Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Pan pipes and strange lights welcome us into the realm of the Wisard, aka Cuban-American clown Julian Hernandez. A prolific improv comic and teacher, and a graduate of the Upright Citizens Brigade, Hernandez has come to the Fringe for the first time with his signature character, loosely based on his own grandfather.

First impressions are that the costuming is excellent. The Wisard wears a lovely little pointed felt hat and is festooned with beautiful objects: wooden carvings, potion bottles and a wooden flute that doubles as a staff. 

His character is not quite antagonistic but definitely up for a bit of argy-bargy. He asks a series of confounding questions like ‘Who is God?’ and won’t relent until we give him some kind of answer; he needles various audience members with cheeky nicknames and little put-downs, and he’s not afraid to share his political outlook: at times the show feels more like a sermon as he foments unrest and gets us fired up about colonialism.

His other favourite thing to do is use his power as the host to compel us into certain behaviours – simple call and response phrases, or getting us to drink a mysterious sweet liquid which he will describe only as ‘pouf’ – and then question us as to why we’re just doing anything that he tells us. 

It’s all in jest, and not too annoying for the most part, but probably more fun for the performer than the audience. If there were more jokes to balance out the hectoring, it might land a little sweeter, but the Wisard is more interested in opening our third eye than providing easy entertainment. 

Hernandez’s outlook and cultural influences are interesting, but as a performer he doesn’t do quite enough to distinguish himself from the hundreds of other clowns at the Fringe wanting to get up in your grill.

Review date: 30 Aug 2026
Reviewed by: Tim Harding
Reviewed at: Just The Tonic at The Caves