There’s nothing like sitting in a basement with 100 strangers to make you forget how dark it is at 4pm, and there are plenty of excellent shows to see in said basements this month.
As ever, Monkey Barrel Comedy and The Stand are both hosting a number of incredible tour shows, including some from this year’s Fringe. Particular highlights include sketch group Tarot’s latest show, “Shuffle” (29th November, The Stand) which, as well as being one of the best reviewed shows of this year’s Fringe, also had for my money, one of the best posters. Also of note is Colin Hoult’s show “Colin” (13th November, The Stand). One of my favourites from Fringe this year, this marks Hoult’s first hour sans his comic persona, Anna Mann. The show represents a change of approach by the comic, in that discussions of topics, principally neurodiversity, previously viewed through metaphor and ridiculous stories are now discussed head-on. However, this has not reduced the sheer number of laugh lines in the show – it’s a raucous hour that I’d highly recommend (I would also highly recommend Hoult’s previous show, “The Death of Anna Mann”, which is available on ITVX – it was my favourite show from Fringe 2022 and the first stand up hour that caused me to have a small cry).
This month also presents several opportunities to see work-in-progress shows (WIPs) by some fantastic comedians. I love going to WIPs, partly because they’re cheaper, but also because the comics tend to be a little looser and engage more with the crowd. It truly feels like you’re getting a one-of-a-kind experience. Plus, WIPs allow you to get advanced note of shows that might be worth looking out for come August. WIP highlights this month include shows by Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Josie Long (9th November, Monkey Barrel) who’s working on a show about megafauna and climate change (I saw a VERY early WIP of this back in January – it looks fantastic), and Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Jordan Brookes (22nd November, Monkey Barrel). Brookes’ last show saw him re-telling the plot of “Titanic” in musical form so God knows what will happen.
As always, it’s also worth checking out the various mixed bill nights across both the main clubs and the smaller nights, such as Open Comedy (Every Tuesday, Artisan Roast), Good Egg (Every Thursday, Dragonfly Club) and 5 Mugs, No Tea (First Wednesday of every month, Leith Depot).
As term progresses ever further and the nights draw in, it’s a fantastic time to sample Edinburgh’s comedy offerings to try and lift your mood.
“Comedy Night At The CAC With George Wallace – U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, South Korea – 28 JAN 2014” by USAG-Humphreys is licensed under CC BY 2.0.