Simon Donald's School of Swearing

Review by Tony Makos | 09 Aug 2012

We all love a bit of swearing, and you could argue that no-one is more qualified to discuss the subject than the co-creator of a certain succesful adult comic we all know and love. To do so, Simon Donald takes the audience to 'school' and the results are… surprising.

First of all, it’s important to note that, while Donald was instrumental in the creation of a popular dictionary of naughty words most of us have in our bathroom (right?), this isn’t 'Profanisaurus: The Stand-Up Show.' Which turns out to be a good thing, as the show actually attempts to educate and inform its audience in linguistics and etymology to a degree, displaying Donald’s clear love of language and its uses – both proper and gloriously improper. A laudable sentiment, and much of the show’s educational element works well. Everyone is obviously encouraged to join in with some communal swearing, and a 'Celebrity Swears' routine featuring pre-recorded Fringe comedians on screen is good fun.

It’s when Donald reverts to more generic stand-up or storytelling that disappointment kicks in – take away the swearwords and much of the comedy is not particularly strong. However, if you want to shout the c-word out loud with a bunch of strangers while learning why it’s so notorious, this is for you. 

Simon Donald's School of Swearing, The Stand 2, until 26 Aug, 10.30pm, £8/£7 http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/simon-donald-s-school-of-swearing