Comedy
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‘Monks’ ― brilliant charm and charisma
Monks is the work of Canadian clowns and actors Annie Luján and Veronica Hortigüela, who welcome us – their first visitors in five years – to their Spanish monastery in the year 1157. Both are resplendent in full monk costumes, down to tonsure wigs (the traditional monk haircut.) There’s limited character background provided, with one monk being the ignored youngest son of a nobleman and the other ‘born in that field,’ and both suffering from their vows of celibacy.
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‘Roger Prick: Sexopolis’ ― vivid, slimy silliness
Roger Prick is the brainchild of Han Whyte, Leicester Square Sketch Off! 2025 finalist, and has gone from sketch to full solo show – Roger Prick: Sexopolis. The eponymous Roger is an erotic novelist and businessman, and we join him on his book tour, where he is promoting both his freshly-modernised works and his newest release.
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‘Ruby Carr: Bite Me’ ― sparky and bright energy
Ruby Carr’s second Edinburgh Fringe show, Bite Me, details the twin difficulties of fixing both her teeth (she has Invisalign) and her mental illness (she has OCD). As an OCD sufferer who’s just spent hundreds of pounds on fillings, I was very much the target demographic for the show and was intrigued to see it.
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Sardines: In Butter (WIP)
Sardines (‘good chemistry,’ – Beyond the Joke) are a three-person sketch group who met as members of the Bristol Revunions, the University of Bristol’s oldest performing arts society. They were finalists in the 2025 Leicester Square Sketch-Off and their work-in-progress show, In Butter, is on from the 15th-17th August.
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Interview: Kathy Maniura on her show ‘Cycling Man’ – ‘he’s actually quite horrible … but it works!’
Comedian, actor and writer Kathy Maniura debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023 with Objectified, an absurd character comedy show where she brought to life a variety of objects including a paper straw, a wine bottle and an electric scooter. The show and its subsequent tour was described as ‘an exquisitely realised, understated delight’ by The Scotsman.
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Interview: Ozzy Algar on their show ‘Speed Queen’ – ‘a solo show is not a solo endeavour’
Ozzy Algar’s 2025 debut Edinburgh Fringe show ‘Speed Queen,’ followed Pet, the proprietor of the last laundrette on the Isle of Wight, as she described her life and the community around her. Blending clowning, comedy and folk horror, it received rave reviews. Having just returned from performing at the Adelaide Fringe, Ozzy is taking Speed Queen on tour, with upcoming dates at Machynlleth Comedy Festival on the 3rd of May, and Hyde Book Club in Leeds on the 13th.
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Josie Long: Now Is The Time of Monsters review – ‘endearingly intimate and vigorously potent’
Josie Long visits the Old Vic with her acclaimed 2025 Fringe show, ‘Now Is The Time of Monsters.’ It’s lovely to see comedy in the Old Vic, as it’s such a beautiful venue, and since winter has apparently arrived in Bristol at 11am today, it feels appropriately cosy to go to the theatre and watch a show on a cold Sunday evening – even if today is the first day its felt remotely cold.
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Julie Masli: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha review – ‘enigmatic charisma’
Julie Masli brings her acclaimed show ‘ha ha ha ha ha ha ha,’ to the Old Vic. The show has had huge success, being voted the Most Innovative Show by the Offies and winning the 2023 Best Show Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, among considerable other recognition. The show’s blurb is ‘ hahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahaha hihihi hahahahahahahaha hoho hahahhahahaha hehe hahahahahahahahahaha,’ and this, combined with Masli’s considerable background in clowning, meant I was knew I was in for an intriguing evening.
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Helen Bauer: Bless Her review – ‘effortless charisma and magnetism’
It’s a great night for comedy on North St on this drizzly September Sunday; Ahir Shah is doing a double work-in-progress show at Bar 57, and just ten minutes away, Helen Bauer brings her tour show ‘Bless Her,’ to the Tobacco Factory. I head to the latter, where the usual large stage area has been covered with seats and despite it being a Sunday, the vibe is giddy and excited.
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Ozzy Algar: Speed Queen at Cellar Pleasance Courtyard review – ‘Algar is dynamite’
A mere 30 hours after my first Fringe show – but physically and mentally feeling as if I’d aged several years – I returned to the room where I’d seen Just The Two Of Us for my penultimate one, Ozzy Algar’s Fringe debut Speed Queen. A student of renowned clown teacher Philipe Gaulier and 2024 Leicester Square Sketch-Off finalist, Algar comes to the stage in a strikingly ghostly form; a paper-white old lady, with bright blue eyeshadow, pink lips, and an over-sized brown coat and headscarf.