Edinburgh Fringe 2024 reviews: Grace Mulvey / John Tothill

EDINBURGH FRINGE 2024 ★★★ Grace Mulvey / ★★★ John Tothill 

Candid stories, and teasing the comedy gods

Grace Mulvey, Assembly Roxy 

Grace Mulvey has been single for five years, she tells us at the top of the show, a matter of some disappointment to her mother back in Dublin. Even moving to London two years ago didn't change her dating status, despite the best efforts of her flatmates. But then, they're lesbians and she's straight, so maybe their advice isn't quite hitting the spot.

Edinburgh Fringe 2024 reviews: Stevie Martin / Colin Hoult

EDINBURGH FRINGE 2024 ★★★ Stevie Martin / ★★★★ Colin Hoult

Deconstructing comedy, and reflections on fatherhood and family

Stevie Martin, Monkey Barrel  

Stevie Martin is part of the generation of comics for whom the internet is a natural home; she has racked up tens of millions of views for her work online, where she had to strut her stuff when the world went into lockdown.

Edinburgh Fringe 2024 reviews: Emma Sidi Is Sue Gray / Sam Lake

EDINBURGH FRINGE 2024 Emma Sidi Is Sue Gray / Sam Lake

Political satire, and a parental memoir

Emma Sidi Is Sue Gray Pleasance Courtyard 

I have no idea what Sue Gray - the former senior civil servant who is now The Prime Minister’s right-hand woman - sounds like, but I’m guessing not someone who has stepped straight out of The Only Way Is Essex.

Rahul Subramanian, Soho Theatre review - rush-hour traffic and upsetting DJs

★★★ RAHUL SUBRAMANIAN, SOHO THEATRE Rush-hour traffic and upsetting DJs

Observational gags from the Mumbai stand-up

Rahul Subramanian is a well-established comic in his native Mumbai, as evidenced by the appreciative audience of Indian expats gathered at Soho Theatre. His sellout dates in London acted as previews to his debut run at the Edinburgh Fringe, which starts on 2 August.

Hannah Berner, Netflix Special - sex, politics and relationships

★★★ HANNAH BERNER, NETFLIX SPECIAL First stand-up special for American social media star 

First stand-up special for American social media star

Hannah Berner isn't a big name in stand-up (yet), but she's well known enough in the United States to have come to Netflix's attention. Her fame comes from TikTok and Instagram (where she has three million followers), her podcasts and formerly being a cast member of the Bravo reality series Summer House. We Ride at Dawn is her first, but I suspect not her last, Netflix special.

DVD/Blu-ray: Billy Connolly - Big Banana Feet

★★★ DVD/BLU-RAY: BILLY CONNOLLY - BIG BANANA FEET The comic caught on the cusp of his fame as he tours Ireland in 1975

The comic caught on the cusp of his fame as he tours Ireland in 1975

The most striking thing about the 1976 documentary (restored and re-released by the BFI) is just how polite Billy Connolly comes across as. Not that he's impolite now, but the raucous stage presence and vibrant chatshow interviewee was yet to fully form.

Clinton Baptiste, Touring review - spoof clairvoyant on great form

★★★ CLINTON BAPTISTE, TOURING Spoof clairvoyant on great form

Character has life beyond 'Phoenix Nights'

Clinton Baptiste – clairvoyant, medium and psychic – first appeared briefly as a character in Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights on Channel 4. Alex Lowe has since developed him through Clinton Baptiste’s Paranormal Podcast and his live shows, and now he's touring his latest, Roller Ghoster!, which I saw at Leicester Square Theatre in London.