Wonders from down under

Here are ten shows heading to the Edinburgh Fringe from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival – where they all got glowing reviews from Chortle.

Celia Pacquola: Gift Horse

It’s a show about Celia Pacquola’s boyfriend giving her an unasked-for inflatable kayak for her birthday. Weird, yes, but not the most obvious premise for a full hour. Yet she uses this domestic incident as a jumping-off point for a meticulously constructed hour of stand-up storytelling that’s relatable, compelling and joke-heavy, while offering lessons on aging and relationships you never realise you are getting. A deserved winner of the most outstanding show award at Melbourne. Chortle review

Assembly Roxy, 18:15, August 5 to 14 only

Frankie McNair: Huge Ass Mindset

Frankie McNair’s hour would have been a worthy winner, too, and as it’s her Fringe debut, don’t be surprised to find this on the best newcomer list at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. It is a show built on trauma - and we know how judges and critics love that – but there’s no poignant drop two-thirds the way in here. Instead the revelation comes up top, prefacing a raucous and refreshingly silly celebration of being a survivor, now able to crack dubious-taste jokes safe in the knowledge that all the distress truly has been overcome. The joyful show also serves as a positive example of what the community of comedians can do, after so many stories about the negatives.  Chortle review

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 19:00 

Kate Dehnert: Echo

Speaking of using comedy to get something off your chest, Kate Dehnert uses her hour as a bitter howl of righteous rage against the man who wronged her – a supposed ‘nice guy’ of the UK comedy circuit. It’s an intense but  fun romp through the years she wasted in a relationship, even slipping into a virtual rave and some points of fury. And rest assured there is comedy here too. Chortle review

Pleasance Courtyard, 19:05 

Lara Ricote: Inkling

No Aussie, but Mexican-American Lara Ricote made a splash down under. She’s known in the UK having won best newcomer at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe with a show ticking off some of the things that define her, a standard premise for a debutant. Fast forward four years and she’s got so much more complex and ambitious in a funny, tricksy show, about the unusual way she perceives the world because of her hearing issues. She’s part of the core cast of  Mitchell And Webb Are Not Helping and Sam Campbell's Make That Movie – and one of the leads in Channel 4’s upcoming comedy series Break Clause. But she’s at her creative best here, complex but funny. Chortle review

Monkey Barrel 3, 17:40

Man Sings The Same Song Over And Over Again For An Hour

The performer known as Conk does exactly what’s promised - and it’s remarkable how much mileage he gets out of it, with a different twist on each rendition. Over the hour, a collective madness takes over the audience as we all become part of this insane endeavour, cheering each time the opening cords strike up yet again. He’s trying to keep the identity of the track secret, but the 1980s banger is the perfect choice… Chortle review 

Summerhall, 19:45

Claire Hooper: Fun Show xx

She protests that she’s not the fun one in her friend group – or even in her own family. But Claire Hooper does herself a disservice, because on stage she does spread joy. Not, admittedly, with whistles and bells and in-your-face performance but with a hugely personable storytelling style that really draws the audience in, before tying her amusing yarns together into something with a bit more substance at the final knockings.

Assembly Roxy, 18:10, from August 20

Emma Holland: The Dog Dies At The Start

Yes, it’s a story about the comedian’s grief at losing her greyhound Teddy, but Emma Holland emphasises the absurd consequences of dealing with that, back in her childhood home with a very peculiar mum. This is the most disciplined show the wittily offbeat Holland has ever made, yet with plenty of room for silliness too.  Chortle review

Assembly George Square, 21:20

Dan Rath: Help Me Please

Dan Rath’s nihilist despatches from the depths of his misery and confusion are always hilarious, not in spite of his bleak world view but because of it. He has a gift to distil his observations into pithy, witty one-liners of rare originality, and they keep on coming at such a lick he has to stop every few minutes for a bit of crowd work to break up the dizzying pace.   Chortle review

Monkey Barrel Comedy at Cabaret Voltaire, 18:40

Reuben Kaye: Hard To Swallow

There are few greater showmen in comedy than Reuben Kaye (pictured)– a performer whose commanding voice has made him a genuine musical theatre star, whose innuendo reaches new heights of lasciviousness (or depths, depending on your point of view), and whose stand-up is a fiercely political cry against the intolerant. It’s a potent package. Chortle review

Assembly George Square, 20:00

Tom Ballard: Be Funny Challenge (Impossible)

As a vehement leftie and long-term Green Party supporter who’s always on the side of progressive politics, Ballard is an unlikely victim of cancel culture. But when Australia’s right-wing press – so quick to call out censorial attitudes on the other side – got hold of footage of the comedian doing a Nazi salute at a gig, they stripped it of context and called for his head. This is that story, and Ballard’s typically unrestrained response to the media’s deliberately bad-faith actions.  Chortle review 

 Monkey Barrel Comedy at O'Neill's, 16:25

Published: 7 Jul 2026