This Must Be Heaven returns to the Edinburgh stage for this year’s Fringe, and with it an ADHD dream of oysters, Model UN, and (of course) the Margate Crab Museum. John Tothill had the year from Hell where he contracted malaria and then appendicitis (intentionally and then to his surprise), and then performed on a cruise ship to his own horror, but at no point are the heavy topics too heavy, as with distance from them and his own witty summations Tothill moves reminiscently through the hour.
Tothill is to his own admission “the most accessible comedian” out there, and in his show, you can feel it. Tothill strikes a comfortable, conversational tone with the room, bringing the energy of a smoking area stranger you would tell your darkest secrets. Whether this can be put down to him at sporadic intervals saying “let’s do drinks after this” or his own confessional stories about appendicitis or (worse) a “Nigel Farage immersive experience” is yet to be determined by academics, but the result remains the same.
This is the second Fringe for This Must Be Heaven – at times noticeably so. The hour is giddy and intentionally wandering but occasionally forgets itself and can feel a bit like old tricks. This is not at all, however, a reflection of the featured close-up magic that, though a gimmick of his own subplot, was genuinely very impressive and was funny enough without being so. The show was interspersed with “where were we,” meant to endear the audience, and succeeding, but there was a clear difference as to when it was intentional and a genuine moment of confusion about the show.
Knowing his audience well, Tothill can lean into his niche with ease and a studied candour. At one time falling into a soliloquy on the ramification of greed overtaking gluttony in our society – there are few comics that could get away with this and come across as heartfelt rather than pretentious.
John Tothill: This Must Be Heaven is running until 30 August at the Cabaret bar at the Pleasance Courtyard. Buy tickets here.
Image provided by Country Mile Productions in association with United Agents as press material.
