Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Our friends across the media landscape have questions to answer regarding the career of Jo Caulfield, who reliably pulls sizeable audiences every Fringe, receiving a regular stream of giddily keen reviews from the few critics that do visit, yet still plodding along each year very much not under the media’s watchful eye.

Is this good old-fashioned entertainment industry ageism? A result of neophilia - an industry innately focused on the search for new names: previously unheard-of next big things? Or is it a venue issue, as performing at The Stand is seen as no more likely to attract you media attention than if you stood around on Princes Street yelling at shoppers? 

Or could it be that, in 2025, there are just far too many deserving comedians fighting for coverage from fewer reviewers, as well as a much-depleted number of opportunities available to engage a mass audience via a TV industry that’s in crisis?

As usual, social media would be one answer: a medium in which Caulfield’s vicious, withering comic style should be extremely well-suited. A little more care and attention with video production and editing could prove wonders. Caulfield operates in a similar tetchy ballpark to Jen Brister, who has built a colossal audience online and now, as a result, is set to play the country’s biggest theatres on her upcoming tour.

A huge amount of food for thought then, which you’ll have plenty of time to chew over while watching Caulfield’s 2025 show Bad Mood Rising, owing to the fact that this one isn’t actually very good.

Sure, there’s some vintage Caulfield. Witness mention of the controversy about Abercrombie & Fitch being accused of only hiring attractive people, which causes Caulfield to ask if Morrisons have the exact opposite policy. There’s a peach of a line about the SNP. You’d have a hard time arguing that the reference to Sinéad O'Connor isn’t an example of making skilled comic connections. In terms of performance style, Caulfield’s mannerisms occasionally slip into an intriguing flourish immediately reminiscent of Graham Norton (for whom she has written).

There are tired elements: it tentatively feels like we might now be at the stage where comedy doesn’t need anybody else suggesting Brexit hasn’t been the excellent idea it was once presented as being. There are discussions elsewhere of people who announce undying love on Facebook, and for the ‘Netflix & Chill’ trend. A trend you might remember from, well, 2015.

At the start Caulfield welcomes us by talking about many of the other shows in town, that typically have a big theatrical arc you have to follow. ‘I don’t do that, because I have an ability to write jokes.’ What a fun - and typically brutal - line. You just usually get a lot more killer examples of them from this comic. 

Turning over a high quantity of wisecracks every Fringe must be a tricky craft. Hopefully 2026 will be a great year to pay close attention to this comedian.

Review date: 10 Aug 2025
Reviewed by: Mark Muldoon
Reviewed at: Stand 1