Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

In the dankest dungeon of the Banshee Labyrinth, Ruth Hunter is carving out a name for herself as one of the spookiest debuts at the Fringe – although this is not the fantastical character-based piece you might be expecting based on the poster. 

Introducing herself with a slightly overfamiliar clowning device (the old ‘voiceover that takes against the performer’ gag), this Glasgow-based Irishwoman embarks on a short show that leans surprisingly heavily on traditional stand-up.

As a writer she has a unique voice, one that slides regularly into fantasy, mixing observational material with stuff about the mould demon in her shower or a dialogue between the mites that live in her eyes. It’s a little spooky, and a little cute, like a Tim Burton character, and Hunter herself could almost be a Burton drawing, with huge eyes and a retro wave in her hair.

A running thread is that Hunter is being haunted by a mysterious presence in her flat, an idea that she returns to via readings from a diary, which work well to set the tone, and occasional songs which are much less memorable. 

None of it works quite as well as the straighter stand-up, which has a number of good lines, and gets onto some interesting topics such as ethical lesbian massage porn and the preoccupation of the medical community with female fertility.

It’s not always clear how well the spookiness is serving her. It comprises most of the weaker parts of her set and sits slightly awkwardly alongside the other stuff, but also gives her a distinctive personality in a crowded field. Who else could you go to for a line like ‘I’m pansexual actually. Oh, like that crab witch who lives at the beach’?

My instinct would be that she needs to go deeper into the persona; commit to scaring us more. Around the 35-minute mark, she reveals that the haunting is a protracted metaphor for mental illness. Can we have one protracted metaphor this festival which isn’t self-consciously called out and explained? Maybe we did and I missed it.

And then, a minute later, the show is over. While advertised as a full and finished hour, the show currently runs to around 40 minutes, maybe less, and is described by Hunter as a work in progress. That might be a plus for anyone sitting through multiple hour-long shows every day. It’ll be fascinating to see how this act develops; the potential is unmistakeable.

• Ruth Hunter and the Ruth-hunter is on at PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth at 7pm

Review date: 16 Aug 2022
Reviewed by: Tim Harding
Reviewed at: PBH's Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth