5 hours ago
2
Molly McGuinness: Slob
“There should be a buffet at every comedy gig,” says Manchester-based Molly McGuinness – and luckily for us, she’s making that happen for her Edinburgh debut. Her laugh-packed sets, served with snacks and a warm conversational style, are inspired by the standup of Caroline Aherne. “I like it to feel as if I’m talking to a friend,” she says. Slob began as a turning-30 existential crisis about reaching your potential, but when a rare disease left McGuinness in a coma, everything shifted. She will share the “bizarre and surreal” experience of coma-induced delirium, tender reflections on “the sweetness of the nurses” that cared for her, and a blossoming love story. “A lot of people feel like a slob, but we’re doing the best we can,” she says.
Monkey Barrel, 28 July–24 August
Simple Town
US group Simple Town make consistently brilliant short films, where everyday conundrums (what’s the meaning of “adroit”? What happens if you’re late for a funeral?) escalate to extremes, or descend into meta-narratives about the absurdity of online content. The foursome, who started performing regularly in New York around 2017, are bringing an hour of “pure sketch comedy” for their fringe debut. Their previous visits to the UK sold out fast. “Our work is somewhere between alternative and crowd-pleasing. Sometimes it’s brainy, ‘comedian’s comedian’ humour, but we also work very hard for the shows to be silly, broad, fast-paced, and fun,” they say. “So hopefully, both kinds of audiences will find something in the show to hate.”
Pleasance Courtyard, 11–24 August
Dirty Work
Australian performer Jessica Barton started out in musical theatre and got her first taste of comedy at French clown school Gaulier. She began to “play using song and movement, physical comedy and clowning”, moved to London and immersed herself in its alternative comedy scene. Dirty Work combines her vocal talents with playful audience interaction. In character as Floppins – a Mary Poppins-esque figure intent on cleaning up the stage – she cleverly explores gendered domestic roles. “Expect to have a lot of fun,” she says. “Expect to be challenged and to rise to the occasion. Especially the men in the audience.” Dirty Work was awarded best newcomer at Melbourne international comedy festival and as she gets deeper into the character: “I’ve enjoyed finding new things within the world I’ve created.”
Underbelly Cowgate, 31 July–24 August
Ayoade Bamgboye: Swings and Roundabouts
Her assured presence and sideways perspective make Ayoade Bamgboye stand out on any lineup, despite having only three years of live comedy under her belt. She had been working as a writer when someone suggested she try it and Bamgboye is always experimenting, incorporating clowning, multimedia forays and different personae into her performances. She “grew up between London and Lagos” and gives a unique twist on observational comedy: “I’m looking at everything as if I’m on safari. I’m a curious silly billy.” Bamgboye says her comedy has sometimes been “confrontational and caustic” with spicy punchlines on racism and colonialism, but with her debut she’s ready to be more vulnerable, too: “Audiences should expect something bittersweet.”
Pleasance Courtyard, 30 July–24 August
Sharon Wanjohi: In the House
She first tried standup at university in Southampton (“We had a comedy society where all the nerds went”) and quickly racked up finalist spots at the Funny Women and BBC new comedy awards. Now, Sharon Wanjohi is making her fringe debut with a show about self-help culture and the zeitgeisty coping mechanisms that are “shoved down our throats” every day. “I’m presenting myself as this 90s talkshow host, in the mould of Trisha and Oprah”, Wanjohi says. “I’m satirising self-help, but also breaking out of character to do standup.” You’ll get a gen Z spin on societal issues like the housing crisis, but something “goofy, silly, less grounded in reality,” Wanjohi promises.
Pleasance Courtyard, 30 July–24 August
Roger O’Sullivan: Fekken
This 90s-tinted debut from Irish comedian Roger O’Sullivan explores his relationship with his farmer father via Tekken and the rest of young Roger’s favourite PlayStation games. He started out on Cork’s small comedy scene eight years ago, where “there weren’t really any stakes, so any gig you’d do something new and try the weirdest thing. That’s the mentality I’ve had from early on.” He’s had success online with lo-fi animations, which he works into the show to great effect. “I wanted to end with a callback to retro video games and thought it would be really funny if I learned 3D animation just for that.” Expect warm standup that melds “a little bit of heart with absurdism”.
PBH’s Free Fringe @ Carbon and Hoots @ The Apex, 2–23 August
English (US)