Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Here’s a sobering thought, at least for me: the youngest contestant in this year’s Chortle Student Comedy Award had not yet been born when we crowned our first winner, Lloyd Langford, 21 years ago.

And it seems the full span of finalists have been getting stronger ever since, with not one of the class of 2024 feeling undeserving of their place on the big Pleasance One stage while claiming a broad range of comic styles between them.

At first, Cormac Sinnott appeared to be caught like a rabbit in the headlights as he nervously took the mic, although the cowering physicality turned out to be just a ruse: on stage, at least, he’s fully in control of his awkwardness. Though his set is a catalogue of insecurities and uncomfortable interactions, they are recalled with expert timing and artful writing to extract every gram of cringe. Plus he has a great Mario Kart hack….

As much as Sinnott was shy, Mohaimen Quaunin was confident. The Bangladeshi-born, Canadian-raised comic has a punchy style, packing in the gags with a rare determination. He talks with swagger about dope, ADHD and toilet habits – not the most boundary-pushing of topics, but plenty of solid gags, sold with force.

Anna Rae has a more laid-back conversational style, with some wry comments about her American background, culminating a skilfully constructed anecdote about a trip to a diner which boasts a nice circularity. Moving on to her hopes of finding a husband in academia and her work in AI, her tales are delivered with a low-key disarming charm.

Far more in-your-face is Jade Kelly, with a set that never moved above the belt, yet the honest personal nature of the route struck a cheeky and endearing note rather than playing the material for shock value. The Scot also had great crowdwork skills, setting up one bloke for playful embarrassment in a particularly masterful way. A confident and charismatic act who would be as much at home in a rambunctious late-night club as she is at the rarefied Fringe, Kelly took the £250 runners-up place tonight.

Equally at home in her stage persona was Caitlin Powell, describing herself as ‘pedantic and easily overwhelmed’ – so not much of a fun person to be around. That’s not the case with her stand-up, with some delightfully self-effacing anecdotes from her personal life – including a lovely euphemism for sleeping we should all adopt – and a story about talking to her male GP about periods that speaks volumes. She feels like a pro in waiting.

The same applies to Foo, the night’s winner, taking home £1,000, with an eloquent and gag-filled set primarily about his upbringing in South Africa, a county he’s proud to say has gone from being known for apartheid to having a more agricultural place on the world’s stage. An assured and pacy performer, Foo coins some strong gags to underpin his energetic delivery, taking ideas and committing to them.

Leo Hincks’s supremely self-obsessed alter-ego is blast, a narcissistic Gen Z-er, proudly proclaiming himself an actor and therefore so much better than us all. Being born premature also makes him special, in his eyes, while his compelling physical performance took in the whole stage, and then some. There’s an appealing looseness to his delivery, even if that did mean he stumbled over getting some ideas out tonight, but really the only downside is a being a bit too close in style to his namesake Leo Reich. 

Finally Oliver Moore, insistent he’s not autistic – a rare stance among young comedians desperate for neurodiverse kudos  – even if a lot of his personality traits might be consistent with such a diagnosis. He’s not a fan of sticking labels on everyone, believing that’s often a way of deluding stupid people that they are not stupid. And he should know as he identifies as such himself. He’s got amusing evidence to support that, but he’s also something of an idiot savant, concealing truths in his winningly daffy persona.

Judging was tight – and I know everyone always says that – but any number of these finalists could have taken the prize, and all can expect good careers in comedy if they pursue it.

• The final – hosted by Mark Watson – will be broadcast by NextUp tonight. Use code STUDENT10 for a 10 per cent discount on an annual subscription.

Review date: 13 Aug 2024
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Pleasance Courtyard