Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

If anyone can explain why Scottish Bard Rabbie Burns would have got a kick out of Top Man’s changing rooms, it’s Christopher MacArthur-Boyd, who also manages to find a convincing link between Batman Returns and Woolworths.

The likeable Glaswegian stand-up devotes some of this fast-moving hour to things that are a bit shit right now. It would take significantly longer than 60 minutes (days, perhaps) to cover them all, so among the topics he selects are the closures of high-street shops, sharing some beautifully observed memories and cracking descriptions of ghastly garments along the way.

In the hands of a less skilled comic, the differences between Edinburgh and Glasgow – the ‘blood feud’, as he puts it – might risk being a little predictable, but CMB approaches it with originality and a sharp twist of rudeness that nobody could have seem coming.

He also has a refreshing angle on the uncomfortable truths about JK Rowling, whose books have been a profitable draw for tourists in Scotland’s capital. It’s a real shame she’s poisoned Edinburgh’s legacy with transphobia, he says, because it’s going to be much harder selling Trainspotting merch to children.  

The apparent contradictions within Macarthur-Boyd are a big part of his appeal. He’s a guy who’s adored and emulated American stand-ups since he was very young, and his on-stage manner, honed over more years than you might imagine, given his youthful appearance, is laid-back, friendly and in charge. A potential street bully might well have called him ‘the specciest cunt I’ve ever seen’ but CMB, sharp as a scalpel, will later point out that specciness is binary, calling back to that joke with something even better later on.

Scary Times is peppered with some incredible true stories, and ends with the best idea for ethical zoos I’ve ever heard. Scotland is producing some compelling young comics right now, with CMB chief among them. He makes a 60-minute show look like a doddle.

Review date: 25 Aug 2023
Reviewed by: Ashley Davies
Reviewed at: Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron)