Sammy J – Skinny Man, Modern World

*** 3 Stars Australian Sammy J bounds on to the stage full of energy at the beginning of his show, all 58 kilos of him. After introducing himself to several members of the audience, Sammy launched into a story of a teenage practical joke, underscored by his keyboard playing. This story sets the tone for [...]

Robin Ince and Michael Legge: Pointless Anger, Righteous Ire

4 stars **** In this show Ince and Legge have decided to look closely at the nature of anger – is anger actually a force for good or a force for evil.  If we get angry over the littlest things is it a complete waste of time and effort or is there a point to [...]

Maria Tecce: Strapless

5 Stars ***** Maria Tecce has all the seductive qualities of sophistication and sensuality but there is much, much more to her performance. She has a fabulous voice, complete stage presence, and, boy, can she put across a song. Her set contains a variety of songs based around the emotions of desire and love. There [...]

Mould & Arrowsmith in 3D

Two Stars ** Comedy can be easily judged by the frequency of laughs. After a bright opening, the laughs just dried up. Unfortunately, the sketches which contained references to game shows and optical illusions simply fell flat. There was much computer stuff shown on a big screen. The 3D video did work effectively. The show [...]

Reginald D Hunter: Trophy Nigga

***** 5 Stars There are comedians, big comedians and then there are the huge comedians. I don’t mean in size, but in talent and drawing power and Reginald D Hunter is surely up there I the top few. I have seen most of Hunter’s shows over the last few years, not just at the Fringe [...]

Seann Walsh – I’d Happily Punch Myself in the Face

4 Stars **** Seann Walsh is in his twenties and is making his solo debut at the Fringe. He could be described as pure stand up – just a mike and an inventive mind with no gimmicks or props. Despite his name, he is not Irish. He comes from Brighton and his experiences of living [...]

Soho Storeys

4 Stars **** Written by Tim Norton, Soho Storeys is a big, ambitious project which is successfully realised by a cast of over 30 young, talented performers backed by a 9 piece jazz orchestra. The scene is Soho, 1953. The action takes place in a 6 storey tenement which is a melting pot of immigrants [...]

Comedy Bitch: Them is Us

**** 4 Stars Comedy Bitch is a six strong sketch comedy group consisting of Jonathan Broke, Hannah Gittos, Louise Howells, Ben Kewin, Tom Lyall-Cottle and Sophie Wright and for me was one of the highlights of Fringe 2009. I was therefore looking forward to seeing what their 2010 show had to offer. I, along with [...]

Susan Murray : The Glottal Stops Here

*** 3 Stars Susan Murray was born in Glasgow but was moved to the Black Country at an early age by her parents so she definitely speaks with a West Midlands accent. But Ms Murray is a bit of a parrot who can imitate many regional accents as she demonstrates from time to time during [...]

Celia Pacquola – Flying Solo

**** 4Stars The name Celia Pacquola first came to my attention last Fringe and I was hearing good things about this new kid on the block from Australia, so made a point of checking for myself when I saw she was returning to Edinburgh for Fringe 2010. Playing to a sold out room this bubbly [...]