same - and audience members to remove items clothing. How he does it, no one knows.

The Naked Racist is as much a masterpiece today as it was in 2006. It is insanely funny, daring and joyful. It is a wonderful, beautiful show about love and peace; a significant piece of work that will never be forgotten.

Star rating: *****

 

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: ****

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: ****

The Frank Carson Story: Mike McCabe, Le Monde (Shanghai), Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

It was great to see Mike McCabe perform, although not so great to see how he was faring with his venue.

Almost ten minutes after the gig was supposed to start, the audience was still waiting in a dirty gully, locked out, and when we tried to enter were told off. Moreover, even when the show got underway, it was marred by terrible technical mishaps, with sounds effects frequently played far too loud or at the wrong time, and the wrong pictures appearing on the screen. Unfortunate McCabe remonstrated with the guy in the tech box.

That said, it was superb to hear Mike McCabe tell the jokes of the legendary Frank Carson, his late friend, and recap on some of the great man's life story. It was very interesting. And good to hear about 1970s TV show The Comedians, on which Frank and Mike performed. Indeed, their accents and material sounded pretty similar.

But with technical issues ruining much of the show (why didn't they do a proper tech run?), it ended early. A crying shame! Therefore, I am giving four stars for Mike McCabe, but only one star for this nightclub venue.  

Star rating: ****

Laughing Stock, Gilded Balloon Teviot, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson and Laura King

This was a fast-paced medley of American comedians - and their neuroses.

Compere Charley Lanyon did a great job warming up the audience, despite a 'catastrophic' hangover drinking all night with a gang of Glaswegians and, accidentally, awakening on a couch in Leith. He also had a surreal tip for how to best to snort in the hot tub - another clue to his lifestyle!

It was a very lively and loud audience for a 10.30pm gig and a particularly vociferous Scottish heckler in the front row featured through the show. To be fair, he was funny and, on the whole, the stand-ups worked with him rather than against for the benefit of the gig. 

First turn up, the glabrous Jason Greene, had good material about baldness and evil and getting older. Next was a real treat: a double act. Not any double act either, but a male-female, long-term married couple double act, Anna Vocino and Loren Tarquinio, They were good and she particularly had great comedy timing. And it takes balls for a middle-aged couple with a grown-up kid to stand on stage and talk about their sex life, 'watching a porn' and fantasies in bed (She said: 'eating ass'. He said routinely: 'Noted.' 

Our favourite act was Jon Dunn from Alabama - a bear of a man - who has turned his autism diagnosis into comedy gold. He was large, but not as fat as he once was (an impressive 24 stone!). Indeed, he was managing both his autism and his weight to ensure he never ran out of material!

The closing act, Wally Baram, has a lot of stage presence and managed to humiliate the heckler into an uncharacteristic silence! But, for some reason, her crowd work went better than her set!

Overall, a fine show!

Star rating: ****

The Bloody Ballad of Betty Davies, Assembly Rooms Roxy, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson

This is an excellent and entertaining musical based around the dwindling years of Bette Davies when the fading film star accepted a role in the 1975 movie Burnt Offerings, co-starring with Karen Black and hellraiser Oliver Reed.

The supernatural story puzzled me a tad at times but the performances of the five-strong cast were all extremely good and the music very enjoyable. Davies has a torrid time in particular with Reed who is vile on set, in the story. This I can relate to, having physically wrestled with a very drunken Oliver Reed at a showbiz event in the early 1990s! Reed was a strong guy! And I liked the way he was played on stage in this production.

Artistic director John P. McEneny, who wrote the book, and composer and lyric-writer Rob Parker can feel very proud of what has been achieved here. 

There were some great tunes and great lines such as 'artists don't retire, it's not a job!' or the gay guy saying to Bette: 'You weren't just entertainment, you were permission!'

It was a shame only 17 people were in the audience. This show deserves a bigger crowd!

Star rating: *****

Huge Davies: Sleep Paralysis Princess, Monkey Barrel Comedy, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson

An incredible show! Huge Davies entered from the back wearing a chef's hat and playing a keyboard, which was supported by a strap around his neck, and sang a series of comments in a kind of Gregorian chant. It was remarkably funny!

