Live Comedy Fans
Reviews
These are the shows that On the Mic recommends to fellow comedy fans.
We see oodles of shows that we enjoy, and lots more that ‘need work’. We only write about shows that we think are must see, and so don’t publish lukewarm or negative reviews. When asked, we do give direct feedback to performers.
Martin Walker’s reviews are below. For reviews by Tony Challis CLICK HERE
Gabby Killick’s Game Of Thongs ★★★★★
Underbelly, George Square Wednesday, August 17th, 2022“Performers have endured a couple of years of hell. Over the pandemic, thousands of shows were cancelled, and not enough funding was given. At one point, the British government put out a campaign, telling performers that we should all pack it in and retrain. But luckily for you guys, I didn’t listen!” First impressions of […]
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JoJo Sutherland: Growing Old Disgracefully ★★★★
Gilded Balloon Teviot Wednesday, August 17th, 2022Jojo Sutherland says that at the age 56, she has finally “gone feral”. Long term fans and friends of Sutherland assumed that this had happened years ago, but I digress. Her kids are now grown up, and she’s single for the first time in decades. What next? Growing Old Disgracefully, obviously. Unlike too many observational, […]
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Alex MacKeith: Thanks for Listening ★★★★
Underbelly, Bristo Square Wednesday, August 17th, 2022MacKeith is a talented musical comedian, who delivers observational songs with a twist. His young, capacity, Underbelly audience lapped it up. His opening number is one of his strongest. MacKeith had to endure the Covid lockdown living with his father, “the lock-daddy”. It sets the warped lyrical tone of the rest of his set, which […]
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Joz Norris: Blink ★★★★
Pleasance Dome - Jack Dome Wednesday, August 17th, 2022So, this is one of those tricky reviews to write, as I don’t want to give anything away. Frankly, the less you know about this fun show, and its surprises, the better. I strongly suggest you stop reading this now and scroll to the bottom of this page, where you’ll find a link to buy […]
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Emmanuel Sonubi: Emancipated ★★★★
Underbelly, Bristo Square Wednesday, August 17th, 2022Emmanuel Sonubi was born and raised in North London, with five older sisters. A big fan of musical theatre, he became a stage actor, but worked as a nightclub bouncer between acting roles. Emancipated is a show about treading the boards, working the doors and finally, becoming a comedian. It’s also his story of being […]
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Jo Caulfield: Here Comes Trouble ★★★★★
The Stand Comedy Club Tuesday, August 16th, 2022Jo Caulfield’s set borrows from the best of American stand-up traditions. “Don’t look for any theatrical arc, there’s not a bit at the end full of meaning. None of that shit. I just want to cheer some people up.” And so she does. We are treated to an hour of acerbic observations and short stories, with […]
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Lucy Hopkins: Dark Mother ★★★★★
BlundaBus Tuesday, August 16th, 2022Welcome to the darkness. Will you make it? Sitting on the top deck of a bus, packed full of people, the lights go out. And as if by magic, we are in another world. Alright then. I’ll be mummy. We are treated to an improvised, absurdist show crossed with a dark new age style comic […]
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Robyn Perkins: Million Dollar Maybe ★★★★
Gilded Balloon Teviot Monday, August 15th, 2022Human behaviour is subject to emotions, feelings, and several other factors, some of them innate. It is difficult to measure, or predict, especially when it comes to sexuality. Robin Perkins says that a fellow scientist has come up with evidence that male bisexuality exists. My immediate, emotional response from the audience was, I know it […]
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Alfie Brown: Sensitive Man ★★★★
The Monkey Barrel 1 Monday, August 15th, 2022Comedians lie all the time. According to Alfie Brown, his partner, actor and comedian Jessie Cave, wanted to try for a third child. He was initially reluctant, but eventually, he agreed on the basis that the comedian could sleep around while on tour in Australia. Jessie did become pregnant, and the following week, the global […]
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Tony Law: A Now Begin in Again ★★★★
The Monkey Barrel 3 Sunday, August 14th, 2022Tony Law is very much a, er, law unto himself. He simply does comedy differently to everyone else. If there is a message in this deliberately shambolic hour (there probably is no message) then it’s a celebration of difference. This is illustrated by Law’s prolonged use of diverse regional accents, some of which are surprisingly […]
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Flo & Joan: Sweet Release ★★★★
Assembly Roxy Friday, August 12th, 2022As part of their current sell-out, 137-date international tour, multi-award-winning musical comedy duo Flo & Joan (real life sisters Nicola and Rosie Dempsey) are back at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The piano/percussion pair mix music genres as they tell stories of relationships and personal quirks, and touch on topical matters. I’ve followed the duo with […]
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Marjolein Robertson: Thank God Fish Don’t Have Hands ★★★★
The Stand 2 Friday, August 12th, 2022Comedian Marjolein Robertson is from Shetland (not the TV show, the islands located 106 miles north of Scotland). I admit that I knew nothing of the place before this entertaining, illuminating and very funny hour. I now know much more than I imagine is offered by the Shetland Tourist Board. Robertson is an open and […]
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Stewart Lee: Snowflake ★★★★★
