Six days and 20 shows and events. Edinburgh Fringe done! I’ve been visiting the festival for 20 years so that was a good target achieved. The landscape has really changed since Funny Women’s first Fringe foray back in 2004 and I have enjoyed many different experiences of the festival as a producer, reporter, judge and participant.
This time, I saw 18 shows over six days at the festival and we put on two Funny Women events: one to to launch The Glitter Project, and a private function. It was fast, furious and fun to be in the company of some amazing people who produce, advise and volunteer for Funny Women.
Here’s my Fringe diary with some quick-fire reviews for the all-important poster quotes!
DAY ONE
Our Fringe began straight off the train with a fantastic Underbelly showcase at the McEwan Hall in Teviot Place. Nostalgic as the Underbelly gave us our very first Funny Women run at the Fringe in 2004. Yet, it’s the first time our Awards Director Alex Rochford and I have ever been to an event in this venue, and we’ve clocked up nearly 50 years of Fringe going between us!
A fantastic mix of the Underbelly’s trademark variety programme including dance, music and comedy and for the finale, a bit of target practice with Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood, the Underbelly founders!
HANNAH PLATT: DEFENCE MECHANISM
Hannah Platt took us on a personal journey about her body dysmorphia delivered in her trademark quirky and uplifting deadpan style that belied the often dark subject matter. For a one-hour soliloquy at a point in the day when my energies are the most depleted, I found this show energising and inspiring in equal measure, and dead funny of course.
This is an award worthy show – it’s everything and more that a stand-up show at the Fringe should be. I’m pleased that Hannah has realised the potential we saw in her as a runner up in the 2023 Funny Women Stage Award.
Double Funny Women Award winner 2022 Lorna Rose Treen returns to the festival with Skin Pigeon, a mix of crazy sketches and vignettes that result in a compelling and hilarious one woman show. I saw this in its original form over 18 months ago and not much has changed other than a heightened level of ludicrosity.
There was still the bossy naughty Brownie in charge of proceedings and the strange Vesuvius style pile of clothes in the centre of the set. It’s mad, fast paced and exactly what Edinburgh is all about. It’s also packing in the audiences so book while you can.
DAY TWO
LARA RICOTE: LITTLE TINY WET SHOW (BAPTISM)
2021 Stage Award Winner Lara Ricote is centre stage dressed in a nightdress against a backdrop of (falling) cardboard gravestones. Every bit as deliciously surreal as her previous work, this is a show with a curious narrative about life, love and death (I think) which I expect will grow and evolve throughout the show’s Fringe run.
Lara is a clown and improviser so evolution is in her DNA. Loveable quirkiness with some brilliant audience interaction that feeds Lara’s effortless creativity.
Engaging from the get-go and don’t be put off by the promise of blood and a venue that resembles a torture chamber. It’s all in very good context and Marjolein’s incredible stage setting helps to pack a shocking punch with humour. The best kind of comedy in my opinion and easy to see why she was Funny Women Stage Award runner up in 2022.
What better way to bring attention to the bloody body stuff we endure as women than by making people laugh about it. Honestly, bloody brilliant. Go see!
ABBY WAMBAUGH: THE FIRST 3 MINUTES OF 17 SHOWS
I always feel that if I don’t get the message about a show in the first three minutes, then I’m going to struggle for the remaining 57. Well, I didn’t, and Abby does this effortlessly 17 times over with her likeable, unusual and diverse approach. I look forward to 17 full length shows over what I predict will be a long and prosperous comedy career.
Directed (I believe) by Lara Ricote who Abby met as a finalist in the 2021 Funny Women Awards, it has the same free-flowing quirkiness even though there’s many scenarios to digest, albeit briefly.
Day three. I’ve recounted Louise’s ‘llama’ joke a few times since I saw her show (you have to be there) and it resonates so well with parents of teenage boys. This is a testament to her ability to convey the pain and pleasure of motherhood, menopause and more. Louise has wonderful storytelling skills and we all left wondering about which breast to put our nipple badges on (again, you have to be there).
Extra kudos for overcoming early venue challenges but I predict a fruitful run – also catch Louise as one of our Glitter Project mentors, all events listed here.
MARTY GLEESON & SHARON WANJOHI: THE PLEASANCE COMEDY RESERVE
The Pleasance Reserve has been a fantastic launchpad for comedy careers for 20 years so it was great to see two amazing women taking centre stage as part of this prestigious Fringe showcase along with Rohan Sharma and Sam Williams.
Sharon Wanjohi was a Funny Women Stage Award finalist in 2021, a very competitive year, and Marty Gleeson has been on my ‘one to watch’ list for a couple of years now recently winning the LGBTQ+ New Comedian of the Year 2024. The acts rotate between hosting throughout the run so hopefully you’ll catch them on a night when they both perform a full set. It’s worth it.
DAY THREE
A treat to see a showcase of acts at the Pleasance including Funny Women Award finalists Kemah Bob (2019) and Ania Magliano (2020), plus new to me New Zealander Melanie Bracewell and the always incredible Nina Conti with Monkey and facemasks.
