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The Guardian
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Edinburgh festival 2025: 20 golden comedy shows to see this summer
It's six years since Desiree Burch's last standup show, in which time she's become a fixture of small-screen comedy. Always compelling and thoughtful onstage, the theatre-maker turned standup now returns with a set described as 'a madcap voyage' through midlife crisis and Barrel, 28 July to 10 August Shah's last show, Ends, conquered all before it: a moving, funny and characteristically erudite set about his family's 'generational sacrifice' and the state of multicultural Britain, it graduated from Edinburgh comedy award glory to Netflix special and beyond. After a two-year wait, the follow-up – albeit in work-in-progress form – is upon Barrel, 14-24 August If you saw Doherty's Gay Witch Sex Cult on last year's fringe – a delicious solo Wicker Man knock-off starring a smug and ditzy estate agent – good luck resisting its follow-up. Sad Gay Aids Play turns its spoofing gaze on worthy queer drama in a bid to win its creator a coveted Dome, 30 July to 24 August For a few years from 2013, when she won the Edinburgh comedy award, Bridget Christie bestrode the fringe, delivering show after must-see (clownish, political, unique) show. Now she's a TV star too, and a rarer visitor – making this week-long new material try-out an even hotter Barrel, 2-9 August An out-of-nowhere contender for the festival's top prizes in 2023 with Crushing, standup Smith established himself as heir to Rhod Gilbert's crown as the highly stressed everyman overwhelmed by everyday life. His unlikely-to-be-calm first show since addresses jigsaws, fertility and trying to stay Barrel, 29 July to 24 August In 2023, a 'health scare' poleaxed Cohen's fringe run. Two years on, the New York cabaret diva now tells the story behind that cancellation. Judging by her previous scintillating shows (including 2019's award-winning The Twist? She's Gorgeous …), it will be goofy, tack-sharp, fabulous – and breathtakingly Courtyard, 31 July to 24 August A breakthrough Best Newcomer at last year's festival, Kent-Walters revived the corpse of old-school entertainment in character as Frankie Monroe, MC of a Yorkshire working men's club that was also a portal to hell. The flipside of that show, LIVE!!!, is this year's, DEAD!!!, which finds Frankie communicating from beyond the Barrel, 28 July to 24 August It's hard to think of a standup so indelibly associated with one hit show as Novak. But what a show! A 90-minute philosophical treatise on fellatio, Get on Your Knees (previewed in Edinburgh back in 2018) blew global and then Netflix audiences away. Now we discover: what else has the New Yorker got in her locker?Monkey Barrel, 30 July 30 to 23 August Her dotty character-comedy anthology Skin Pigeon signalled an eccentric new voice. Now Treen returns with another crowded cast of 'weird women' all visiting a suspended-in-time diner. Expect silly. Expect very specific. Expect (for example) a trucker with unusually long arms and a woman who's kept her umbilical Courtyard, 30 July to 24 August Not many people have landed a glove on Trump and his coterie since the Donald became president. Wolf did, with her notorious/celebrated set at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2018. Whether this week-long fringe run delivers scabrous political comedy, or something homelier about new parenthood, remains to be Courtyard, 11-17 August A striking new arrival in recent years to both character and musical comedy, Archie Henderson's louche alter ego has delivered – online and onstage – a succession of pitch-perfect, preening pop-funk parodies. But at what cost? His latest addresses itself – semi-seriously at best – to brittle male Dome, 30 July 30 to 24 August Not a newcomer to the comedy scene, on which he's been making waves since lockdown, but a newbie on the fringe: Toussaint Douglass's festival debut, part of Soho theatre's Edinburgh slate, will be one of the hot tickets this summer, a 'joyfully absurd, charmingly awkward' set, largely about, er, Courtyard, 30 July 30 to 24 August Before he was a star of Flight of the Conchords' sitcom and pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death, New Zealander Darby was a human cartoon, his stage performances silly symphonies of antic mime and sound. His new show revives that shtick after a 13-year hiatus to address the spectre of AI …Pleasance Courtyard, 1-10 August Hollywood royalty comes to Edinburgh in the form of the talk-show host and movie star O'Donnell. Having fled the US at the start of Trump 2.0 – she is 20 years into a public slanging match with the former Apprentice host – O'Donnell's fringe debut addresses her recent relocation to Balloon, 1-10 August On Channel 4's opening night in 1982, the anthology series that thrust alternative comedy's soon-to-be megastars into the nation's living rooms was launched. Now a handful of its funniest films are re-screened by comic Robin Ince, series creator Peter