Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Having traded for the last few years as one half of deadpan sketch duo Crizards, Will Rowland has followed in partner Eddy Hare’s footsteps and moved into stand-up for a piece of long-form storytelling about going for a wild swim with a group of consultants.

On the face of it, this is a classic example of a story from a comedian without a story to tell. Certainly there’s nothing particularly dramatic here, just a routine example of an experience that many of us have at some point in our 30s: a begrudging day trip, a realisation that we’re heading in different directions in life from our old friends; a realisation that that may not matter.

Rowland should be comfortable with feeling a little different: initially it was probably instilled by his mother, who wouldn’t allow him anything stimulating as a child, including video games, TV or fizzy water, perhaps inevitably leading him to fixate on an amethyst he was given as a present. 

By the time he was old enough to start thinking about his future, he knew he wanted to be some kind of philosopher or public intellectual. Eventually moving into comedy (surely the next best thing) didn’t help to bring him closer to his old schoolfriends, most of whom now work in the City and are obsessed with running.

As a comedian, Rowland is scraping the surface of a persona, but hasn’t quite figured out how to fully express it. He does a good job painting himself as pretentious, philosophically dramatic and slightly unwholesome (at least compared to his finance bros) but those are adjectives that could apply to almost all white male comedians. The idea of himself as an aspiring public intellectual who falls frustratingly short of actually being intellectual is a sound one, it just needs pushing a little further to make it stand out.

It’s when he leans into that persona and goes a bit more ornate that his jokes are at their best. His claim that ‘Speedos are for adulterers’ is a perfect example, haughty and unreasonable but tinged with a deep-seated insecurity.

 Interestingly, his aesthetic sense is also notable – the set is filled with incidental descriptions of glowing candles, shimmering water and sunlight playing on gemstones. Not much is made of it but it’s an interesting potential avenue to explore for an undeniably talented comic.

Review date: 18 Aug 2025
Reviewed by: Will Rowland: Sunshine by Candlelight
Reviewed at: PBH's Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth