Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

In Me Me Me, Brennan Reece makes a play of defying the conventions of the Fringe show. A disciple of the ‘a joke’s a joke’ school of comedy, he wants to keep things simple. No message, no personal journey, no vulnerability, no soapboxing – just the straightforward gags that he has always prized so highly for their magical ability to bind us together.

He’s being a little disingenuous, as almost all hour-long shows require some storytelling architecture to hold the audience’s attention, and this is no exception. The ultra-likeable Mancunian frames this show as being about the joke that got him cancelled – or at least dropped from a CBBC job he had landed – prompting a mental trawl through all his past material to ascertain what it could possibly be.

Reece’s take on offence in comedy is simplistic. He figures that he’s not going to worry about causing upset since everyone’s got a different sense of humour, and it’s impossible to second-guess what will trigger people. But every comic has a sense of what they can say in their persona and to their audience, honed by experience. And we all know jokes that can be used to divide more than unite.

In Reece’s case, the persona is cheeky and mischievous. He’s a winningly flippant figure, camply but affectionately mocking those he targets. It makes him a great MC, and he deploys some of those skills here to fine effect, such as characterising one punter as a far-right thug and directing impish sly asides to him throughout.

Reece has an appealing energy, open and upbeat. You understand why the children’s TV executives would have been drawn to that enthusiasm, even as he graphically acts out the sex act he caught his flatmates in the throes of.

He doesn’t aim especially high – other routines revolve around dating apps and trying to suck his own dick – but the plethora of knob gags, and occasionally something a little more classy, are delivered with devilry. 

Spontaneous and cheery, Reece forms an easy connection with his audience, but while he champions the frivolous, he’s also missing out on the possibility of kicking the show into a higher gear.

Review date: 13 Aug 2024
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett