Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

As the Australian queen of deconstruction Zoe Coombs Marr finally takes a turn towards the personal in her latest show, perhaps it’s time for an heir apparent in the form of Reuben Solo. 

Solo’s been going since 2020 and has unsurprisingly amassed a pretty sizeable online following. This, his third show, offers nothing personal and almost no actual content, instead spending an hour playing with the format of the man, the stage and the mic. 

In his opening routine, he tells us that he’s seen us all in a prophetic dream, and has a strong urge to recreate those circumstances. ‘Except you were hiding backstage… and you introduced me… and you were actually wearing this judge’s wig,’ etc, re-enacting his own intro over and over again until we get it right. 

His second bit is a bit about all the bits that he’s skipping. You get the idea, but it really works – he’s already an expert in providing just one more wrinkle than you expect to any given scenario, and then another one, and then another one, pushing his inventive meta-premises as far as they’ll go for a laugh.

Most of his jokes have an unexpected hat put on them by his collaborator James McLennan, who operates the soundboard and plays a number of supporting characters. Their use of sound effects will be familiar to any fans of Zach Zucker’s Jack Tucker, and while Solo and McLennan’s chemistry and sheer speed doesn’t match up to the JT team, it’s used in service of routines which stand up brilliantly in their own right.

Later on, we’re visited by venue manager Creaky Joe, an audience member is questioned by the police, and Solo becomes trapped in a time loop while questioning the definition of insanity. It’s an endless, delightful bag of tricks connected only by Solo’s ambiguous presence on stage. In a man bun and Hawaiian shirt, he nevertheless comes across as cool, wry and faintly suave, displaying the calm confidence of a man who knows he has a hundred other brain-twisters up his sleeve. 

The whole thing is liable to vanish into sweet air as soon as you leave the venue, but it’s wonderful while it lasts.

Review date: 22 Aug 2024
Reviewed by: Tim Harding
Reviewed at: Just The Tonic at The Caves