Show 27: Kate Berlant: CommuniKate

Kate Berlant had been recommended by John-Luke Roberts on Twitter, and given my admiration of his comedic skills and taste, I thought it remiss to ignore such a suggestion.

As it turns out I've seen Berlant briefly on the American version of Taskmaster though I had forgotten. She's an established act on the American circuit but this, I believe, is her first venture to Edinburgh.

It's a becomes clear Berlant is far from your average comic, she's found a peculiar niche as a faux arrogant, precious psychic convinced she's a genius. She warms the crowd up first with an introduction to her persona, comments thanking the audience and alluding to a past as a children's performer and dancer (and indeed the control she has over her eyes and body for clowning is impressive, and maximised for laughs). Soon we get in to the main thrust of the show - she's made some wildly accurate psychic predictions of the audience (who here has a blonde dog whose name begins with 'r'?). Heaven forfend anyone who even has a passing relation to the prediction - Berlant pushes the audience when she finds that tenuous relationship.

This is a sparkling, bravura performance from an incredibly confident comic, taking clowning and possibly absurdist comedy to new frontiers. A very exciting performance.

Score: 8/10

Venue: Assembly George Square Studios, Studio Five

Dates: 17^th-26^th August

Time: 21:15

Price: £12.50 (£11.50 concessions) weekends, £10 (£9) weekdays

Show 26: The Bear Pack

Steen Raskopoulos's improv comedy show with Carlo Ritchie, The Bear Pack, has been coming to the festival for a couple of years now and they're slowly but surely making a name themselves. Improv inherently has the risk of being more miss than hit, but these two, with their cellist Ange Lavoipierre, generally hit the mark.

The show I watched revolved around a troubled chick, a genius wanting to learn to fight in order to set the local bully birds and to discover the mystery of his father's disappearance.

The cellist set a fairly sombre soundtrack throughout while Raskopoulos and Ritchie played off each other seamlessly, Ritchie predominant playing the protagonist while Raskopoulos skilfully pulled out magnificent bird character after bird character, from the hassled tutor to the mysterious Australian eagle with stunning blue eyes, the master of fighting.

Long form improv is a real test of improvisers' skills and it's clear that these two are masters of the art. Whatever the suggestions are you're sure for an exceptional show.

Score: 9/10

Venue: Underbelly on Cowgate, Belly Button

Dates: 17^th-26^th August (not 20^th)

Time: 22:40

Price: £12 (11 concession) weekends, £11 (£10) weekdays

Show 25: John Kearns: Don’t Worry, They’re Here

Criminally John Kearns had half-price tickets available for his repeat performance of last year’s show, how could I say no?

As it turns out he had a decent turn out, including the famous Russell Howard (the second time he’s been in the audience of a show I’ve watched – first time being Alex Edelman).

The large space of the Queen Dome, one of the most famous Edinburgh Festival comedy rooms, previous host to Pappy’s for their excellent show Last Show Ever and Tim Key’s room the year he won the Perrier (or whatever it was called then), threatens to be too much for Kearns’ off-beat style – he’s not afraid of the awkward silences from time to time.

Though soon in to the show you forget the space, and he commands the room. An excellent touch came towards the end when an audience member dashed out to leave – Kearns paused, waited in silence, and when the slam of the door closing finally came he said a simple “there we go” – there’s a bravado needed to pull off that kind of stunt in the middle of a performance.

The extended imagining of a shop reflects Kearns’ creativity and power to take his audience on a journey, and the ending, cleverly referencing a Morecombe and Wise act of the invisible object falling into an envelope, makes for the perfect finish.

Score: no score for repeat watching

Venue: Pleasance Dome – Queen Dome

Dates: Run ended

Time: 20:20

Show 24: Stuart Goldsmith: End Of

Stuart Goldsmith, off of Comedian’s Comedian fame, returns with another show. I watched him back in 2016 with a decent show about the birth of his son. I’d given him a miss last year but thought it’d be worthwhile to see how he was this year, especially given that many of the podcast fans had been praising the show.

Goldsmith’s graduated up to the bigger room at The Liquid Rooms, seating around 300 people – he’s worried he’s bitten off more than he can chew, but he’s got a loyal podcast following so I doubt he’d need to worry, and besides he’s got decent stand-up skills

This year’s show focuses more on him coping with being a parent, living in Bristol and being set up on a date to make a ‘man friend’ by his wife. It’s all playful fun and parts of frustration for Goldsmith, but he’s a master performer and he acts-out scenes with delight. The very dramatic ending to the show puts a nice cherry on top. He’s not being groundbreaking, but he’s a decent act you can’t go wrong with.

Score: 7/10

Venue: Free Fringe at The Liquid Rooms

Dates: 17^th-26^th August

Time: 14:50

Price: Free non-ticketed

Show 23: Felicity Ward: Busting a Nut

Felicity Ward is an Australian comedian who a fair few comedians had recommended on Twitter. I think she's had a comedian's comedian podcast episode too bit a while ago.

She's certainly a confident performer, very vivacious and sometimes brash, but she's got strong form and she knows how to play the crowd. She's particularly good at conjuring vivid and shortly grotesque comic imagery - there was a joke about farts and shoot that particularly tickled a front row audience member.

Her show overall mainly focuses on her recent big life changes, namely getting married last year and no longer having to live with her in-laws. She's got some humourous riffs along the way, particularly about the trouble of having a large nose (her slightly darker jokes seemed to get me best). She also gently touches on her mental health issues, but she doesn't dwindle and she expertly crafts jokes from it.

With the energy she attacks her material, she’s certainly busting a nut. She fits in the more conventional stand up group, but she's not bad at it.

Score: 7/10

Venue: Pleasance Courtyard - Above

Dates: 16^th-26^th August

Time: 21:00

Price: £13.50 (£12.50 concessions) weekends, £12 (£11) weekdays

Show 22: Pierre Novellie: See Novellie, Hear Novellie, Speak Novellie

Having heard him on Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown, and make a guest mention in James Meehan’s show this year, as well as having half-price tickets available, I was tempted to see what Cambridge alumnus Pierre Novellie had to offer.

He’s certainly got the look of young classy confidence about him – I think he was wearing a jacket with a t-shirt and nice jeans – and he immediately establishes his rather complex identity as having been born in South Africa, growing up on the Isle of Man and all the issues that brings. He’s well aware of his privilege though.

This is a smartly written hour from a satirist who’s worked previously on The Mash Report. He varies from colonial history to the cultural clash when he spends Christmas with South African family during their visits to the UK to bewilderment at the dire politics of America.

A skilled writer, and confident performer, the jokes generally land well and he’s a competent comedian for sure. Not a bad shout if you’re into politically-themed/satirical comedy.

Score: 7/10

Venue: Pleasance Courtyard - Upstairs

Dates: 16^th-26^th August

Time: 19:15

Price: £10 (£9 concessions) weekdays, £12 (£10) weekends