A quick note about some of the shows I’ve seen this festival with a short review – please do not regard these as definitive, every show is worth seeing and this is almost entirely subjective.
- Chortle Fast Fringe ★★ – A showcase show that is too expensive for what you get really. 3 mins isn’t enough time to learn anything really or build rapport with an audience.
- Max & Ivan: The Reunion ★★★★ – A strong and funny show – perhaps lacked the coherence of their past shows (and the instantly recognisable genre) and was occasionally self indulgent but still deliciously funny.
- Power Couple ★★★★ – A very sweet and very funny show, well worth a watch for anyone in a relationship – Stephen Bailey reminds me of a mix between Graham Norton and Alan Carr. Very good.
- Making News ★★★ – An interesting premise to a show, maybe in the wrong venue that needed greater sharpness all round. Still very funny and with a brilliant ending. See it in a week or two when it’s settled a bit.
- Stewart Lee ★★★★ – Work in progress but very strong from Stewart Lee. Trying material for his new series there were some beautiful moments of playing with the audience and the context of the performance – one slight criticism would be an unnecessary negative reference to Liverpool that detracted from the section, leaving too long between punchlines and wasn’t really befitting a comedian of his calibre.. Other than that. Amazing.
- Sean Hughes ★★★★★ – A brilliant show, well written, structured to perfection, playful yet with a poignance that is missing from much comedy. I wish I’d seen more of his work before.
- Rich Hall ★★★★ – Good solid performance and very funny, Rich Hall excels when in compere mode but a couple of references felt dated and it didn’t have a strong narrative or theme (although for most people that doesn’t matter!).
- Bridget Christie ★★★★★
- Richard Herring’s Podcast ★★★★
- Three Lions ★★★★★
- David Baddiel ★★★★
- Pete Firman ★★★★
Disagree with me?
Tough it’s an opinion.
Only kidding, leave me a comment below and I’ll respond when I can!