Show 36: Alternative Comedy Memorial Society

Though not appearing in the edfringe website, it was listed on the Monkey Barrel site and thank goodness I found it, I was initially saddened at the thought of being bereft of this stalwart of showcasing alternative, daring acts (I'll never forget Joe Lycett's drag act Nigella Farage).

Highlights from this show included Ted Hill's love of presidents, a Fifer playing an Italian Opera singer singing the ingredients of a Penguin chocolate bar (I'd never have thought anyone can make singing 'milk' hilarious, thank you ACMS) and a mildly unsettling Scot playing a vaguely Eastern-European lady dancing with a Serbian audience member (an initial technical snafoo giving rise to a lovely moment of improvised singing followed by the actual dance compilation). A thoroughly enjoyable late night affair. I look forward to the traditional end-of-festival alternative awards show.

Score: 8/10
Venue: Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, Monkey Barrel 1
Dates: 28th August
Time: 00:00
Price: £8

Show 35: Fin Taylor: Daddy Self-Care

Fin Taylor is always sharply critical of the norm and mainstream, a refreshing voice that really challenges. This year's show looks at being a new father and the growing awareness of male mental health. He risks alienating the audience, though I think he's always been deliberate in pushing buttons, and a final routine playing out comedy caricatures of mental illnesses does prove funny, though it feels a bit of a sudden end with the show running shy of 50 minutes. The show feels incomplete and perhaps there will be further developments prior to an early 2023 tour. While there are multiple grains that bear fruit, I wonder if I caught the show before a full harvest. The half-filled QueenDome may also have distracted this joker.

Score: 6/10
Venue: Pleasance Dome, QueenDome
Dates: 28th August
Time: 20:30
Price: £13

Show 34: Phil Wang: The Real Hero in All This

Having known of Phil Wang for some years I don't think I've ever seen a full show of his, this was the year to rectify that.

Clearly an experienced performer now at ease with a large crowd, it's an hour of easy comedy with smart observations (I particularly enjoyed Wang's dismay at the Brits' aversion to reheating rice) and autobiographical material, guaranteed laughs in the hands of a skilled joker. Though varied in the material, it feels neatly woven together, even if there isn't any emotional heft or pathos. You can't go wrong with Wang, a safe bet moments of grand silliness.

Score: 7/10
Venue: Assembly at George Square, Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre
Dates: run ended
Time: 21:00

Show 33: Alasdair Beckett-King: Nevermore

Having seen ABK's posters around the festival for a number of years and hearing his Comedian's Comedian episode I thought I'd check out this show.

A multimedia show though the bulk is from ABK's honed story-telling stand up material. The occasional short video and animation serve to be refreshing moments to compliment the story telling. Overall a charming and entertaining hour, puns a plenty and whimsical moments make for a worthwhile show.

Score: 7/10
Venue: Pleasance Dome, JackDome
Dates: 28th-29th August
Time: 19:00
Price: sold out

Show 32: Alice Cockayne: Attention Needed

Another show that caught my eye in the programme being billed as an absurdist piece, I've realised of late I've been drawn to the more absurdist shows, things to take you away from reality and to dazzle in rich, bewildering creations of the great comics, I've found such shows in the parts to be really inspirational.

This was not such a show.

Cockayne's character sketch does venture into the absurd for sure, but there really aren't any smart ideas or even good punchlines.

There's audience participation a plenty in this show. An opening sketch about finding a partner, going to bed and confronting an intruder by speaking in tongues is at most mildly bemusing (I was the plucky partner though Cockayne seemingly didn't fancy my banter - a moment where her electric toothbrush is flailed wildly underneath a bedsheet as we're both in bed led to me apologising for the coke I took, she retorted that her parents were at home, prompting me to ask her where she think I got it from; she quickly asked me to stop talking). Another skit involving a dysfunctional dog sitting agency was altogether tedious, even tragic, though I suspect unintentionally so. Indeed the laughter bleeding through from Ewin's excellent show next door was palpable throughout. I'm quite glad I didn't catch the 110% John Kearns and Pat Cahill show where she featured later in the festival.

Score: 1/10
Venue: Just the Tonic at The Caves, Just the Upstairs
Dates: 28th August
Time: 22:25
Price: £7

Show 31: Thom Tuck and Tim FitzHigham: Macbeth

Thom Tuck and frequent collaborator Tim Fitzhigham often bring quirky experimental comedy shows to the festival and this is no exception.

A retelling of MacBeth but with different directors everyday, essentially this is structured improvised comedy, always a risky endeavour for comedy except in skilled hands (thank goodness for Tuck's grounding at Edinburgh's Improverts) but today's show was sheer joy and silliness. Sunil Patel providing the direction (a very lacklustre and relatively unimaginative style, I couldn't tell if it was deliberate/a manifestation of his comedic persona (I confess I've never engaged with his material before)) Tuck and Fitzhigham did brilliantly to bring Shakespeare's tragic work to comedic life, starting with motorcycle riding witches to an inexplicable Mexican laird (get a funny accent just right and I'll double up in laughter) and excellent use of red cloth (you forget just how much death there is in MacBeth sometimes) this was a fabulous show. Vibrant, chaotic and downright stupid, this is the kind of show that makes the festival magical. I only wish I could have watched them again.

Score: 8/10
Venue: Underbelly at Cowgate, Belly Button
Dates: run ended
Time: 20:35

Show 30: Angela Barnes: Hot Mess

After many appearances on Mock the Week and various podcasts (namely Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown during a lockdown episode for me) it was finally time to see Barnes in person.

A hour of storytelling about her lockdown experience, becoming married and being there for a close comic friend undergoing cancer treatment, it's an overall feelgood show offering hope and belief in love filled with punchy jokes and a well-riffed (or was it meticulously planned) moment where technology ironically failed Barnes' set. A very well constructed hour from an engaging, confident, energetic performer, this was a very enjoyable show that has the right level of poignancy for an impactful Edinburg show. I look forward to watching Barnes again at future festivals and tours.

Score: 7/10
Venue: Pleasance courtyard, Cabaret Bar
Dates: 28th August
Time: 19:00
Price: £15