Jack Traynor @ Pleasance Courtyard

Jack Traynor’s explosive delivery begins the second this Fringe debut starts, and barely lets up for a packed hour of riffs on identity, aliens, and animals. And while the jokes fly thick and fast, the central theme of Traynor’s show – his family history of dementia – also manages to touch on some genuinely emotional details.

But first: is Jack Traynor the most Scottish comedian on the circuit? More than likely. He makes Groundskeeper Willie sound like Jeeves and Wooster, a shock of red hair bouncing around the room, following his riffs like a Border Collie. If there are any quibbles about the show, it would only be whether some of the more niche references land even with an Edinburgh audience, let alone an international one. The Parkhead Forge pyramids might get a laugh in Glasgow, but possibly require a bit more context at the Fringe. 

These are minor grumbles about a show which is swallowed whole by the sold-out Pleasance crowd, Traynor’s hyperactive delivery rarely dropping below 100%. It’s when he’s talking about his grandfather’s dementia that his skill as a comedian really shows, never punching down, but always finding the humour in even the bleakest of circumstances. It’s this warmth which really carries the show, the sense that the audience is laughing with Traynor and not at him, despite his outlandish appearance. There is a lengthy riff on crabs, which seems to get funnier and funnier the more carried away Traynor becomes, and it’s a show that manages to carry off an intergenerational approach to gags, running from Gen Z references to Bonnie Blue to an extended homage to Susan Boyle.

Traynor is breathless by the end of the show, and so are many of the audience. This packed hour marks him out as a comedian who you won’t forget in a hurry.   

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Jack Traynor: Before I Forget, Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker One), until 24 Aug, 9.55pm, £9-12