Richardson, and special guests including Alexei Sayle and Keith the Tonic Nucleus, 2-3 and 8-10 August When Ashfaq won the fringe's Best Newcomer award two years ago, she had arrived for the first time from her native Mumbai. The standup now promises (tongue slightly in cheek, perhaps?) a sophomore set displaying her 'bona fide bad girl and edgelord' Barrel, 30 July to 24 August To a CV that already included 'sidekick to Alan Partridge' and 'Edinburgh comedy award-winner', Key can now add screenwriter and star of the much-loved movie The Ballad of Wallis Island. Fresh from its success, he brings another slim volume of offbeat standup and oddball poetry to the fringe Courtyard, 30 July to 17 August The words 'affordable' and 'Edinburgh festival' are rarely connected. But each year, the Free Fringe keeps the spirit of ye olde fringe alive, with comics including Richard Gadd, Liam Williams and Ellie Taylor performing on it. This year, droll musical comic Huge Davies straps in to his wearable keyboard with a work-in-progress for the Lounge at PBH's Free Fringe @ Whistlebinkies, 2-24 August To any fan of the sketch group Sheeps – and why on earth wouldn't you be? – no more intriguing note is struck in this year's fringe programme than the one announcing a standup debut by Daran 'Jonno' Johnson. Long the goofball of that fantastic trio, for three nights only in Edinburgh he dips his toe into solo Voltaire @ Monkey Barrel, 11-13 August Billed as clown? Check. Studied under Philippe Gaulier? Check. Eye-catching source material? Check. The zeitgeisty ingredients are in place for Jessica Barton's show to hit fringe paydirt, and reviews from its Melbourne premiere bode well for a show that mixes song and silliness, a bit of heartbreak, and the perfect nannying of, ahem, Mary Cowgate, 31 July to 24 August
Scotsman
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Fringe 2025 Comedy Highlights: Here are 18 work in progress shows from big name comedians
One of the fun things to do in Edinburgh during festival season is to see a well-know comedian work through new ideas that will end up being performed in venues across the UK - and the world. Work in Progress shows are often fairly haphazard affairs, where the performers may refer to notes, happily follow comedic dead ends, and guage the audience's reaction to different material and punchlines. The positives for an audience is that for a small price they get to see a big name in a tiny venue deliver what is often an entirely unique performance never to be repeated. It's often also the case the the material has actually been pretty well developed between the listing being submitted for the Fringe programme and the show itself – equating to even more of a bargain. In 2023 Ahir Shah even won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for a show that was originally listed as a work in progress. This means they often sell out quite far in advance, so if you fancy any of these, don't delay booking them on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe website. Here are 18 of the best in this year's programme. 1 . Daniel Sloss With two Netflix specials under his belt (and another show recorded for HBO), Scottish comedy star Daniel Sloss is now used to playing big rooms - having sold out theatres in New York and toured to over 55 countries. He'll be trying out new stuff in the intimate surroundings of Just The Tonic's Atomic Room this year from July 31-August 21. His warning to fans? "Come expecting nerves, notes onstage and a lot of laughs... but don't come expecting a slick, finished comedy show." | Contributed Photo Sales 2 . Bridget Christie Edinburgh Comedy Award-winner Bridget Christie returns to the Fringe following acclaim for writing and starring in Channel 4 show 'The Change', about a woman who finds a new lease of life when she goes through the menopause. A regular on television and radio, she's back for the first time in a few years with a work in progress at the Monkey Barrel from August 2-9. This is one that's sure to sell out. | Getty Images Photo Sales 3 . Olga Koch "Comedian Olga Koch is going to tell you a scary story over the course of an hour" is the premise of this work in progress from one of the most consistent and hilarious Fringe performers of the last decade. Her show last year, 'Olga Koch: Comes From Money' was her best yet - so it'll be fascinating to see what she's going to come up with to top it. See her at the Monkey Barrel from July 28-August 10. | Contributed Photo Sales 4 . Mhairi Black Former SNP MP Mhairi Black became the youngest MP elected to the House of Commons since the Reform Act 1832 back in 2015 - she was 20 years, seven months and 25 days old. She's now left politics, turned her hand to comedy, and is spilling the Westminster beans with a work in progress at the Gilded Ballon from August 10-24. | Getty Images Photo Sales
BBC News
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
South West's largest comedy festival returns this weekend
