Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

This is probably the lowest-key rock show you’ll ever go to. Laurie Stevens has created a sweet, rounded character piece about an awkward teenager trying to be someone through his musical endeavours, but David’s One-Man Band (F*ck You, Steven) never really pops comedically.

The premise is that we’re in 2006 and David’s emo-inspired two-piece, Limousine To Purgatory, have landed a coveted slot on an under-16s band night in the San Francisco Bay Area called Sticky Floors. Only problem is that his bandmate Steven has failed to show, leaving David flailing on stage alone. And that prompts the gig’s manager – an unseen presence speaking with an irritating vocal fry – to tell him to basically shit or get off the pot.

He attempts to fill time with Freddie-Mercury-at-Live-Aid-style calls and responses, tries to recruit a drummer from the audience (which seems a tall order, but one that was fulfilled tonight) and fires up the loop pedals to try to play the set on his own. The result of that is quite the cacophony, but it’s not 100 per cent clear if it was supposed to be, as a joke.

In between the bits of business David – an alter-ego Stevens created while studying at the Gaulier clown school – tries to contact Steven on his Motorola flip phone, desperate to know what’s going on, or even just to make a friendly connection amid the pressure on stage.

David’s attempts to affect a rock-star aloofness and air of tortured genius – ‘no one understands what it means to be me’ – are betrayed by the panic at being left to face the situation alone and the other insecurities he reveals, which means you’re more likely to want to mother him than mosh with him. Still, we get to sing along with a rendition of Teenage Dirtbag. Fans of the genre will also enjoy spotting references to My Chemical Romance lyrics and the like in the script.

Stevens is very watchable and the character seems authentic, but while her alter-ego’s exploits are enjoyable enough, you would be forgiven for wanting some more comedy and narrative oomph. That the line that got the strongest reaction was a ‘that’s what she said’ innuendo – meant to be tongue-in-cheek but working at face value – certainly suggests the writing could be punchier.  

Review date: 19 Aug 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Underbelly Cowgate