Monday, August 19, 2013
Heroes @ Bob's BookshopThe moral high ground isn't so much taken as seduced in this show, which wins the rape-joke argument the way it should be won – with comedy"Anyone here been raped? A…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33AMPornography is everywhere in this year's comedy programme – but not for the reasons you might think. Plus: awards week begins; and Andrea Dworkin, comedy heroineSex-drivenIt's porn. Some …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:23AMSunday, August 18, 2013
Pleasance CourtyardThe hotly tipped comedian's best characters are richly imagined, his worst little more than excuses to behave outrageouslyUp-and-comer Jamie Demetriou's show has been…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:37AMFriday, August 16, 2013
Assembly HallMuppets? Improvising? For adults only? What's not to like? Quite a lot, as it happensMuppets? Improvising? For adults only? What's not to like? Quite a lot, as it happens, in th…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:17AMPredicting stars-to-be is a haphazard business – as I know only too well. Plus: a grizzled comic gives us a blast from the past, and Edinburgh gets a glimpse of the futureTomorrow's stars …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:35AMLaughing Horse @ the Counting HouseBehind this talented musical comedian's wholesome, naive facade, a story emerges of a woman on the verge of cracking upIt's been a year of striking debuts …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:20AMThursday, August 15, 2013
Pleasance CourtyardAcaster compensates for meaningless material with fine joke-writing and some lovely gagsJames Acaster's comedy couldn't be less important if it tried – although that's n…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:51AMPleasance CourtyardIn terms of technique, Kane is at the top of his game – it's the so-so stereotyping that lets him downRussell Kane is not an obvious person to expound on the British pro…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:51AMOne performer suggests that it's not always healthy to go for the gag above all else. Plus: dreams come true on the fringe, and a computer tries its hand at standupBeyond the jokeWhen people…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:11AMWednesday, August 14, 2013
Laughing Horse @ the Counting HouseCharacters, plot and some very good jokes are conjured up in one of the most enjoyable 60 minutes on the fringeYou won't remember the Jane Austen nove…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:39AMUnderbelly, CowgateAn improvised, eight-hour mime marathon was an often gripping celebration of the spirit of playThere's no orthodoxy for how to follow winning the Edinburgh comedy award. B…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:50AMThe free fringe is beating some other comedians pants down – but can it last? Plus: is Scottish independence a huge joke?Free for all?I was at The Wrestling last night (see below). Joe Lyc…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:38AMTuesday, August 13, 2013
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghBrett Goldstein returns with another comic yarn about sex and society, but while there are some good laughs, it doesn't ring quite true enoughTwo years ago, Bre…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:22AMAssembly, George SquarePascoe's lively mind teases out big questions with intelligence, silliness and self-deprecation to make a near-perfect show"So, let's go over the lovely things we've l…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:58AMLiam Williams and Bo Burnham point the way to an anxious comic future. Plus: to sweat, or not to sweat?Anthems for doomed youthIs the age of anxiety upon us? Among comics, there's definitely…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:44AMMonday, August 12, 2013
Pleasance CourtyardFrom neuroscience to paedophile frogs, the creative profusion of this former YouTube star makes for an exhilarating showWow. Bo Burnham is back, with a full-frontal assaul…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:57AMStandup Brendon Burns suggests that putting comedians in pigeonholes doesn't make sense. Plus: old-school laughs on the Free Fringe, and comics have the last laugh on the football fieldNo al…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:30AMSunday, August 11, 2013
Pleasance CourtyardSome of the best shows come when their creators stop caring about pleasing crowds, and make what they damn well please. Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen Volume 2 has that …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:30AMFriday, August 9, 2013
What's the right balance between thought-provoking and laugh-inducing? Plus: Jewish Mom jokes on the fringe and why money is the root of all evilComedy by focus group?"There's two ways you c…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:57PMPleasance DomeThis ex-teacher needs to find a subject more worthy of his angry intelligence than disingenuous ad campaignsTV Burp meets Brass Eye, with added self-loathing. Interested, commi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:57AMPleasance CourtyardHelm's incarnation as Evel Knievel makes for an exhilarating start to the show – but it's his songs that redeem his shoutingYou can shuffle on stage to a smattering of a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:44AMThursday, August 8, 2013
Pleasance DomePuns, pinging punchlines and geographical foreplay make this comic play a warm-hearted winnerAmong the many characters in their new comic play The Reunion, Max Olesker and Ivan…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:13AMPleasance CourtyardO'Doherty's overconfidence is amusing and her gags are good, yet her fantasies about fame lack real substanceNominated for last year's Edinburgh Comedy award, Claudia O'Do…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:10AMThe assumption that laughter is a dish best served drunk is being challenged. Meanwhile, Mark Thomas baits Ian Rankin and Gráinne Maguire elects to go politicalHalf past four is cooler than…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:45AMAssembly RoxyAnyone whose self-consciousness has loomed large will find much to enjoy in this Australian comic's showWe've all had issues with self-esteem, right? But how many of us have alm…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:04AMWednesday, August 7, 2013
Sara Pascoe is thriving at standup, but she'd rather be an 18th-century essayist. She talks to Brian Logan about politics, philosophy – and gigging with the RSCUsually, when you interview …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:41PMStand Comedy ClubFrom shoplifting smut to protesting at an Apple store – the riskier Thomas's exploits, the funnier his comedyIt's hard to believe, but Mark Thomas took a break from politi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:33PMAt the Edinburgh festival, Nat Luurtsema battles bad acoustics and a broken heart, David Quirk ponders cheating and Eric Davis's alter ego sets about demolishing some inhibitionsNo money: th…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:17PMTuesday, August 6, 2013
Just the Tonic at the TronThe comedy of disenfranchised, disillusioned Generation Y is upon us. It's been coming: Alfie Brown's show last year – a fierce attack on comedy and our cultural …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:34PMThe Stand, the Cabaret Bar and Pleasance Courtyard have had legendary shows – but could there be a better place? Plus, all the rest of the day's fringe newsThe best standup stages on the f…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:36PMStand Comedy Club"I am to Simone de Beauvoir what Horrible Histories are to Simon Schama," says Bridget Christie. It's true, and it's a breakthrough for this always endearing but until now o…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:42AM 
