Emmy Blotnick @ Underbelly Bristo Square

Emmy Blotnick emanates charm and likeability from the moment she steps on stage. With such effortless presence it would be easy for her to adopt a more arrogant persona; instead she talks the audience through her various anxieties and neuroses in an Edinburgh debut the New York native can be proud of.

Blotnick is at turns endearing and edgy. We get an insight into her experiences of New York's 'dance like Beyoncé classes' but also her sexual fantasies about Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. She tells straightforwardly funny anecdotes mined from her Jewish heritage but also includes a “butt fingering joke” as she baldly puts it when interrupted by latecomers mid-flow. She deals with these moments of spontaneity effortlessly, responding to audience reactions with quick wit and good nature.

The comedy here is candid, gimmick-free stand-up and Blotnick is clearly at home in this environment. The audience are put immediately at ease and Blotnick’s storytelling ability and laidback manner create a comfortable environment where we trust her to guide us through a relaxed hour in which the laughs come thick and fast. 

Content-wise, there isn’t anything especially new here – Blotnick talks through life as a Jewish, millennial New Yorker as others have before her and surely will again. It’s her manner that sets her apart and her perfectly pitched observations that keep the energy and laughter levels high. Audiences will leave feeling like they’d like to be her friend, and to some extent, like they already are. 

Party Nights is a self-assured Edinburgh debut from a woman who we sense won’t run out of side-splitting anecdotes to tell any time soon. 

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Emmy Blotnick: Party Nights, Underbelly Bristo Square (Buttercup), until 26 Aug (not 13), 7.55pm, £9.50-11.50