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: ****