By Edinburgh Fringe comedian Em Stroud

In a world full of social media and viral clips, never has the craft of comedy and storytelling been more important.  Viral clips are useful to help promote us, our work and our shows at Edinburgh and beyond.  This is how we can be seen, get noticed and entice people into our various venues.  However when it comes to a full one-hour show – these moments, these clips will not be enough to sustain the audience.

A couple of years ago I was up at the festival and I went to g see a show by a new act, someone who has gone viral on TikTok and their popularity meant that they were in a big venue and were selling out.  This is of course what we all hope for.

However while watching their show I became quickly aware that the show had some amazing moments (some of which what had led them to go viral) but overall the hour was just that – great little moments.  I felt for them – they were quite young and although they had talent, but the viral fame had meant they were doing a big show in a big venue without the craft and the depth of storytelling. The reviewers agreed with me and I noticed that they are not at Edinburgh this year.

Comedy, in all its guises, requires us as performers and writers to think about nuance, rhythms and beats in a show – as my director said after my Edinburgh preview – there was still more space for the corners in between the chapters.  Let the story land. 

For an hour show to be full, rewarding and captivating we must as performers take the time to allow our content to breathe. The beats, the pauses that make things funny have to be held – this does not mean that we do not play with the audience and improvise – far from it – however when we do that around a well thought-through script and show there can be real magic.

I know we all have different paces that we work at and different ways of constructing our shows – but I am yet to discover anyone who is truly successful who does not think about the narrative arc, the structure and flow – this has to be at the heart of a full-length show. If we are trying to only capture the 15 second attention span then surely that is no more than an effective joke being told.  

I am no way anti socials or creating clips, but I am really in favour of spending more time developing the craft of storytelling and indeed the performance side of it.  Learning from different fields has put me in good stead – from improvising for decades, to clowning and from learning about traditional story telling methods – all have helped me develop my show.  I truly believe that this is the work and that the audiences feel the depth of this understanding of the craft.  

Comedy matters now more than ever. In a world where there is so much hardship, us as performers are needed and we need to be upping our game. People are choosing to leave their houses and come and see us.  It is up to us as performers, storytellers to ensure that we make sure their night out is a memorable experience.  

This skill, this craft is what makes us human and in the world of AI, screens, Netflix etc really being able to demonstrate all the craft you have is what makes us memorable.  We are more than just an online clip – we want to have online clips that fit in a far bigger picture, one of skill, heart, expertise and care.  

When we can harness both, then we are really holding the future of comedy very safely in our hands.

• Em Stroud: Navigating Life is on at C Alto at 14:50 until August 23

Published: 15 Aug 2026