Wordplay rules for these festival comedians

Forget the Edinburgh Comedy Awards shortlist, THIS is the list some comedians really want to be on…

1. Milton Jones: Ha!Milton

Of course, the wild-haired Mock The Week loon takes the top slot with this delightful bit of wordplay – even if it does mean the show blurb has to start: ‘This is not a musical…’  Still, with a stand-up show like this, you’ll want to be in the room where it happens.

 Assembly Hall, 7pm, August 12 to 25

2, Sleeping with the Yemeni: Mike Eshaq

Born in Detroit to Yemeni immigrants from Indonesia, this former US Marine certainly chose the best part of his background for his show title.

Just The Tonic Legends. 1.55pm, August 1 to 25

3.  Vlad Ilich: Vladislav, Baby Don't Hurt Me

Extra points for wordplay in a second language. Ilich, pictured, is surely the only North Macedonian comic at the Fringe, and his show’s about chess, not 1990s Eurodance. But some puns are too good to pass up.

Pleasance Courtyard, 8.30pm, July 31 to August 25.

4. David Eagle: The Eagle Is Candid

Another name-based pun – a genre we all return to – but this one has the advantage of actually begin relevant to the the topic as the award-winning blind comedian and folk singer shares true stories about faith healers and escaping arrest after an accordion-based antisocial incident.

Just The Tonic At Cabaret Voltaire, 9.30pm, August 1 to 25.

5. Philip Simon: Shall I Compere Thee In A Funny Way

OK, a bit of a strain this one, but you have to admire that, in a way. Simon came second in the UK Pun Championships 2020 and is one of those comics who’s done well out of crowdwork videos online. So why not combine both in this show, which is heavy on the audience chat. 

PBH's Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 8.55pm, August 3 to 18.

6.  Mark Row: A* in the Making – Revision Lesson

One of the best ever Edinburgh anecdotes is the late Jason Wood received a dismal one-star review from critic Kate Copstick, then plastered the words ‘A star: The Scotsman’ across his posters the very next day. Well, teacher-turned-stand-up Mark Row has cracked an educational version of the same pun for his hour of tales from the classroom. 

Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 6.15pm, August 1 to 25.

7. Ryan Cullen: Cullen In The Name Of

Second only to Ilich in the ‘turn your name into a song title’ wordplay, the Irish comic edges out Ryan Mold’s Mold Before I Die and Raul Kholi’s Raul Britannia.

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 10.15pm, July 31 to August 26

8. Will Shea, Won't Shea?

What came first, the pun or the idea Anglo-American comic Shea Stanley orchestrates the one-woman romantic comedy of her dreams, inspired by will-they-won't-they relationships like  Harry and Sally, or Ross and Rachel… 

C Aurora,  2.15pm, July 31 to August 25.

10. Shaman You 

As a mindreader and ‘sceptic psychic’, Ian Harvey Stone is something of a shaman, right? Close enough for the title of this show, which mixes his mentalist talents with anecdotes w about living in LA, squirrel theology and his psychic nan.

Laughing Horse @ Eastside, 4.35pm 

Honourable mentions:
Marc Jennings: Marcsism
Neil Delamere: Neil by Mouth
Gearóid Farrelly: Gearóid Rage
Tom Crosbie: I Came, I Saw, I Conq-Nerd

(And yes it does seem like punning is very much a boys’ game)

Published: 18 Jul 2024