Douglas Walker @ Underbelly Bristo Square

Original, inventive one-man retelling of the Christmas myth

Review by Emma O'Brien | 14 Aug 2018

Douglas Walker’s show is an ambitious blend of comedy and theatre which seeks to reinvent the legend of Christmas in a rather more disturbing light. A host of characters, familiar and otherwise, are played seamlessly by Walker himself armed only with a jacket and an armchair. It’s an inspired idea and a high-quality piece of writing. Walker himself is an energetic and engaging performer and although we get off to a somewhat slower start than a stand-up audience may be used to, the laughs are fairly consistent and genuinely felt through the second half. Furthermore, the alternative history Walker has created becomes disturbingly plausible.

This is a bold effort and one that pays off on the whole but sits uneasily between art-forms rather than finding its way around the genre maze of the Fringe. Nevertheless, it is a clever, warm and original work. 


Douglas Walker Presents: Of Christmas Past, Underbelly Bristo Square (Clover), 1-26 Aug (not 13), 10:50pm, £6.50-11

Scroll on to read more of The Skinny's 2018 Edinburgh Fringe comedy reviews; click here for a round-up of all the best reviews from this year's comedy and theatre programmes