Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

With a fairly traditional approach to sketch, Quirks and Foibles are not reinventing the wheel. But their show –  family-friendly without talking down – hits the right notes, with the trio’s jolly energy keeping things playful and collegial, with even the audience feeling included.

The bingo component contributes to that. We are given a dabber and a card listing six possible sketches, to be ticked off if that scene is selected by the tombola device. 

It means the audience get invested quickly – perhaps a little too much, at first, as discussion on completing the cards proves a distraction as the trio try to get the scenes under way. And that’s before one of the dabbers fell apart, leaking orange ink all over one poor woman – though, to be fair, that probably doesn’t happen every night.

The connection the comics make means that when Katie Bennett announces she’s not in a particular sketch, there’s a sympathetic ‘awww’. And when the others, Amy McCann and Amelia Stephenson, say they are, a cheerful ‘yay!’

The random element shakes things up for the team and, of course, means the sketches mentioned here might not be the ones you see. But the opener was a perfect curtain-raiser for their sense of humour, imagining what horrors would ensue if It’s Raining Men were literal. While it’s easy to see how events are going to unfold is going once it’s set up, the pacing is on point with a few half-twists to keep it fresh.

A couple of scenes talk to women’s tendency to be passive and apologetic in the workplace – though the message was so obvious they really didn’t need to explicitly point it out afterwards. Meanwhile, the big red button skit mulls a moral dilemma before paying off with a flippant punchline.

They can be silly, but in limited amounts. Dr  Cheesestring-Fingers is exactly what you’re picturing, but the execution makes it fun. Longer skits – by which I mean a couple of minutes – are interspersed with quickies that don’t outstay their welcome, even if you might get ahead of them in a couple of instances, the cowboy skit especially.

Their gregarious personalities make everything rather delightful. And, adorably, they bring a small child on stage for one scene, adding to the school nativity vibes it was already giving. 

If I was to say this was a ‘nice’ show it would sound like faint praise, but it’s defined by wholesome good humour in a way that doesn’t feel cheesy or naff. Nice can be underrated.

• Chortle’s coverage of sketch and multi-character acts at the Edinburgh Fringe is supported by (but not influenced by) the Seven Dials Playhouse. Read more

Review date: 10 Aug 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall