It’s my second year at the Fringe and, believe it or not, I can count on one hand the number of comedy shows I’ve been to. Hence, when I saw Best of the Fest advertised as “the best mixed-bill comedy night in Edinburgh,” it seemed like the perfect opportunity to dip my toes in to the world of Fringe comedy.
This late-night show was hosted by Emmanuel Sonubi, who did a fantastic job at bringing the energy and keeping a post-midnight audience awake, engaged, and excited. Despite his self-proclaimed hatred of crowd work, his audience interactions felt natural and hilarious and padded out most of his hosting. But fair warning to all introverts: avoid the front row!
While it was certainly a stacked line-up, it was Pierre Novelli’s set that stood out and seemed to go down best with the audience. After two back-to-back sets that unfortunately rehashed similar family-based jokes (a risk of a mixed-bill comedy night), Novelli’s comedy felt funny and fresh. That’s not to say that the other comedians featured that evening were not funny — they certainly had their moments, and all of them drew whole-hearted laughter from the audience.
You can’t guarantee what you’ll get with a show like Best of the Fest, but that seems to be the reason to go. With such a selection of successful comedians, it is inevitable that at least one will float your comedy boat, and it is certainly a good way to sample comedians ahead of booking their full shows. While not every comedian featured that evening had me rolling on the floor laughing, it was nevertheless a thoroughly enjoyable show and worth attending even just for Emmanuel Sonubi’s hilarious hosting.
So if you are like me and can feel a bit lost when choosing which comedy to see, Best of the Fest is your perfect taster evening to discover what you do (and don’t!) enjoy.
Best of the Fest is showing on 13-15, 20-22, 27-29 August at Palais du Variété at Assembly George Square Gardens. Buy tickets here.
Image provided to The Student by Best of the Fest.
