This is a show that had one audience member at its first performance at the Edinburgh Fringe 2023, which led to an X (as Tweets are to be known these days) from Georgie Grier seeking reassurance, which was duly supplied by other performers who have also had single-figure audiences, or even an audient before at the Fringe (the Collins Dictionary definition of ‘audient’ is “a person who hears or listens”). Such was the response that her next Fringe performance was sold out, and I must admit … [Read more...]

I recall going into a Fringe venue in 2022 fairly late in the evening to catch the last show of the day there, and I had arrived with plenty of time to spare. People were streaming out of the previous show, and that audience were so happy you’d be forgiven for thinking they were all part of a giant Lottery syndicate that had won the jackpot. So I asked the venue staff what the previous show was. I couldn’t fit Sunshine on Leith into my schedule last year, so was rather excited when it was … [Read more...]

I have mixed feelings about this show, which spends so much time creating thoroughly dislikeable characters that although some degree of civility and maturity comes through eventually, I simply found myself agreeing with any of them whenever they said they can’t wait until it’s all over and they can get out of here. Quite why the characters are trapped in the first place is because the door to a gender-neutral public toilet is faulty and cannot be opened from either the inside or the outside. An … [Read more...]

This is not, Jade Anouka tells the audience, a story about a black woman. It’s not that she has nothing to say about her lived experiences as a black woman, who must navigate life with both racism and misogyny counting against her, but this particular show isn’t about that. It’s just her story - and it does indeed turn out to be just that, nothing more and nothing less. The beauty of it lies in her storytelling ability, mixing poetry and prose seemingly effortlessly. She is accompanied by … [Read more...]

There is, the audience is informed, a certain level of charisma that goes with Pastor Pete (Nick Blessley), the leader of an evangelical church whose membership appeared to bloom at least partially on account of his sparkling personality. Too much, however, is described instead of dramatized, relying too much on the audience’s imagination. While evangelicalism exists even in the Church of England, there are still many people who have never experienced what such a service is like. A ‘welcome to … [Read more...]