Alice Snedden: Highly Credible demonstrates great comedic skill, blending sharp wit with a storytelling style that surprises and delights. Snedden is best known for co-writing and co-directing the hit series Starstruck with Rose Matafeo, which is how I knew of her. But after five years off, Snedden has finally returned to the Fringe, and it’s quite easy to see that she’s spent those years honing her craft.
The show starts with some easy laughs, but it soon evolves into a consistent stream of really great, well structured and well-worked jokes. Her humour, which begins with light anecdotes, skilfully builds towards a central narrative theme, her inability to ever be wrong (except for one exception, which she tells us, and we enjoy, with some relish). The other main storyline woven through the show seems pretty mundane and unexciting at first – but the way this is woven into a tale of doubt, confidence and self belief shows Snedden’s ability to turn something normal into something brilliantly funny.
Snedden’s comedy is a clever mix of self-confidence and self-deprecation, creating a perfect balance between seeming casual and being sharply observant. Her reflections on the brutality of all-girls’ schools are as insightful as they are funny, with her control over the audience making her appear effortlessly in command of the room. Her quick comments on her sexuality and relationship also really stood out thanks to her ability to keep jokes coming so quickly.
The show’s pacing is really well timed and worked, with Snedden interweaving anecdotes with clever callbacks that keep the audience on their toes.
Overall, Alice Snedden proves herself to be one of the top comedians in Edinburgh this year. Her blend of clever writing, sharp improvisation, and engaging storytelling makes her show a must-see
Alice Snedden: Highly Credible is at Pleasance Courtyard until August 25 at 20:10.
Buy tickets here.
Image provided by Pleasance Press Office