Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

With some excellent one-liners, Mark Simmons regularly charts in the annual ‘jokes of the Fringe’ lists, with his finest worthy of mention alongside the output of Tim Vine or Gary Delaney.

The challenge for any such comic is to give some form and texture to the gags, lest they suffer diminishing returns as the audience tire of an unyielding format.

In this work in progress, mild-mannered Simmons has a few tricks to vary the pace, tending to unleash a string of three or four punchlines, then relax a little to let them sink in before the next volley.

An unassuming presence, he is not the most dynamic of performers but he engages well with the audience. His vast back catalogue ensures he has a gag for every occasion, so can ask about people’s jobs or hobbies and be ready with a punny comeback. Sometimes, more widespread crowd responses are required for extended set-ups, which make the jokes all the sweeter as we’re never quite sure where he’s heading.

A flip-chart on stage shows the subject he’s going to cover – travel, jobs, being lazy, new jokes, relationships – which conceals a few extra gags; while the work-in-progress element is serviced with a clipboard of 90 gags. We give a number, he tells the joke, then decides if it’s a keeper. The hit rate’s not bad, and none truly fail.

Nothing’s too autobiographical - sometimes he’ll have a girlfriend for the sake of gags, sometimes he’ll be single, and he mentions in passing that he has the digestive condition Crohn's disease. But this is not about him, it’s all about the wordplay – and you get plenty of that for your buck here.

• Mark Simmons – One-Linerer: Work in Progress is on at the Gilded Balloon Teviot at 9pm tonight.

Review date: 25 Aug 2021
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Gilded Balloon Teviot