The 12 stand-out shows of the Edinburgh Fringe 2024
As the Edinburgh Fringe draws to a close for another year, here's the top shows we saw.
It’s been real. This year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe has once again showcased some of the finest comedy talent in the world. Newcomers and veterans alike have performed their shows day after day, night after night to packed out rooms and more than a few empty seats. It’s like an attritional boot camp for making people laugh. Here are twelve of the best comedy shows we’ve seen – each one serving up their own unique brand of five-star fare.
“I’m a family man, I do what I can…”
There are times in Glanc’s blistering show that he’s less a standup and more a human fireworks show, such are the whiplash-inducing segues in his set. Aided by his tiny but trusted soundpad, he fuses musical interludes with audience participation so expertly and joyously that you’d be forgiven for thinking everyone in the room is a plant. Of the many tears you’ll cry with laughter, there will be at least one of sadness – knowing this is the closest you’ll ever get to watching Robin Williams live. And not just because of the ample body hair.
“I’m so bad! The girls at work are right about me!”
Edinburgh is infamous for the ‘dead parent show’ and every cynical trope that comes with it. Esméralda is absolutely not that. There is a no sledgehammer revelation at the 40-minute mark that crushes the vibe and demands an extra star. In fact, Lake is at pains to undercut any sentimentality with winningly bawdy asides. This is a camp and tender celebration: of love, of making the most of life, and of keeping the flame alive for someone who still lives through your every triumph. Lake is everything his late mother knew he’d be – a rare gem of a comic.
“You’re not going home to your mother tonight, sunshine…”
Metroland make you angry that no one told you about them before. Whether it’s Geordie gatekeeping or an industry that rarely rewards talent on merit, it matters not. Metroland are a breath of fresh air (albeit with a whiff of Greggs). They’re the missing link between Vic and Bob, Rik and Ade and Ren and Stimpy. How can you not love a bunch of daft lads who make a middle-class audience at the biggest arts festival in the world stare in silence at a man in a tiny sombrero for a full minute and a half while a Pot Noodle brews? Get them on the telly now.
“That’s a reprise, fuckers!”
Do we fully appreciate how consistently brilliant Flo and Joan are? Probably not. Sometimes you have to look at something through a different prism to realise just how special it is. With One Man Musical, the pair have created something truly exceptional. Everything – the scathing jokes, the big numbers, the Webberisms in the score – is perfect. It helps that their virtuoso lead George Fouracres is in world-class form as the one man in question. By rights, this theatrical tour de force deserves a 38 year run in the West End and similar on Broadway.
“I grew up Catholic – or ‘good guy’ as we call ourselves…”
Meagher’s life is so full of compelling chapters and character-defining incidents that you get the sense the biggest job here was deciding what to leave out. It is therefore a credit to both Meagher and director Vittorio Angelone that this is such a tight show. Every single line counts, as evidently, does every life lesson. This is a furious, tender, brutal, loving and most of all hilarious hour that confounds your presumptions at every turn. It is also the perfect retort to anyone who believes that the mixing of cultures is anything other than our only salvation.
Erika Ehler: I Got Some Dope Ass Memories With People That I’ll Never F*ck With Again
“Bro doxed himself for pussy…”
A bit like when you see a big man cry or a politician tell the truth, there’s something about a high-status comic showing their vulnerable side that hits different. Everything about Ehler’s on-stage persona tells you she’s in control. So when she opens up about feeling betrayed and ‘breaking up’ with two close friends, it carries extra resonance. Ehler has always been a masterful joke writer and charismatic raconteur, but the added pathos of conceding to being hurt and coming to terms with that is what elevates this show to another level.
“Welcome to the King Charles memorial suite…”
This first foray into character comedy may be Fairburn’s greatest work. Playing seven parts based on the deadly sins, we’re introduced to Daphne (envy), Camilla (lust, or rather the use of sex to seem relevant), Leanne (pride), Dame Ellen (wrath), Debs (sloth), Jimmy (greed) and a special guest (gluttony). There’s a clever knitting together of stories in this SEU (Side Eye Universe) and an uneasy feeling that the angriest (Ellen) is the most tragic, while the ‘nicest’ (Debs) is perhaps the most dangerous. With nuance, poignancy, fine acting and big laughs, it’s Biblical stuff.
Tom Lawrinson: Buried Alive and Loving it
“Do you remember them topless boys? That was me…”
A rousing “Are you ready for some weird comedy?!” welcomes Lawrinson on stage to a roar of approval. Few do ‘weird’ better, but Lawrinson is far too savvy a performer to use it as a crutch. Instead of going bigger and more surreal, this sophomore show is surprisingly personal and proves every idiom about the truth being stranger than fiction. The title may be surprisingly literal, but every off-kilter element is deeply rooted in off-kilter reality. It’s like an origin story for the magnetic performer he is now – as well as a love letter to a close-knit family he clearly adores.
“Judas was a frenemy at best…”
Everything about Mulvey feels ripe for an arena far greater than a box outside a former church. Her natural warmth and playful candour wins you over immediately and she keeps you enthralled with a breathless hour about singledom, identity, fresh starts and some sad endings. It is safe to say Mulvey hasn’t had it easy in life. It is something she acknowledges but does not linger on for very long. You get the sense that her superpower – both as a performer and as a person – is an unfailing positivity that deserves great rewards.
“The Queen had the right idea, dying before Reels took off…”
Nothing justifies Night’s return more than his time away. He could have been churning out acclaimed shows in the intervening years with none being quite as potent and jagged with reality as this. The jokes are relentless and clever and daft, but it’s the broken and messed up years in between that inform and elevate this to a work of true virtuosity. His dripping contempt for #lad campaigns that vacuously parrot ‘it’s okay not to be okay’ as well as those who diagnose themselves with OCD in lieu of a personality – or even as nonce bleach – is invigorating.
“I’m with the lesbians on this…”
In his smart black top and navy blazer, Angolo cuts a dapper figure. Occasionally supping on a pint of Guinness by his side, it all adds to a general atmosphere of casual late night cool – even at half five in the afternoon. The much-loved Irish comic is such an assured and charming raconteur that it helps him get away with some deliciously risque material. Of course it’s not just that; Angolo proves that with the right mix of charisma, creativity and joke craft, you can make light of anything. His is a perspective that feels both familiar and fresh.
“What do atheists have? They have Huel…”
In lesser hands such an ambitious show combining traumatic experiences of body negativity with existential questions of faith and God could have collapsed in on itself, but the strength of Hull’s writing and a clever structure bring everything together. Sure there are references to Hieronymus Bosch, Marcel Proust and Bernardino Luini, but where Hull really shows her smarts is in covering deeply serious subjects in an incredibly accessible way. It’s candour with a cracked smile. Indeed Hull feels like a new template for generations Z and Alpha to follow.
Notable mentions…
Kiran Saggu is clearly a star in the making with a debut hour that showcases her laidback charisma and biting wit. Hasan Al-Habib will be famous in at least two languages very soon with an emphatic stage presence and mainstream appeal. Aisha Amanduri combines slick delivery with stereotype-crushing material that marks her out as a gifted and important voice. Marty Gleeson has the sort of strange and unusual comedy brain that makes you excited for what comes next.