Edinburgh Fringe 2019: Comedy writers' picks

Ahead of this year's Edinburgh Fringe, some of our comedy writers pick out their highlights

Feature by The Skinny Comedy Team | 18 Jul 2019

Yasmin Hackett's Fringe picks

Janine Harouni

Harouni’s making her debut as a solo act this Fringe. Coming off the back of award-winning sketch group Muriel (warmly reviewed by The Skinny in 2017), we’re predicting good things from her political brand of stand-up.
Stand Up with Janine Harouni (Please Remain Seated), Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker 3), until 25 Aug (not 13), 5.45pm, £9-12

Felix and the Scootermen

The Hoosiers (yep, The Hoosiers, as in the band which were the epitome of 2007 music) are doing a debut sketch show. It’s called Felix and the Scootermen: Self-Help Yourself Famous. I can’t say whether it’ll actually be good but it’s The Hoosiers. You’ve been warned.
Felix and the Scootermen: Self-Help Yourself Famous, Underbelly Bristo Square (Friesian), until 25 Aug (not 10), 4.40pm, £10-12


Thomas Hamill's Fringe picks

Linda

Andrew Sim has been cracking up audiences with his Linda character act at Project X, Monkey Barrel’s alternative comedy night, over the past year. A (presumably) eastern European Babushka, poking at things that we might not want poked, it promises to be as uncomfortable as it is unfunny.
Linda: Easy Killing, Laughing Horse @ Bar 50 (Marquee), until 25 Aug (not 7, 14, 21), 5.30pm, Free/PWYW

Amelia Bayler

Amelia’s been smashing it on the Scottish comedy scene with her trademark Emotional Bangers. Whether it’s the uses of tupperware, someone defecating in her stair or ice lollies, Amelia seems to have a banger for everything. Her light-hearted tunes and casual delivery make for a great comedic pick-me-up.
Amelia Bayler Presents: Emotional Bangers, Mirth Meltdown @ 52 Canoes (The Den), until 26 Aug (not 14), 12.30pm, Free/PWYW


Charlie Ralph's Fringe picks

Lucy Pearman

Lucy Pearman has been all sorts of things at the Fringe. The Gaulier-trained clown has performed as horses, sealions, eggs, worms and more. This year, the endlessly-inventive performer subverts her formula simply by performing as Lucy Pearman, a very funny woman who apparently has baggage.
Lucy Pearman: Baggage, Monkey Barrel Comedy (Monkey Barrel 4), until 25 Aug (not 13, 14), 4.30pm, £8/PWYW

Bec Hill

One of Britain’s foremost punmasters, Bec Hill packs a conceptual punch behind her gags with this trip through time she initially deemed as far too elaborate to bring to the Fringe. A skilled stalwart and guaranteed joy to watch, Hill is the cult success always deserving to break through.
Bec Hill: I'll Be Bec, Pleasance Dome (10 Dome), until 25 Aug (not 13), 5.40pm, £7-10


Rob Young's Fringe picks

John Kearns

Don’t let the silly wig and glasses fool you into thinking that this is broad Saturday tea-time fodder: Kearns is the master of the mundane, finding subtle intricacy in many a tiresome tale. He takes observational comedy to the quantum realm.
John Kearns: Double Take and Fade Away, Monkey Barrel (Monkey Barrel 3), until 24 Aug, 4.45pm, £9/PWYW

Candy Gigi

If Barbara Streisand ever starred in The Rocky Horror Show, you might end up with something like Candy Gigi’s latest: a grotesque potion of Jewish angst and gross-out comedy, seasoned with belting show tunes. Fearless and original, perhaps a star (of David) is born.
Candy Gigi: Friday Night Sinner, Monkey Barrel (Monkey Barrel 5), until 25 Aug (not 12, 20), 8.35pm, £7/PWYW


James McColl's Fringe picks

Simon Munnery

I'm yet to see Munnery’s Alan Parker, so when I heard that he was bring him back it shot to the top of my list of shows to see. If you missed this first time round then make sure to catch Munnery performing his iconic character, guaranteed to be a sweet lil' treat.
Simon Munnery: Alan Parker Urban Warrior Farewell Tour, The Stand (Stand 1), until 26 Aug (not 12), 3.20pm, £10-12

Best In Class

A collection of Working Class comics hosted by organiser/ MC Sian Davies. For whatever reason, showcases often get overlooked. This one shouldn't. Great group of acts last time so I can't wait to see who Sian Davies brings this year.
Best in Class, Laughing Horse @ Counting House (The Loft), until 25 Aug, 3.30pm, Free/PWYW

Paul Currie

He has two shows this year! One's a family show (Release the Baboons) which I can not wait to see! I'll often see Currie's show mid-way through August as a sort of spiritual and mental cleansing from the chaos of the fringe. Can't recommend enough.
Paul Currie: Trufficle Musk, Heroes @ Hive (The Big Cave), until 25 Aug (not 7, 14, 21), 9pm, £5/PWYW; Release the Baboons, Heroes @ Boteco (Basement), until 25 Aug (not 7, 14-15, 19-22), 12pm, £5/PWYW

Rose Matafeo

If like me, you were silly enough to miss her last year (or you didn't come up to the Fringe), then you'll have a second chance to see her award-winning 2018 show. Pumped.
Rose Matafeo: Horndog, Pleasance Courtyard (Beyond), 20-24 Aug, 9.30pm, £13-15


Johnny Owens' Fringe picks

Katharyn Henson

Katharyn Henson offers up an hour of bizarre and outrageous stories from her unconventional upbringing and her later life before eventually stepping out into the world of comedy. Ew Girl, You Nasty promises to take the phrase “You couldn’t make this shit up” to its logical extreme.
Ew Girl, You Nasty, Laughing Horse @ Golf Tavern (Upstairs), until 25 Aug (not 6, 13, 20), 7.15pm, Free/PWYW

Christopher KC

“No, but where are you from originally?” Christopher KC comes to the Fringe to provide some of his always pitch-black and often profound thoughts and meditations on racism and what it’s like growing up as a minority in Glasgow.
Christopher KC: Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Rice, Gilded Balloon at Old Tolbooth Market (Bothy), until 25 Aug (not 12), 4.15pm, £6

Liam Malone

Malone presents an hour of darkly funny tales about the ups, downs, trials and tribulations he’s experienced throughout his life and as a Paralympic athlete. From welfare to gold medals, Liam has seen it all, and it’s time we listened.
Liam Malone: No Limbits, Gilded Balloon at Old Tolbooth Market (Bottom), until 25 Aug (not 13), 7.45pm, £6

Zach Zimmerman

Zimmerman’s debut hour long show with a candid, vulnerable discussion about growing up in the American South to devout Christian parents before moving to New York, only to find as much prejudice and pain as he tried to escape from at home. Except this to be anything but clean.
Zach Zimmerman: Clean Comedy, Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose (Dram), until 26 Aug (not 19), 10.45pm, £8.50-10.50