Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017: Four Comedy Picks

As you may already know, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the event of the year for comedians from the UK and further afield, many of whom use it at a chance to test out and previews jokes, sets, and full hour-long stand-up shows. If you missed out this year on 3 weeks of late night, overpriced food vans, lots of prosecco (sometimes too much prosecco, if there is such a thing) and "work in progress" shows, then you will have missed the chance to preview shows that will be taken on tour later in the year, or may form the basis for future shows and tours. Here’s what you need to know.

Richard Herring: Oh Frig, I’m 50

Yes, I’m starting with Richard Herring. King of the Fringe, the Richard half of Richard (and) Not Judy, plays himself at snooker (really, there’s a podcast). This show follows on from 2007’s Oh Fuck, I’m 40 and gives a nostalgia-tinged, foul-mouthed account of aging and fatherhood. After waiting 40 minutes to see him (and knocking back two glasses of wine. Maybe three. It was Edinburgh), I wobbled in and was far from disappointed. Herring took us through an hour of anecdotes with plenty of his usual self-deprecation and a recurring Peter Kay reference that had us cackling. Due to his experience, I feel he’s often seen as something of a safe bet, paying a tenner to see him at the Fringe isn’t a risk. However, the material was fresh and subversive, veering between bittersweet self-reflection and giggling glee at slightly saucy jokes.

@herring1976

Alexander Fox: Ringo

Alexander Fox: drummer, comedian, storyteller. His show charts his childhood as a wannabee-Ringo Starr, with music cleverly woven into the story and a fair amount of audience participation. Warning: you may be asked to play the cowbell. Fox is an accomplished impressionist who uses sound clips to prove that his take on Ringo is as accurate as it can be, in case there are any pedants in the audience. The show includes moments of sadness, but there are plenty of laughs as well, and I left grinning giddily and feeling thoroughly joyful. Fox’s delivery is warm, and I feel confident in calling "Ringo" my "feel-good pick" of the 2017 Fringe.

@AlexanderFoxEtc

Ivo Graham: Educated Guess

Ivo Graham is terribly nice. He went to Eton and is suitably embarrassed about it, and is wonderfully relatable through his self-effacing humour while relating anecdotes of his teenage awkwardness. While his apparent shyness may be off-putting in a less accomplished performer, his show in refreshingly "real," and we all know that comedy in 2017 is all about brutal reality. Graham’s particular style of political comedy allows him to let his geek flag fly, something that is a welcome change after a year of Very Serious Politics in the United Kingdom. In all, he’s the kind of comedian you could take home to meet you mother.

@IvoGraham

Sarah Keyworth: Why Not?

Sarah Keyworth is a woman after my own heart. A fellow millennial (though promotional material for her show uses the term "Generation Y"), Why Not? Discusses something that many of us can relate to: growing up with the idea that you can have it all, and ending up with very little. Her deadpan style and sarcasm brings her anecdotal show together in a style that that means she stands out among a largely male, fairly older comedy scene and brings something that is extremely relatable to the "me irl" generation. As the first runner up of the 2015 Funny Women Award, she rightfully came highly recommended and her work in progress show at the Free Fringe left me excited for more to come.

@sarahkeyworth1