Huge then went into the National Trust and gay people, the 'allegations' against him, a rat writing his act, racism ('the crowd [us] look racist'), Dennis Sausages, his chronic insomnia, Billy Baggins, Henry VIII, working in a shoe shop. It's hard to describe how Huge Davies is so f***ing funny; he just is! 

Absolutely brilliant! The packed audience pretty wet themselves laughing!

Star rating: *****

Ali Brice: This Is The Way We Brush Our Teeth, Hoots Potterow, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

In almost 30 years covering comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe, I have never attended the same show twice - so this is a first.

It only happened because I met Ali Brice who was out flyering and, with typical depressive funk, like Flanders from The Simpsons on anti-depressants, said he was going to cancel that last night's show because he hadn't sold any tickets. 'Don't do that,' I said. 'If you promise to go ahead, I will review it.' We shook on it.

I'd first met Ali Bruce, a charity social media manager, a few days earlier, when his act had largely consisted of amplifying my laugh and getting my companion at that gig to fix his lighting! You see, he doesn't have what you might call comedy material to fall back on and relies heavily on the audience to provide the entertainment for the evening. For reasons no one can quite understand, Brice is the hapless catalyst for hilarity.

On my second visit, he was also inadvertently very funny, although he seemed morose and eager to get the show over with. The audience - almost a capacity crowd - ended up talking to each other as he observed them from the stage. 

Ali Brice is like a human car crash on a stage and, for reasons that are, I suspect, very British, we all find this terribly amusing. 

Indeed, Brice has hit on something special that is very hard to discern but is amazing when it works. That's why I am giving him five stars.

Star rating: *****

Carl Carzana THE Comedian Creative Genius, Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

Carl Carzana broke onto the comedy scene in Brighton a few years ago - and was remarkable for his staccato style of delivery, getting laughs from few words, frequent pauses and dry observation.

I was fortunate to observe his early efforts at stand-up at the legendary Tight Five comedy club in Hove and, for reasons that are lost in the mists of time, became known as his 'dad' for around six years!

Carl, who is also a commercial artist and former Waterstone's bookseller, has blossomed into a very good comedian - and produced a wonderful hour of comedy.

In a venue not much larger than a broom cupboard, adorned with images of nineties pop stars he hated, Carzana expanded on his life's work of bigging himself up at the expense of more accomplished entertainers! He is well known for starting the Carl Carzana comedy competition, open to all talent, but only winnable by himself!

He opened a large suitcase full of props, unfortunately for me, completely cutting off my view of the stage, turning it into a kind of radio performance! But, no matter, his off-the-wall material soon had the audience splitting their sides. It ranged from his alleged showbiz dad (what about me?) to Bob Dylan, Shakespeare, 'ye do ye', Si Si to CC. Well, you had to be there. My friend, Stewart, enjoyed it just much as I did.

The drawings he produced of his heroes were wonderful, and his crowd play with Martin ('Can I call you, Martin?' as he kept saying) were hilarious. And I loved his glove puppets, Hermit the Hog and Mikey the Moose.

A fabulous show - and it is great to see how far Carl Carzana has come in comedy!

Star rating: *****

 

Mark Steel: What The F*** Is Going On, Assembly Rooms Ballroom, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson

Mark Steel is a big name in comedy - on stage and on Radio 4 - and I have seen him perform on stages large and small, from big halls to tiny bars in Brighton. He is always good. . . but this show is absolutely outstanding!

What the fuck is going on, in Britain, in the world, in society? You might well ask. It is hard to deny that we are in a mess. 

Mark took his packed audience through a hilarious whirlwind of prime ministers before turning to the impact of technology, the incredible generational inflation in property values and rent costs, the collapse of council housing and pretty much every aspect of modern living. I was laughing too much to write them all down.

His brilliant performance reminded me of how adept he is at doing regional accents and impressions of the famous. I like Mark - he is a friendly, down-to-earth guy. And unlike many comedians, who simplify complicated issues for laughs, his material is pretty accurate. Privilege still dominates. Technology screws us up. Life has become a bit of a nightmare.

But Mark manages to make it so funny. I have been coming to the Edinburgh Fringe since 1997 and have rarely seen a more hilarious show!

