Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

James Trickey has a high-impact start, performing with the swagger of a rapper as he tries to convince us accountancy’s where it’s at. ‘Galdem love it,’ he boasts, tongue-in-cheek.

The joke is clearly the disconnect between the bulletproof self-assurance and the reality of him being a spreadsheet-loving geek. Thing is, he really does have an on-stage confidence. The ‘blam, blams’ he emits after some of his puns are simultaneously ironic and effective.

The aplomb comes at the expense of the authentic, to some extent, with his slick technical skills giving him a veneer we don’t always see behind. Similarly, the writing’s solid and efficient, with plenty of decent jokes coming out at quite a lick, without delving too deeply. 

The best of them draw on his mixed heritage, with a father who’s white and a mother a significantly younger woman from Cambodia who spoke no English while Trickey was growing up. He jokes that we best not ask too many questions about how they got together, though there’s obviously a story there. Maybe next year.

Sensitive as to what race-based material is acceptable for him to do, the comedian draws on his financial background to apply a data-driven approach to determine where the line lies. That’s how his mum’s accent comes to be Japanese. 

Meanwhile, his 85-year-old father provides some good material thanks to the home-made birthday cards he knocks off on the computer, unencumbered by technical expertise or artistic vision. 

Some of Trickey’s other observational material lands squarely in the relatable camp such as his love of tomato puree. Others turn to his mathematical background, with a rather dry segment based on the probability of dice rolls and a get-rich-quick scheme based on the Subway loyalty card. However, this is one of the weakest sections as it’s likely to alienate the layman and bring out the pedant in the numerate, even though the flaws are partially the point of the joke.

Still, Don’t Count on Me is an assured debut, suggesting Trickey’s decision to throw away that secure accountancy job for a fickle career in comedy wasn’t all that rash after all. Especially as putting performance above content has worked wonders for quite a few of our most successful comedians…

Review date: 17 Aug 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Pleasance Courtyard