Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

It’s been five years since Carl Donnelly was last at the Fringe and much has changed. He’s now a middle-aged stay-at-home dad splitting his time between London and Australia. 

He also, during the pandemic, discovered that he had been mistakenly living as a bald man for five years, although most of that stuff doesn’t feature particularly heavily in his new show, which is one part fatherhood, one part reflecting on his career, and about seven parts maintenance of the groin area as a man in your 40s.

While a few of his observations on topics such as polyamory or doctors’ receptionists may have been doing the rounds for a while during his absence, it’s not really an issue for Donnelly, any appreciation of whom must begin with his personal style. The man is just such good company: so gentle, witty and urbane without being remotely unapproachable. 

His comic warmth could fill the Sydney Opera House – and actually has done just last year while supporting Kevin Bridges in one of the bigger gigs of his life. Given his natural companionability, it’s not surprising that he was one of the first UK comedians to get into podcasting; he started out in the mid-2000s at the same time as Adam and Joe, and has been going ever since.

The back half of this show is dedicated primarily to extended stories about ball-hair removal and his first prostate exam, the latter a conscious mirroring of a Billy Connolly routine that was influential to him as a kid. In Donnelly’s hands, as you’d expect, it’s a buttery smooth storytelling experience carrying a gentle admonishment to take care of ourselves better and treat ourselves well.

Never one for unnecessary dramatics, Donnelly tells us that his ‘message’ for this show is that he’feels  quite chill in middle age’ and that he is ‘mentally well’.

What a welcome and sweet change of pace from the Fringe’s perennial production of maladies and complaints, and emblematic of Donnelly’s work – feelgood in the most unforced way possible.

Review date: 15 Aug 2024
Reviewed by: Tim Harding
Reviewed at: Pleasance Courtyard