Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

A best man’s speech gone rogue, this is a tour-de-force of intense, falling-apart-at-the-seams clowning from LA-based performer Mark Vigeant.

We are here to celebrate the polyamorous union of Charles and his brides Carrie and Paige. But Charles’s drunken and toxic brother Paul, as depicted by Vigeant, wants to make the best man speech all about him, and letting out his inner insult comic, ‘turning this toast into a roast’ and upsetting all the guests.

As he gets increasingly sozzled, he becomes more belligerent too, with any pretences of the jibes being playful evaporating fast as he reveals his prejudices and stirs up dormant family tensions. ‘A bad man spitting truth,’ he insists, like he’s an edgelord, not a drunken twat ruining a wedding. 

Gleefully ignoring the fourth wall, he ropes in audience members to play all the supporting parts, and they do so gamely. Some seem like performers already – not impossible as this is the Edinburgh Fringe – but Vigeant is expert at picking the right people willing to throw themselves into their roles, not least the chap selected to play Paul’s daughter Ella, doing her Cats-based piece in full costume.

If it’s a bit embarrassing, it’s nothing to the humiliation Vigeant subjects himself to, in character, as he whips up the chaos with an ever-escalating manic energy. His physicality is impressive, from prowling the room with alpha energy to a disconcerting dance to a royalty-free approximation of Enya, contributing to the mesmerisingly high-impact performance. 

With many clearly – and slickly – improvised moments, the hour has a freewheeling energy befitting Paul’s existential collapse, creating that thrilling feeling of not quite knowing where it’s going next. It’s a real roller-coaster ride, both in the way that the danger is carefully controlled, as well as involving wild ups and downs, as the insecurities behind Paul’s bellicose outbursts are revealed.

Ultimately the pandemonium recedes to tenderness with a sly bit of theatricality followed by a poetic musing on the nature of love, created from the audience's notes on the subject. Chances are you’ll also love this impressive hour.

Review date: 19 Aug 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Assembly George Square