So, for once, let's break with the reviewing star system - and give it SIX stars!

Star Rating: ******

Adults Only Magic Show, Assembly George Square Studios, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

This four-strong outfit - Australian master magicians Sam Hume and Justin Williams, MC Magnus 'Danger' Magnus and a pretty guy who cleared the props and flashed his arse a lot - provided great entertainment, particularly for straight women and gay men.

The show, in its fifth year in Edinburgh, had a bit of Spiegeltent feel about it, with Danger being an uber-slick compere, really turning a fantastic crowd into a fantastic audience.

The two magicians were pretty incredible: funny, sexy and with remarkable tricks and deception skills. I won't even begin to guess how they did their illusions. It just beggared belief. And it all came with nudity forfeits, allowing the eager to get a good butcher's at Sam and Justin's meat and two veg. Even Danger got naked at one point. 

Sam and Justin's magic was awesome but they didn't take themselves too seriously. They were having fun, drawing on audience volunteers and rewarding them with beer vouchers. Everyone had a good time!

The venue was a big old steep lecture theatre, and as Danger said: 'You will never see so many cocks in a lecture lecture!' Or so many astounding conjuring tricks! 

It's a cracker!

Star Rating: *****

Hill and Jones Comedy Catastrophe, Just The Tonic at Subway, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 By Ollie Wilson

It takes balls of steel to perform a long and complicated sketch show in a simply cavernous venue for an audience of one - especially when that person is a comedy critic!

This courageous duo - who had been last year mauled by Chortle, put everything into this performance. . . just for me. Drenched in sweat, they left it all out there on the enormous stage!

I loved their enthusiasm, fearlessness and nods to comedy greats. I loved the politically correct bingo calling, the cardboard Tom Cruise, secret service STD clinic, the online boarding, the Arctic explorers, the men's guide to birth and so much more. Each segment was introduced by scathing Chortle criticism on the big screen, which was braver still.

And the outrageous, rapid-fire finale was fabulous!

At the end of show, they made a point of profusely thanking me for being their audience that night. It was a honour and privilege, guys; I thoroughly enjoyed their form of comedy madness and have no hesitation in giving your show five stars!

Star rating: *****

Star rating: *****

Maxx Eddy: Bi Meets World, Gilded Balloon Patter House, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

Accomplished California-based stand-up Maxx Eddy is nine years into his career and clearly knows his comedic onions - but is not quite running on Edinburgh time yet!

Eddy, who lives in Los Angeles, is a very confident and proficient performer with an act largely about his bisexuality, growing up and dating. But he struggled with a 19-strong audience - four of whom had sat at the back of the room (because of late-comers), with a sea of empty chairs between them and the friendly folk on the front two rows.

Rather than engaging in some playful crowd work to turn the small gathering into a great audience Max ploughed on with his set, about alpha males, bullying, online Brazilian girlfriend etc., succeeding and failing in equal measure.

It was a great shame because Maxx Eddy is a strong comedian and a decent guy. He has great pace and a rich imagination. He just needs to adapt for UK audiences. A tad of acclimatisation of his style and language and he will soon be a hit, doing justice to his undoubted talent and amiability as a comic.

Star rating: ****

Star rating: ****

Paul Foot: The Future, Belly Dancer at the Underbelly, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

 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: *****

Helicops 1: Find Your Wings!, Assembly George Square, Edinburgh Fringe 2026

By Ollie Wilson

 What a crazy, imaginative, hilarious show!  

Joe Smith, Harris Morris and Sam Dodgshon have created a remarkably surprising, absurd and fun comedy about American 'helicops' - half-men, half-helicopters - seeking the killer of one of their own. The convoluted plot doesn't matter much; it's all in the extraordinary performance, beefy accents and zany antics. At one point, the audience is repeatedly encouraged to bombard the actors with little plastic birds and then retrieve them from the stage to start again! It is chaos!

Moreover, the interrogation scene, involving a game punter, is brilliantly funny, and the gifted cast make the most of technical glitches and line slippages to win additional laughs. I loved the helicop hats and the walking Helicop HQ. And the relentlessly daft gags had the audience in stitches.

This wonderful alternative comedy will only get even stronger and slicker as the Fringe goes on.

Star Rating: *****