Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

At the end of this gentle reflection on ageing, Freya Parker evokes Jenny Joseph’s Warning poem – the one which starts: ‘When I am an old woman I shall wear purple….’

Yet the message of nonconformism doesn’t seem to have fully landed with the comic, whose sophomore show is relatable but superficial and disposable.

She’s mild-mannered, which ensures a likeable stage presence, but admits a struggle with sincerity. It means her points tend to end not with strong gags but with slightly nervous, ‘don’t mind me’-style taglines, distancing herself from being too opinionated. Directness is to be avoided.

In any case, her points of view are unlikely to shock the foundations of your world. Maybe social media and obsession over youthful looks are not a good thing, and aren’t men bad?  Even off-topic, you can’t improve on the fact that Elon Musk was considered too creepy for Epstein Island, so Parker just repeats that reporting with a sort of amused ‘ain’t that the truth?’ tone. 

Her thoughts turned to the passage of time after learning that her daughter’s teacher used an AI age-progression app to create pictures of the class as if they were 100. The kids seemed to love them, which is surely a positive message about ageing, but Parker is upset (and not primarily about whichever privacy-breaching Chinese dataset her child’s photo ended up in).

The comic’s own observations about entering middle age involve loving Screwfix and selling old clothes on Vinted – cue some gentle mockery over the pettiness involved in haggling over pennies on items that are next-to-worthless already. She actually seems pretty content to enter this settled stage of life, which is not fuel for powerhouse comedy.

Little character vignettes in her act-outs are well done, which will come as little surprise to anyone who knows her as half of the BBC Three double act Lazy Susan with Celeste Dring, but ironically enough, the stand-up feels like it needs a lot more time to mature.

Review date: 23 Aug 2026
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Underbelly Bristo Square