one4review | On 12, Aug 2019

Jonny Pelham has always been a really solid comedian, quality material and a pleasing stage demeanour has always been part of his armoury and this 2019 offering is no exception.
After the usual icebreaking stuff one expects Pelham is straight into the meat of his show. At eight he was sexually abused by a friend of the family, an event that for many years left him unable to tell anyone about what went on and left him with memory issues and being uninterested in sex or even dating all through school and university. After not being able to share his experiences for twenty odd years Pelham has decided to bare his soul using the medium of comedy in this Edinburgh hour.
With the assistance of his therapist and now his girlfriend Pelham has processed the abuse and is moving on, but the journey through the earlier times is related clearly and unsensational, he even uses his self-deprecating material and style to gather up laughs a plenty, yet still able to cause a little tension in the room with his distinction between paedophiles and child molesters, a tension that he is able to ease with his natural comedic abilities.
Pelham has written an excellent hour on what must have been an incredibly difficult theme to reveal, and this bold step is rightly drawing in packed houses.
****
Reviewed by Geoff
Just the Tonic Just Out of the Box
15.20 to 16.20
Until 25th (not 12th)