Matt Forde: striking the right balance
ANDY MOSELEY enjoys two of this year’s top acts while expecting a little more
Matt Forde: Project Holy Moly
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Matt Forde’s skill as a seasoned political satirist is on display right from the start of his new show. The sudden departure of Keir Starmer left Forde, along with many other stand-ups you suspect, having to hastily rewrite large parts of his Edinburgh show and come up with new material, at short notice, about Andy Burnham.
With an opening joke pointing out that the man who apologised to the nation for having seven Prime Ministers in 10 years could have kept the total at six, before moving on to the difficulties Burnham faces as he tries to switch, mid-sentence, from being a man of the people to a serious politician commenting on wars in the middle east, it’s clear that he’s done his homework on the new sometimes occupant of Number 10.
Forde’s natural political allegiances mean that Burnham still gets a far more sympathetic ride than other political leaders in a set that takes in Donald Trump, Nigel Farage and Zack Polanski as well as Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell.
John Swinney may not get a direct name check, but the party he leads gets several mentions, which is more than can be said for the Liberal Democrats, who are presumably deemed too irrelevant to satirise as he instead moves on to football and the latest round of surgery he’s had following the cancer diagnosis he received at the end of the 2023 fringe.
Forde always seeks to strike the right balance between observation and opinion in his comedy and this, along with the broad range of targets he takes on across the political spectrum, give the show a very broad appeal even if at times it feels like he could dive deeper into some topics.
Pleasance Courtyard (Beyond) Various times
5 – 30 August
Gyles Brandreth: Up Memory Lane!
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Gyles Brandreth draws heavily on his highly successful Rosebud podcast, where celebrities and politicians join him to share their earliest childhood memories, in his Fringe show this year. The genial raconteur and host peppers the hour with stories referencing the likes of Lawrence Olivier, AA Milne, Dame June Whitfield and even Queen Elizabeth II, while also musing on his own status as a near octogenarian who is asked to do adverts for cremation companies and Stana chair lifts.
Harriet Jaine, the podcast producer and co-host of the show, acts as a foil to Brandreth, gently chiding him for his ability to carry on talking on any topic while also jokingly editing him when he says remarks that could get him cancelled. Her own early memories also ensure that this is more than Brandreth talking about himself, as well as revealing some strange coincidences between the two of them.
It’s pleasant, undemanding and mildly amusing throughout, while the more reflective moments are also quietly moving at times. However, it never quite reaches the level of laugh out loud hilarity that would be the mark of a stand-out show.
Gordon Aikman Theatre at Assembly George Square 4.00pm
6 – 30 August
Mark Vigeant: Out There
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Following his 2025 Fringe breakthrough with The Best Man Show, American comedian and performer Mark Vigeant returns to the Fringe with his new show Out There. Vigeant plays Larry, an engineer embarking on a trip into the Alaskan Wilderness that he intends to put out on YouTube to build a reputation as a brave explorer, rather than as someone who has lost his job and most of his friends.
The limited number of items he has brought with him suggests that survival rather than success is the most he can hope to achieve, and even that becomes increasingly unlikely as he struggles with the various forms of nature he encounters.
The use of a video camera and constant projection of its footage, along with the wonderfully imaginative uses he creates for basic props and members of the audience make this an original and inventive shows that never forgets it is a comedy at its heart. It ends with a mix of pathos and sentimentality that just about stays on the right side of the former, to make Larry someone you hope will make it back from the trip.
Assembly Roxy (Downstairs) 5.20pm
5 – 30 August (not 19th)
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