Sometimes you see two hours of refined, creative stand-up brilliance from two of the loveliest and most brilliant acts on the circuit today, and you are left lost for words. Monday 22nd May was very one of these days.
We’ve had some brilliant previews in our time, from newer acts trying their first hours, to more established acts trialling a new idea, from traditional stand-up hours to highly conceptual explorations of the human condition, to absolute bonkers performance fun. Because everyone’s stand-up hour is so fundamentally different, it’s hard to really compare them to each other quality wise. (And I wouldn’t want to anyway because nearly all the people we book are my friends and I don’t want any of them to stop talking to me.)
That being said, I will say that both Cerys Bradley and Hannah Platt’s shows this year are shaping up to be award-worthy Fringe comedy shows. If not even one of them is nominated for one then there is no justice in the world. We already know there’s no justice in the world, so I’ma make my own awards up now to save time.
Our first award goes to our first show of the evening, Cerys Bradley’s delightfully whimsical yet profound comedy exploration of their own parents’ divorce has got to be one of the best-structured, jaw-dropping reveals of any show I’ve ever seen. I won’t go into details while it’s still a work in progress and I absolutely don’t want to spoil the show for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. But in the broadest possible terms, every facet of Cerys’ show is carefully constructed to aid their narrative whilst also being often hysterical in its own right completely divorced from the show’s context (see what I did there?). Cerys will never talk to me again.
Cerys has an understated wit that will leave you breathless from how many directions punchlines are jumping out at you from. Add this to some really strong theming and fun, completely non-threatening interactive moments that bring the room together in the shared experience, and an earnest baring of the complex feelings and nuance around the subject, and you’ve got a show that already deserves an award in its work in progress state. I can’t wait to see how this looks once it’s even more polished, and you should definitely check it out next time they’re performing it near you.
And our second and final award tonight goes to Hannah Platt – who’s transformed what was already a solid hour of her trademarked depressed, dark, personal, deprecating tight stand-up into a near masterpiece.
Again, the theming is so strong with this one, I don’t want to spoil anything as you need to experience it for yourself, but this show is just as intensely expressed and emotive as possible, with new routines that had me howling with laughter, incredibly artistic staging choices, some setpieces which mixed up the format to keep us engaged, and honestly one of the best ending punchlines to a comedy hour I’ve ever seen. Hannah’s clearly been working hard at this since her first preview with us last year, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down yet.
Hannah Platt has always been an act exceeding at what she does. When she started on the open mic circuit she was easily one of the strongest there at the time. She had one of the tightest 10s when breaking into semi-pro middling spots. She really came into her own as she started opening up pro nights, and now she’s well on the way to becoming one of the most exciting acts in the entire country. If this show’s debut doesn’t launch her into stardom, then frankly there’s something fundamentally wrong with the comedy industry (if you can believe).
Both of these shows are superbly well constructed and performed and are two of the best things at what they’re trying to be. Blending dark introspection with hysterically funny jokes and concepts to create a perfect mesh of a comedy show that will not just leave you in hysterics but will stay rent free in many of their audiences minds for months if not years after seeing them.
Whether you’re up in Edinburgh or just see that one of them is previewing near you, you do not want to miss these two juggernauts of shows from two of the most unique, insightful and exciting voices on the circuit.
We do not have any previews in June, but we do have a brilliant line-up for our regular show featuring Jack Gleadow, Umby Winters and more – free tickets available here.
And keep your eyes peeled for our July previews TBA soon!
