Review: 'A fabulous, feel-good night out'
Gayle Anderson
All the world's a stage and there are definite benefits when that stage gets an upgrade. Following on from gigs in Glasgow, Ayr, Arbroath and Largs, the Big Comedy Roadshow rolled into Edinburgh for a night of stand-up in the velvety red and gold Victorian wonderland of The Lyceum.
Promoters, Gilded Balloon are masters at mixing up their event spaces and this one didn't disappoint. Host, Chris Forbes promised the ultimate night out for comedy fans. Best-known for appearances on The Scot Squad and as viral sensation, The Other Murray Brother he began with a gentle warm up before serving up the first act.
Raymond Mearns (Image: free) Stalwart of the Scottish live comedy scene for over 15 years, Raymond Mearns described himself as an unconstructed Glaswegian, His set - full of grumpy da's and diligent dugs - dropped a hefty number of F-bombs but never dropped the ball. The audience loved it.
Next up for a turbo-charged 20 minutes was Taskmaster contestant and Live at the Apollo host, Desiree Burch. The NY-to-London transplant introduced herself as an American on an apology tour. Her observations on generational traits caused a debate between the couples sitting behind who spent the interval Googling to discover if they were Boomers or Gen X.
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At the start of the second half, Forbes popped back to demonstrate some impressive canine impersonations before introducing Jin Hao Li. Made in China, marinated in Singapore and educated in St Andrews, Li's debut hour Swimming in a Submarine earned him a nomination for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2024.
Full of word-play and whimsy and with probably the best call-back on the Japanese mafia ever heard, he's a huge talent and a ridiculously hard act to follow. But never fear. It turned out they had just the woman for the job.
Jin Hao Li (Image: free) Fresh from starring in the BAFTA-winning BBC comedy, Alma's Not Normal, headliner, Jayde Adams soon had the crowd right where she wanted them. Working for her. A member of the front row is told to dig out their phone and search Spotify. Jade is in need of Whigfield's Saturday Night, and what Jade needs, Jade generally gets.
She spills the tea about her time on Strictly and dealing with online trolls before a rip-snorting rendition of Nessun Dorma brings proceedings to a shuddering end. The accompanying hand gestures needed no translation. This smorgasbord of stand-up offered a fabulous, feel-good night out.
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