The Stand New Town Theatre Thursday, August 11th, 2022Every live stand up show is an unique event and the possibility of failure is real. Will the audience behave as anticipated? Stewart Lee has been touring Snowflake for some time and the 2020 Edinburgh Fringe run at The Stand’s New Town Theatre marks the end of its life. This afternoon, this is what happened […]
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Seymour Mace Presents Captain Winky’s F*ck Off Olympics ★★★★
The Stand 1 Wednesday, August 10th, 2022Seymour Mace Presents Captain Winky’s F*ck Off Olympics is a title, Mace confirms, that he came up with in February before he had written the show. As such, it has absolutely nothing to do with the unpredictable happenings in this bizarre and very funny hour at The Stand. The show is almost entirely improvised, based […]
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Fascinating Aïda ★★★★★
Assembly at Gordon Aikman Theatre Wednesday, August 10th, 2022“Tonight!” Proclaims musical director and pianist Michael Roulston, “Live at the Gordon Aikman Theatre, Edinburgh, it’s… Bananarama.” Fascinating Aïda and Bananarama are both all women muscial trios, who were first popular in the 80s. And both are still going. These days, it is the former that are selling out the bigger rooms. This beautiful fringe […]
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Simon Munnery: Trials and Tribulations ★★★★
The Stand 1 Wednesday, August 10th, 2022Simon Munnery has been performing comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe for over thirty years. I admit to having seen most of it. Here, he presents his straightest story-telling stand up set for a while, though it’s still wonderfully offbeat. The opening ‘thought police’ sketch, with Munnery using a colander as prop was fun. Later, after […]
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Luke Wright’s Late Night Dance Floor Fillers (Poems) ★★★★★
Pleasance Dome - Jack Dome Monday, August 8th, 2022Poet, Luke Wright, announces that he’s forty years old, though he tells us, he still gets asked for ID on occasion while buying wine. In truth he is older and wiser, and he likes to explore new ways to challenge himself while writing. Oulipo (or OuLiPo), were an Avent-Garde French-speaking literature clique founded in the […]
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Grubby Little Mitts ★★★★
Assembly George Square Gardens – Studio 4 Sunday, August 7th, 2022Nicholls and Brown (actors, Rosie Nicholls and Sullivan Brown) present a rapid series of twenty-two ‘Domestic Horror’ sketches. Everyday situations, like going to a coffee shop, are warped into absurdist and unexpected short skits. Opening to the tune Chaise Longue by Wet Leg, we’re treated to an absurd, comically sexual dance that perhaps goes on […]
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Ivor Dembina: Old Jewish Jokes ★★★★★
Laughing Horse @ Bar 50 Thursday, August 4th, 2022Ivor Dembina agrees to perform a comedy fundraiser to help pay for a new synagogue roof. But what does the Rabbi think of Dembina’s old Jewish jokes? This show quietly sets about defending freedom of speech, while exploring one Jewish man’s relationship with his own community. There are, of-course, old Jewish jokes a-plenty, including a […]
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EdFringe REVIEW: Zumba Gold ★★★★
Pleasance Courtyard Friday, August 13th, 2021Zumba Gold is a low intensity dance class designed for beginners and older people. For ten long years, Cathy Campbell has worked as a Zumba Gold dance teacher, twice a week at the local Deenside Leisure Centre. Cathy has unfulfilled dreams. She’s a performer in search of an audience, held back by the mental scars […]
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EdFringe REVIEW: Magical Bones: Live and Direct ★★★★
Underbelly George Square Thursday, August 12th, 2021The show kicks off with a Britain’s Got Talent montage. I don’t know if BGT finalists are contractually obliged to do this, but it’s unnecessary and falls flat. The audience is either here because of the magician’s acclaimed appearances on the ITV show, or they are not. It’s like seeing a trailer for a movie […]
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EdFringe REVIEW: Bromance ★★★★★
Assembly George Square Gardens - Spiegeltent Palais Du Variete Thursday, August 12th, 2021A fresh remix of dance, circus and sketch comedy, Barely Methodical Troupe’s BROMANCE is an intelligent, witty exploration of awkward (miss)connections between three young men. Created by Beren D’Amico, Louis Gift and Charlie Wheeller, in collaboration with Director Eddie Kay, this presentation of BROMANCE is performed by Adam Fullick, Arthur Parsons and Peter (Pee Wee) […]
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EdFringe REVIEW: Leo Kearse – Cancel Culture ★★★★
Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters - Maggie's Chamber Thursday, August 12th, 2021When Guto Harri took the knee on GB News, live on air, viewers were so outraged that the presenter was suspended. Management said that Hari’s actions were “an unacceptable breach of our standards”. When GB News and its viewers cancelled Guto Harri, was it justified? Leo Kearse’s show, Cancel Culture, sadly doesn’t quite nail what […]
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EdFringe REVIEW: Paul Currie – TEET ★★★★★
The Hive, Big Cave Thursday, August 12th, 2021According to Muppet Wiki Paul Currie is a puppeteer, street performer and stand up comedian most notable for playing the lead Muppet, Potto on Sesame Tree, the Sesame Street spin-off that aired on BBC2 and CBeebies in the UK. According to The Skinny, Currie is stand up comedian, “filled with so much comic energy, it […]
READ HEREEdFringe REVIEW: This is Not a Subject For Comedy ★★★★
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House Lounge Wednesday, August 11th, 2021“What you have to understand ladies and gentlemen, is that Jerusalem is very important to the Jews. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s important to other religions as well, but the Muslims, they got Mecca. The Catholics, they got Rome. The Christians, they got the White House. But to us Jews, Jerusalem is very […]
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