comedy reviews
Thomas H. Green

One question springs immediately to mind on hearing that Romesh Ranganathan’s new stand-up show, The Cynic’s Mixtape, is touring: how does he find the time? Ranganathan has overtaken Jack Whitehall as Britain’s most media ubiquitous comic, with a deluge of TV shows and appearances, a column in the Guardian newspaper and even a recent autobiography. However, his TV CV is hit’n’miss, which leads to a second question: can he still cut it in the live arena?

Veronica Lee

Memory is a funny thing: it can get you through exams; it can comfort you or distress you; it can last a lifetime or go in an instant. In Sofie Hagen's case, her idiosyncratic one has provided material for her new show Bumswing, which started life at the Edinburgh Fringe and is now at Soho Theatre.

Veronica Lee

Jordan Brookes Pleasance Courtyard ★★★★

Jordan Brookes doesn’t tell gags. Well, he does but not in a traditional stand-up way. Rather, his jokes are subtly inserted into I’ve Got Nothing’s seemingly disjointed narrative.

Veronica Lee

Alun Cochrane Pleasance Courtyard 

David Kettle

If nothing else, Arabella Weir quips, she can thank her mother for providing the material for her first Fringe show.

Veronica Lee

Catherine Bohart Pleasance Courtyard ★★★★

Catherine Bohart has a most unusual starting point for her new show, Lemon. Last year at the Fringe, a woman was so appalled by the Irishwoman mentioning her sexuality – she’s bisexual – in her show Immaculate that she pronounced herself “disgusted” by its sexual content.

Veronica Lee

Phil Wang Pleasance Courtyard 

Veronica Lee

Joanne McNally Assembly George Square 

The area Joanne McNally treads (actually stomps might be a better word, given her fantastically high-energy performance) in The Prosecco Express is not new – she’s 36 and wondering if she should settle down and have children, or would that mean settling for less – but the Irish comic makes it her own.

Veronica Lee

Clive Anderson Assembly George Square ****

Veronica Lee

Nick Helm Pleasance Dome ****

What a pleasure it is that Nick Helm has returned to the Fringe after six years away after appearing in television comedies Uncle and The Reluctant Landlord.