Danielle Walker @ Assembly George Square

Danielle Walker's first hour at the Edinburgh Fringe is a generous, warm show rooted in family, told with love and laughs

Review by Polly Glynn | 12 Aug 2022
  • Danielle Walker

You could be easily mistaken that Danielle Walker’s debut Fringe show, Nostalgia, treads the all-too familiar first show territory of ‘let me tell you all about my weird, quirky upbringing’. For Walker though, she invites you into her family home (her backdrop is a wood-panelled living room with a huge Billy Bass talking fish and a shelf crammed with family photos), tells you to sit down, put your feet up and readies you for a family get-together with the loved ones you really should make an effort to see more.

Walker really does have a wild family – her mother who loves deadly creatures, her father who exclusively buys presents at charity balls, her Nana who lives for the drama and her kind, eccentric Grandad. Each has their own story to tell and with that, absurd rug-pulls that no one could predict. She describes each family member with such love, highlighting their flaws and their assets so vividly, they could easily be stood shoulder to shoulder with her on the stage. The home videos (those dusty and those newly-recorded) only add to making these people heartachingly familiar.

Her descriptions aren’t limited to people either. One standout moment sees a memorial video made of her dearly departed dog, whilst another comes from Walker making a memento of a different deceased canine – this time lounging on his favourite mode of transport.

Smart writing prickles under Nostalgia’s surface, ensuring the hour never becomes cloyingly sentimental. It also means that when the tearjerking climax of the show comes (and you know it’s coming from a long way off), you still fall for it hook, line and sinker. Walker’s debut is a heartwarming, hilarious hour, steeped in additional poignancy after the pandemic tore families apart.


Danielle Walker: Nostalgia, Assembly George Square Studios (Studio Four), until 28 Aug (not 15), 3.35pm, £9.50-11.50