The man, the legend, the Drama King himself is here to grace the Fringe with his sharp, New York seasoned wits, setting the bar high for Edinburgh’s stand-up comedy scene. If your algorithm is as cool (slash ridiculous) as mine, you’ve probably seen him on YouTube shorts, delivering his politically angled and unabashedly personal jokes with precision, vibrant energy, and remarkable comedic timing. After seeing him live, I can satisfactorily confirm the King is as dramatic as his online presence sets him out to be, and he is clearly not afraid to make a scene.
Set in the small and rustic Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, Gianmarco commands the room with ease and mastery of theatrical flair. A self-titled “extroverted introvert” with ADHD, his stage presence is like watching your talkative, brutally honest friend spiral into bleak and politically relevant topics and getting playfully flicked on the head whenever it gets too gruesomely real. In another way, it feels like doom-scrolling the news and the demoralizing depths of the Internet and getting a reel of Gianmarco Soresi arching his back to drop the most unhinged and frivolously put observation of our society– oh wait, he’s right there.
His punchlines are cleverly set up to make light of society’s dark moments, as well as our own usually suppressed but inevitable out-of-line thoughts. It reminds you not to take yourself too seriously and to use your authenticity to your creative advantage. You never know who’ll be rolling from your outrageous call-and-response dick jokes – though I know Gianmarco’s dad certainly won’t.
Due to high demand (which is honestly incredible for an Edinburgh Fringe debut), Gianmarco is doing an extra show at the great McEwan Hall, a glorious space where I’m sure he’ll get to unleash his full royal rambunctiousness. No matter how familiarizing his energetic pace is if you’ve had the luck of having a good friend in your life whose job is to talk your ear off (or of being that friend yourself), he will surprise you with the slick and dynamic stylistic choices of his comedic delivery. I urge you to watch this drama king do his thing, and maybe even come out a little more dramatic yourself.
Gianmarco Soresi: The Drama King Tour is running until 23 August at Monkey Barrel 3 at Monkey Barrel Comedy, McEwan Hall at Underbelly’s Bristo Square, and Cowbarn.
Buy tickets here.
Image courtesy of NUDE IMAGES: ARIN SANG-URAI provided to The Student as press material.