Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Dylan Dodds has come up with an interesting format for this show - the clue being in the title. He opens with a self-deprecating joke and some light crowd-work involving déjà vu, and within about ten minutes he repeats the sequence, with minor variations.

With the help of a bubble machine (he says his snow machine broke), mini-bursts of nostalgic music, and a truckload of puns and one-liners, he sucks us into his time loop. Each time he brings us back to the start, the jokes about his haircut and the toying with specific wordplay and nicknames (there’s an unforgettable J-Lo-style contraction of his first name and surname) change a little until we’re finally eased into the message he wishes to convey. 

At the heart of it, the show is about family, specifically marriage, the panic around new fatherhood and mental health, though he does touch upon having lived with his mother (his 'landlord and stylist') during Covid. 

The pipette’s worth of material about mental health could be intriguing but he chooses not to develop it, which contributes to satisfaction feeling slightly out of reach for this show.

Dodds perks things up with a few sight gags that begin with wordplay on fans and climax with a fun and surprising impression. It’s a likeable, gentle hour, with much to commend it, but it would benefit from stronger jokes and more protein in the message. 

Review date: 8 Aug 2024
Reviewed by: Ashley Davies
Reviewed at: Just the Tonic at The Mash House