Show 25: Alfie Brown: Sensitive Man

You never quite what you'll get with Alfie Brown, whether you'll get an amicable charmer or a more prickly foe who seems to treat the audience with mild contempt, you'll nevertheless be thrilled by his energy. Luckily the show I watched had him in good spirits with some deft audience interaction and scintillating stand up.

He's not a Mr Nice Guy, indeed he tears away the nicety of Britishness and shows us the Truth of the world with comedic deft that is frightfully entertaining. His final joke about Black Privilege shows us just how well Brown's able to wrangle with tricky concepts to get us on board with his ideas. He's always eloquent and articulate, cynical and at unease with the world, his show is a sheer delight in shaking up our comfortable ways and seeks to make us sit up and listen. A very well deserved Best Show nomination for this year too.

Score: 8/10
Venue: Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, Monkey Barrel 1
Dates: 24th - 28th August
Time: 21:00
Price: £10

Show 24: Olga Koch: Just Friends

Having seen Olga Koch on Mock the Week and heard her on some podcasts I've been really intrigued to check her out in person.

This is an excellent hour of comedy, sexuality, femininity and relationships, a really strong, engaging performance with fabulous storytelling. Her pursuit of a threesome with two guys takes us on a rollercoaster journey. Ultimately a thrilling hour of comedy that showcases a tremendous comedic performer, very much looking forward to seeing her again.

Score: 8/10
Venue: Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, Monkey Barrel 1
Dates: 25th - 28th August
Time: 19:35
Price: £10 weekends, £8 weekdays

Show 23: Ed Gamble: Electric

Ed Gamble seems to feature quite heavily in my life namely with the Off Menu Podcast and the Ed Gamble and Matthew Crosby Podcast being regular listening material for me. Having been amused by a previous show some years ago at the festival I thought he'd be worth checking out (even if the ticket was £17).

There's no denying Gamble's skill and experience, he's a slick stand up with easy audience engagement and nicely put together routines. The final 15 minutes about hotel breakfast buffets has some insightful observations, but for me he never quite hit's the outrageously funny spot. Certainly a safe pair of comedic hands and worthwhile if you're a mainstream comedy fan. He might stay to being a podcast presenter presence for me though.

Score: 6/10
Venue: Assembly George Square, Gordon Aikman Theatre
Dates: run ended
Time: 21:00

Chloe Petts: Transience

 This was meant to be show 23 but I left work late and missed the show.

Show 22: Mat Ewins: Danger Money

After a mildly dud 2019 show, I was keen to see what Ewins would bring for the return of the Fringe Festival. Thankfully he didn't disappoint.

Trying to make a name for himself, he's decided to become a game show host, bringing audience members up to play silly multimedia games (beer pong being particularly memorable) though most of the show is filled with Ewins' characteristic mad video based humour (the videos being projected onto massive cardboard cutout TV frames and projector screens) with moments of sheer ridiculousness (he starts the show with his head in a box with a camera, and a VR headset portion tries to turn the audience naked only for it to backfire on Ewins himself).

Though it doesn't have the cynical moment of poignancy that Adventureman had it's just as fun and it's a return to form for Ewins. I can't wait to see next year's buffet of madness.

Score: 8/10
Venue: Just the Tonic at The Caves, Just The Big Room
Dates: 24th - 28th August
Time: 22:30
Price: £10 weekdays, £12 weekends

Show 21: Police Cops: The Musical

After the success of their previous two Police Cops installments and their supernatural venture 'Badass Be Thy Name', Police Cops return with a musical number, focussing on Jimmy Johnson's first venture as a police cop, avenging his sister's death and finding the villainous Hernandez. Now with an expanded cast, Police Cops: The Musical is a riotous affair with, as ever, incredible choreography that dazzles and captivates, moving musical numbers and moments of comic genius (just who *is* 'the clapping man'?). An extraordinarily fun and inventive show, it may not have packed the same gag rate as previous offerings, and the plot may have got slightly lost in the middle, it's still a wonderful hour's entertainment.

Score: 8/10
Venue: Assembly George Square Studios, Studio One
Dates: 24th - 29th August (not 27th)
Time: 19:00
Price: £15 weekends (£14 concession), £12.50 weekdays (£11.50 concession)

Show 20: Avenue Q

Avenue Q's one of the few musicals I want to watch and was invited to join a group of friends to watch a small production of this so why not?

An overall charming and delightful musical with some surprisingly strong singers for a (presumably) amateur drama group, this was a very fun show about love, growing up and social harmony. The 'Bad Idea Bears' were particularly enjoyable. The set design and use of a relatively small space showed the company's creative inventiveness nicely, a very worthwhile show.

Score: 7/10
Venue: Edinburgh Little Theatre, 19 Hill Street
Dates: 24th - 28th
Time: 21:10
Price: £15 (£12 concession)