Fiona Allen @ Gilded Balloon Teviot

It feels wholly unnecessary to list Fiona Allen’s extensive and impressive career, but then it also borders on illegal to not at least mention her Emmy Award-winning and sketch-comedy genre-defining TV show Smack the Pony, which ran from 1999-2003 and is responsible for many a Fringe show. Smack the Pony is also responsible, in this case, for the general sense of camaraderie the crowd feels as Allen walks onto stage for her sophomore Fringe hour White Lies. It’s like meeting up with a good friend who is a bracingly funny and sharp storyteller. 

And that’s what we get. Allen sets the scene – it’s the morning before a house party from one of her insufferable neighbours, and Allen does not want to go. She must construct a lie to excuse her absence; one that’s serious enough to evade further questioning, but not one that her husband will immediately out her for. The story is linear, but Allen’s mind certainly isn’t, and the long meandering, completely endearing digressions she takes us on make up the bulk of the show’s charm.

There aren’t many bits or obvious set-up/punchline formats, but Allen’s north-western dulcet tones, teamed with the occasional eyebrow quirk or knowing look at the audience, make the sarcasm-heavy, withering reports of her neighbours husband and son hilarious nonetheless. There’s also a small section on Franco – yes, Spanish dictator Franco – that Allen delivers in an impression of her Spanish mother, which has the audience eating out of the palm of her hand. 

This is a warming, familiar show; a simple story, told by an exceptionally funny woman, with a satisfying finish to boot. 

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Fiona Allen: White Lies, Gilded Balloon Teviot (Dining Room), until 29 Aug (not 17), 6pm, £16.50/£15.50