The South West's largest comedy festival has returned for its second year -promising to be twice as big as the first. The Exeter Comedy Festival, which features more than 60 shows in 15 venues across four days, is taking place this week until Sunday 8 June. Pubs, hairdressers and piano shops are among businesses across the city which were converting into temporary venues. Bridget Christie, Tim Key, Reginald D. Hunter and David O'Doherty are among some of the big names appearing. "We can't wait for people to see all the great shows we have to offer," festival organiser Georgia Thomas said. Audiences will find both established TV comedians and strong local acts on the line-up. Taskmaster's Bridget Christie and Mark Watson are among those to come, while Tim Key launched his new poetry book L.A. Baby! in an interview with cult-favourite Daniel Kitson on Thursday. Cornish Comedian of the Year Ben Treloar and Exeter's own Ed Tripp will also be appearing. In 2022, JoJo Maberly performed her first ever stand-up gig in Exeter. Three years later, after scooping up an armful of awards, she's back with her full length show Angst & Angstability. "When I started there was one gig a week so I would go every week and write new material," she said."Now there are so many shows coming to the festival - it's so great to see the comedy world come alive in Exeter." The weekly gig, Locally Sourced, is still going and its organisers are the brains behind the festival. "In the days of social media, gathering people together is an almost revolutionary act," organiser and Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Will Adamsdale said. "And yet when we do it, we love it and feed off it."An exhibition of art produced by comedians performing at the festival is open to the public at the Exeter Picturehouse.
Irish Post
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Bridget Christie's ‘looking forward to' life on the road again as new tour announced
COMEDIAN Bridget Christie claims she is looking forward to life on the road again as she announced a new stand-up tour. The second-generation Irish woman, who was born in Gloucester to parents from counties Roscommon and Leitrim, will be back on stages across the country when her Jacket Potato Pizza show kicks off in 2026. Bridget Christie has announced a new show (Pic: Natasha Pszenicki) The new live show will take her across the UK from January to March, and Christie is pretty excited about it. 'I am very much looking forward to eating motorway services food again and picking my favourite roundabouts,' she said this week. 'Last year Plymouth won.' The news follows the second successful series of Christie's sitcom The Change airing on Channel 4. Christie wrote, executive produced and stars in the show, which centres on fifty-something heroine Lisa – who, after being diagnosed with the menopause, finds herself indulging in a mid-life crisis which sees her drop her home life for an adventure in the wilderness of the Forest of Dean. The Bafta-nominated comedy saw Christie win the Debut Writer award at the New Voice Awards 2024 in recognition of the first series' success and Best Actor at The Edinburgh TV Awards. Jacket Potato Pizza is Bridget's fourteenth live show. For tour listings click here. See More: Bridget Christie, Jacket Potato Pizza, The Change, Tour
The Guardian
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
A golden example of trickle-down economics
Your report on the revival of gold mining in north Wales (Going for gold: coin marks hope of bringing Welsh mine back from the dead, 26 March)( made me recall a summer I spent camping in the area in the 1970s, when, in the village pub, I enjoyed the stories of locals who had worked in the mine. One theme was how the proceeds of illicitly siphoned gold had funded new houses in the locality. If true, this is perhaps one of the few examples of trickle-down economics in Kelly Little Raveley, Cambridgeshire Your interview with Bridget Christie highlights the feminist perspective of her work (Bridget Christie on brain fog, flirting, and why she won't be taking a lover: 'My heart is full. I am open to it, but I'm not looking for it', 29 March). It includes a reference to four other comedians – Daniel Kitson, James Acaster, Nish Kumar and Josie Long. In the online version, the first three all have links to other Guardian articles about them. Irony? Siân WilliamsFerndown, Dorset So the film-maker Uberto Pasolini thinks there were no gyms in ancient Greece ('At 60, the bulk of your life is lived. What's left now?' Ralph Fiennes and Uberto Pasolini on their ripped and radical take on The Odyssey, 28 March)? Someone should point out to him where the word 'gymnasium' comes BrewisBurnopfield, County Durham Given the name of Greenland's capital, I'm worrying that Donald Trump might accidentally trigger world war three if he says he's going to Nuuk at some point (Report, 28 March). Norman MillerBrighton, East Sussex Spotting this year's April fool may be harder in case it turns out to be a Trump BailyWest Bridgford, Nottinghamshire Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
