Fringe Comedy
Jo Caulfield
The Stand
Five stars
Tiff Stevenson
The Stand
Four stars
Ed Byrne
Gilded Balloon
Two stars
Gayle Anderson
Jo Caulfield is everything the Comedy Fringe is about. Friendly, naughty and deliciously self-deprecating. The front row were virtually pleading to be picked on and she didn't disappoint. The bald man with the shiny dome, the group of ladies with the good hair and Monica from Mexico all got some stick. Her best put downs however, were reserved for a family of slightly bemused Americans. This woman doesn't just engage with her audience, she goes for a full-blown civil partnership. The section on her best friend's dating options fell a little short of the mark but, sensing this, she soon abandoned it and moved on. Jo's potty mouth wouldn't win many plaudits on her regular Radio 4 slots, but this mainly couples crowd loved it. They loved it too when she discussed the trials and tribulations of her own marriage. Everything from almost splitting up to the perils of role play. All told with brilliant deadpan delivery and exquisite timing. An Edinburgh resident , her take on the attempted gentrification of Leith is spot on. Coffee from the Guatemalan jungle or some craft beer with a stupid name, anyone? She might be one of the UK 's top TV comedy writers, but on this superb showing, stand-up is undoubtedly her artisanal bread and butter.
Until August 30
Tiff Stevenson has been performing stand-up at the Fringe since 2007 and has become a bit of a belly laugh banker with a very loyal following.Accessorizing with a glass of white wine, she leaps onstage in animal print leggings and winged trainers. It takes a confident comic to wear clothes that could upstage them. Luckily she is and they don't."I'm just changing the world one gig at a time, like some leopard print Gandhi," she says with a grin. This year's show, Mad Man takes a looks at how we're influenced by advertising and celebrity culture. Tiff takes us on a riotous retail road trip. There are stopovers at subjects as diverse as Dubai shopping malls and Spanish beer adverts with a delightful detour en route to give Katie Hopkins and the Kardashians a good kicking. She throws in some impressive booty shaking and rapping as J. Lo and Iggy Azalea are mimicked mercilessly. The show dipped ever so slightly in the middle section when Tiff turned her attention to bigger issues such as homophobia, sexism and racism. Her material here is well-crafted and thought-provoking but could benefit from some tightening. Overall, this is an extremely accomplished performance from a very funny woman at the top of her game.
Until August 29
Fringe favourite, Ed Byrne is back with his new show, Outside Looking In. The Jarvis Cocker of jokes takes a sideways shufty at all manner of things. From pimping himself out on corporate gigs to why ex sports stars make terrible TV presenters. He lobs in a surprisingly spot on Andy Murray impersonation. The crowd love it -especially when he yells, "slap some lively into him!" His rant on GP appointments with their computer check-in or, "Blarney stone of infection," as he calls it, is also well -observed. Generally though, the set feels too safe. A bit like the Edinburgh trams, it delivers much less than it was supposed to. An attempt at audience participation for his, 'worst ever date' spot falls flat when this mainly couples crowd tactfully decide to plead the fifth. While there's nothing bad about the performance, there's nothing stand-out either. There are some giggles but ribs are left feeling decidedly untickled. The 350 plus crowd who had noisily piled into the Gilded Balloon Debating Hall troop out in a far quieter fashion.
Until August 30
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