Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

‘Just remember I’m very brave,’ says Matt Forde, wryly referring to the cancer at the base of his spine that was diagnosed at the end of last year’s Fringe. In the past 12 months he’s undergone major surgery which has left him with lasting issues below the waist and requires him to take to the stage with a walking stick. Still, considering the alternative outcome, he counts himself very lucky indeed.

He shares a little about this, in his typically congenial, matter-of-fact way, including some aspects of his daily life now that may make you wince. But though this is fascinating and relayed with self-effacing wit, it is not the bulk of the show. Details are only occasionally scattered though the hour, building up a picture of what happened.

Instead, he’d much rather talk about what he’s always preferred talking about: politics (well, football too, but that’s out of the scope of The End of An Era). And that, too, has experienced quite the eventful year. So how does a centre-leftist cope with satirising the government he supports? With a little bit of difficulty, truth be told. He mentions how ‘amazing’ Angela Rayner is. And yes Rachel Reeves is a bit boring, but that’s good after the tumult of the past 14 years. 

The knife only goes in as far as to put forward the none-too-controversial opinion that Ed Milliband’s a bit weird, and even Keir Starmer’s unemotive tight-lipped voice is seen as an asset, with Forde amusingly reimagining it as the enigmatic, intimidating tones of a gangster in a 1990s Cockney thriller.

This is where his main strength lies, in only slightly exaggerated impersonations of political figures close enough to be mistaken for the real thing. Not for nothing was he one of the voices in the Spitting Image reboot.

He gets Rishi Sunak’s strangely animated energy just right, with a memorable comparison, imagines a woke version of Nigel Farage in a stand-out routine,  and highlights the mannered political thuggery of Lee Anderson. Labour may be in power but Forde’s political opponents are still knocking about, more toxic than ever.

A voracious political anorak, Forde can get to the nub of an issue succinctly, such as his takedown of the ailing SNP. And he’s palpably excited by the American presidential race, whatever the impact of the turmoil on the world. With his mockery of Donald Trump’s non-sequiturs drifting off into reverie, it’s hard to know what’s true and what’s satire.

Ad hominem attacks are the way impressionists make their points, and Forde is shrewd in this manner of topical comedy. On a comedy circuit where political commentary is vanishingly rare, the affable comic will wittily bring you up to speed on what’s been going on. 

Review date: 25 Aug 2024
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Pleasance Courtyard