David Ian: Am I Mean? – 4****

To the uninitiated, David Ian may appear to be a rising name. With Am I Mean? he brings to Edinburgh a show as precise in concept as it is in execution. Is Ian mean? Friends have told him for years he comes … Read More

A Shoddy Detective and the Art of Deception – 5*****

Detectives in the 1920s are, for whatever reason, an evergreen pasture for theatre productions (just look at the Mousetrap). Adding to that ever expanding oeuvre is the not-so-neatly-named A Shoddy Detective and the Art of Deception from Shoddy Theatre and … Read More

Locomotive for Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit 5*****

Sometimes at the Fringe you stumble across a show that makes you grin from start to finish, and Locomotive for Murder is exactly that. Billed as an improvised whodunnit, it’s a fast-paced comedy ride with all the twists and turns … Read More

Shake It Up: The Improvised Shakespeare Show 4****

Shake It Up: The Improvised Shakespeare Show is a joyful feat of wit, imagination and theatrical daring. The premise sounds almost impossible: each afternoon the audience decides whether the company will deliver a comedy, tragedy, or history, and then the … Read More

40 Years of Fringe : Doon Mackichan and Kieran Hodgson 4****

Gilded Balloon marks four decades at the Fringe with a series of special in-conversations featuring comedy greats. Today Kieran Hodgson interviews fellow Two Doors Down star Doon Mackichan.

The show starts with Doon fully in character of Two Doors Down … Read More

NATE KITCH: Something Different!!!!! 4.5 stars

Meandering, clever, funny, with a little tenderness: Nate Kitch is an accomplished wordsmith whose natural warmth and mischievous humour fills the room with genuine laughter. The stage itself sets the tone – handcrafted notices (“laugh laugh,” “BLUR”), a Samuel Beckett … Read More

Robin Ince: The Universe and the Neurodiverse 4.5****

Robin Ince: The Universe and the Neurodiverse is a highly entertaining, speedy though seemingly shambolic journey through neurodiversity, particularly ADHD, in the hands of a seasoned comedian, writer and broadcaster.

Ince’s trademark scattergun style darts between gravestone inscriptions, … Read More

Amanda Hursy : Carted 4.5*****

Glaswegian Amanda Hursy is relatively new to comedy. She is off to a good start, having been  shortlisted for a BBC newcomer award and a semi finalist in Scottish comedian of the year.

Amanda’s style is confessional story telling and … Read More

Best Cult Ever: Leah Renee – 4****

While many might be more circumspect with the word, Leah Renee, a former Mormon herself, has no qualms about referring to the Church of the Latter Day Saints as a cult. And, as she herself points out at the … Read More

Christian Dart: Gumshoe! – 4****

Few genres seem as evergreen for parody as film noir detectives. Something about the hyper masculine, hard boiled characters and constant internal monologue is just so ripe for mockery, few can resist. They’re as much a fringe pet topic … Read More