There was more besides, of course, from this historic Fringe venue, home to comedy, dance, drag and variety for 40 years.
I predict that Kate Cheka will quickly outgrow the yurt in which she performs this humdinger of a show. That said, the muggy humidity and intimacy of the venue suits her informal style and late comers were happy to sit cross legged at her Messianic feet!
A powerful debut run at the festival from last year’s Funny Women Stage Award winner. Kate mixes her messages with mirth covering everything from how her brave single mother inspired her and instilled a self-belief system that brings out the Messiah in her!
NATALIE BELLINGHAM: LOOK AFTER YOUR KNEES
Knowhere near as middle aged as it sounds! This is a wonderful piece of devised theatre, combining comedy, storytelling and movement that takes you on a roller-coaster of emotions. Natalie explores life in all it’s banality, joy and ridiculousness and really, there is something for everybody in this show.
The Fringe is where you can see some of the most amazing theatrical ideas alongside stand up – seeing one of our 2021 Stage Award finalists embody narrative in such a stunning way, was real treat. Oh yes, only a passing reference to knees, no medical assistance was needed!
A virtuoso stand up performance by Sian Davis who showed us what she’s made of when she was a close runner up in the 2019 Funny Women Stage Award. She’s used the last five years wisely to hone her skills, winning other accolades and launching Best In Class.
In the nicest and most complimentary way I can say it, Sian does ‘old school’ comedy in the casual-styling reminiscent of the late great Dave Allen, weaving in storytelling and satire with great punchlines. Brave the hot basement venue – you won’t be disappointed!
SOPHIE GARRAD & LEIGH DOUGLAS: DADDY’S GIRLS
Two talented newcomers whose split-bill will stand them well for the future. Loosely connected by their experiences of errant fathers, one in prison and the other deceased, they have very different styles which makes for an entertaining hour and gives them the opportunity to explore their audiences reactions throughout the run.
Sophie is a natural host and warmed us up with her posh but friendly audience interaction. Leigh is the storyteller, as dictated by her Irish DNA, and paved the way for Sophie’s high-status view of the world.
DAY FOUR
I was in, from the start. Harriet’s mad, bad and actually quite sad world, was brought to life with such charm and self-effacement that I left inspired. Not to be a drug addict or dealer but to never ever judge a book (or a comedian) by its cover. The story is always surprising once told.
I’ve watched Harriet’s progress for quite a few years now and wasn’t fully aware of what she had been through personally throughout her formative years. There were hints but I didn’t know. Now she’s made it funny too. Go see – take a hanky, for the laughs!
Another act who has journeyed long and far along the comedy road since being a finalist in the 2016 Funny Women Awards. A strong, almost masculine style of performance which I put down to her straight talking Dutch heritage. Yet the themes are female and cover a wide range of topics including relationships, getting pregnant and Ozzy Osbourne – you need to be there! An excellent hour of skillful comedy.
Such a fresh and honest approach to being transgender. This show has a gentle, feminine touch so that it soon becomes about Alex being Alex rather than focusing on the trans journey, although this is unashamedly what the show is about. I’m of a generation that sometimes struggles with this topic, but Alex doesn’t over complicate the narrative, and the audience takes it all in its stride. She is unfussy about her transition, sings silly songs and tells some very funny stories.
ALEX KERN: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING
It all begins innocently enough but the stary eyes and intensity of our protagonist ‘Cynthia’ (Alex) welcoming us to her ‘home’ is an early clue to what unfolds. Immersive clowning isn’t for everybody, but this is a good starter for the curious. There’s no real mess and the audience interplay is there for a reason, not for uncomfortable laughs. This show did exactly what it should – we felt sorry for ‘Cynthia’ in her desperate need to entertain us and we were given permission to laugh at her attempts to be loved.
DAY FIVE
RACHEL CREEGER: ULTIMATE JEWISH MOTHER
OK, I’m biased, and I’ve seen this show several times before but… it’s really good Fringe fun and genuinely different every time! Give a Jewish mother a problem and she will solve it. Rachel dips deep into her big pot, used every week to make chicken soup for Friday night dinner, and dishes out advice and solutions to questions asked by the audience. Rachel is also the lead mentor for The Glitter Project – now you know why!
NERINE SKINNER: THE EXORCISM OF LIZ TRUSS
The audience were expecting an exorcism, and they got a comedy extravaganza hosted by ‘Liz Truss’ and her comedy doppelganger Nerine Skinner. This is political comedy on speed – a whip through the rise and fall of Ms Truss as made popular by Nerine’s online portrayals, which bagged her runner up in last year’s Funny Women Content Creator Award.
Transitioning online content into a stage show is a challenge but Nerine succeeds with her parodies of political life and a cast of equally ridiculous characters. Liz herself was in town on the day we saw this show – I was hoping for a live ‘Truss Off’ but sadly it didn’t happen!
AU REVOIR!
Sadly, time ran out and I would have loved to see more – please check out the many Q&As here on the website now available to all. Thanks for the warm welcome Edinburgh. You didn’t disappoint.
Booking links in headings above and visit edfringe.com for all shows and venue details.
