Ooft! – Jay Lafferty 5*****

I have seen Jay Lafferty perform on stage for more than 20 years and I have always admired her work, writing and dedication. Is there a harder working comic around? A top comedy host, a podcaster, never far away from … Read More

Seymour Mace Does Things with Stuff 4 ½ ****

For more than a decade one of the first shows I try to see during each Fringe is Seymour Mace, eager to witness what pearls he has on offer each year. Mace is the oft nominated Geordie comic who has … Read More

Alice-India: See You In Hell 2**

This is Alice’s debut show, and while she hasn’t found her audience or quite settled into her voice yet, this is a competent show drawing on traditional stand-up methodology and delivering far from the worst hour you could spend on … Read More

Sam Nicoresti: Baby Doomer 5*****

It would be interesting to know the relative words per minute of Sam Nicoresti versus other comedians. I’m pretty sure Sam would win. After one of the best openings of show I’ve seen, this is, as Sam describes, fifty minutes … Read More

Ironing Board Man 4.5****

In parting, Mr Kamali wishes us ‘good luck explaining’ the show to anyone. And it’s true that trying to explain the plot or the premise probably wouldn’t help anyone, sharing the atmosphere and the emotion might. If you’re prepared to … Read More

Britt Migs: Dolphin Mode 3***

Britt Migs is an exuberant New Yorker with a huge smile and an easy and confident stage presence, who immediately brings the audience in when she arrives on stage. It’s this ease and confidence that carries a show that feels … Read More

Jenny Ryan – Bjorn Yesterday 3.5***

Jenny Ryan is a huge ABBA fan! Or is she? Do they even exist? In this one woman show, Ms Ryan explores the legends, the myths, the Gods, these Swedish phenomena.

There’s no question that these pop icons have built … Read More

Vlad Ilich – The Immortal Game 4.5****

Do you play chess? Can you remember what all the pieces are called and how they move? Vlad Ilich, North Macedonias most famous export, after Alexander the Great and Mother Theresa, will take you on a checkerboard journey on how … Read More

Deage Paxton – Inappropriate 4****

Brazen, bizarre, and at times brilliant — imagine Adam Sandler transplanted into a Geordie vessel and set loose on a stage.

Newcastle’s Deage Paxton is one of this year’s surprise packages. If you don’t know him yet, you should. He … Read More

KC Shornima: Detachment Style 4****

There’s something bubbling at the Pleasance this year. A sense that you’re watching a comic not just arriving, but arriving fully formed. KC Shornima—29, currently writing for SNL, and making her Fringe debut—is not just doing stand-up. She’s doing it … Read More