Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Everyone’s familiar with the concept of ‘comedy as therapy’. But Tony Cantwell’s You Cry Weird is very much comedy, post-therapy.

The results of his sessions are very clear, with the whole show predicated on the comedian’s understanding of the existential crises triggered whenever the image he holds of himself is brutally shattered by learning how others see him.

This started in his youth, thinking he was one of the coolest kids at school even though he was teased for being ‘a frigid’, never having kissed a girl. But it certainly wasn’t confined to childhood, with the image that emerges from the coming-of-age segments being of a sad youth trying, and failing, to style it out. Add in a stereotypically Irish family that never directly addressed their feelings, and you have a recipe for insecurity – and not a unique one either.

It took Cantwell a long time to grow out of this, spending years being fired from casual jobs he never cared about and trying to escape his issues by moving to London. An interview for a dream job that could have been his ticket out ended in the weirdest, most self-sabotaging, way that only amplifies those insecurities. The title of the show hints at how easily he’s reduced to tears – and this story’s a doozy.

His therapists, who he amusingly impersonates, conclude that he’s an inveterate people-pleaser (For a comedian? Who knew?) uncertain of his own self.   On stage, though, he’s perfectly composed, with a sonorous voice perfect for radio and a delivery that’s skilled in its pacing and timing, concealed beneath easy conversational beats.

He promises a storytelling show with ‘hilarious tangents’, and that’s a fair assessment: the asides, such as his insightful take about what it means to be a modern dad or well-aimed digs against English imperialism bring the laughs more than the main story. The best gag comes from his stint on Last One Laughing Ireland, and it’s not even his – though that’s no slight on his own witty chops. 

Story-wise, there’s no big moment of revelation and  the arc of his development is rather gradual, although Cantwell has clearly now arrived in a much more secure, happier place in his life as a husband and father.

But the people-pleaser does please the people – especially the fans he brought along via his notable online presence. However, he’s certainly a proper comedian, not an influencer with overblown ideas.

• Tony Cantwell: You Cry Weird is on at Underbelly Bristo Square at 22:00

Review date: 18 Aug 2026
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Underbelly Bristo Square