Marjolein Robertson picks her comedy favourites

Marjolein Robertson is back at the Edinburgh Fringe with Lein, the third part of her trilogy combining personal story with Sheltand mythology. Here she picks her Perfect Playlist of comedy favourites.

Outrageous Fortune

This is actually a drama comedy – a Kiwi show that ran from 2005 to 2011 – and it is my favourite show of all time. It is the blend of humour and dark that makes it so realistic. 

As a heads-up, there are definitely moments and word choices that have not aged well, but also, this is a show where characters are not perfect, often heavily flawed. 

The very premise of the show is that it’s a family of career criminals trying to go straight and failing spectacularly, often on purpose. I’ve never seen before a show that when something rough happens, it sticks, it grates at a character's soul. It’s so good. And above all. It’s so funny. 

Michelle Wolf: It’s Great To Be Here

My favourite comedian. She’s incredible. Hilarious and quick. She is the GOAT. She truly is. 

And if you want to see her mastery of writing and delivery, watch her speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2018 where she absolutely destroyed Trump and his administration. She gives it to them. They hate it. The room turns against her. But her delivery continues to slap. 

The Young Ones

After watching this, I couldn’t wait to go to uni to set fire to my flatmate’s beds, tear through the walls on a wrecking ball and kick the head of an opponent on University Challenge. 

Genuinely started watching this when I didn’t realise what surreal was. I was young, was used to cartoons. Then I was allowed to stay up and watch this and I thought all TV would be like this.  How boring other shows seem.

Fun fact: every episode they have a musical guest and you can often think ‘why’? Well the stunts they wanted in their show were so expensive the realised if they proposed this show as a variety show, rather than sitcom, they could get a much higher budget. So they just added a musical act in every episode to tick that box. There’s always a way round for more money. More money to destroy your own set. 

Limmy’s Show

One of my favourite pastimes is showing this to folk outwith Scotland. It’s universally funny. But also, sometimes, deeply disturbing. And it’s great to watch the confusion on their faces. 

I remember when I was a student in Edinburgh, sitting on the couch in my flat next to a girl who was visiting from England. She had just arrived that night and joined me to watch telly. It was Limmy’s Show and one sketch from this show of a nonce just staring at the camera. Till it cuts to Limmy shouting ‘beast’. I’ll never forget the look of fear in that girl’s eyes. 

[That clip’s not online, so here’s another]

Live At The Apollo

I was really starved of watching regular stand-up gigs when living in Shetland so this was my lifeline of seeing comedians. Choosing this is also a very good way to give a nod to lots of comedians in one go (it would have been even cleverer if I hadn’t just written that bit highlighting what I’ve done here). 

I lived off the sets on this. And there was always the excitement of discovering something new. I’ll never forget me and my sister actually on the floor laughing at Katherine Ryan’s first appearance. This was the lifeline for comedy I clung onto for years. 

A therapist

Not for why you think. It’s not for therapy. 

It’s because every time I’ve ever spoken to a therapist they have encouraged me to talk about traumatic and harrowing situations and I’m like: ‘OMG this is a goldmine for stand-up.’

 And they’re like, ‘No Marjolein you need to continue and heal’ And I’m like: ‘No you’re too expensive and if I heal too much I won’t desperately need the adoration of strangers and thus stop doing stand-up.’

There’s really a fine line to how much therapy I can have to mine for gold and then stop before I am happy enough to quit. 

• Marjolein Robertson: Lein is on at Pleasance Dome at 8.20pm during the Edinburgh Fringe

Published: 10 Aug 2025