Fringe comedy reviews: Rosco McClelland: The Bones | Margaret Thatcher Queen of Hollywood | Steffan Alun: Windows | Marc Jennings: If & When

Rosco McClelland | Nick Gibb

COMEDY

Rosco McClelland: The Bones ★★★★

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire) (Venue 338) until 30 August

Despite Rosco McClelland's recent low-level brushes with fame and ongoing flourish as a stand-up, he's somehow still finding significant personal disclosures to share that go some way to explaining why he is the way he is. One of his latest big reveals has a certain topicality and encourages sympathy, even as he exploits it for some near-the-knuckle humour. Another demands Googling to confirm the credentials of his nemesis. Mocking disability is seldom justified but this shady character deserves everything he got, as the Glaswegian comic indulges himself with some uproariously funny pantomime villain fantasies.

Most explicitly though, McClelland muses on his pathological denial avoidance, a chronic stubbornness that's particularly effective for tension with his wife over the tiniest triviality and ornery routines in which he can build a significant head of steam. All very Fringey then, with an elegant structure and some capably deployed callbacks, it shouldn't overshadow the fact that The Bones is also a compelling series of punchy club sets. The mischievous comic advocates for political dialogue and empathy for those who vote differently, suggesting there ought to have been patience for Keir Starmer's vision for the UK, right up until the Prime Minister infringed upon the comic's mastery of his own domain, at which point he's practically erecting a guillotine. Another polished anecdote is a seemingly unpromising account of taking a urine sample from his dog, a feat of ingenuity and battle of wills in which he just about prevails. Incredulous personal tales about the curveballs of his life sit neatly alongside droll social commentary, with ruminations on the Scots abroad, the rise of AI and class friction. On a real tear over the last handful of festivals, McClelland is rapidly maturing into one of the best storytellers this country has produced. Jay Richardson

COMEDY

Margaret Thatcher Queen of Hollywood ★★★★

Assembly George Square Gardens (Venue 3) until 30 August

Set in an alternate universe where, fresh from being ousted from power, Margaret Thatcher heads to Tinseltown in a bid to become a “Prime MiniSTAR” and win an Oscar, this frothy drag musical largely skips the politics to revel in its own dizzying pantomime daftness and the undoubted talents of its three-strong cast.

We’re introduced to Matt Tedford’s pitch-perfect Iron Lady, immaculate in trademark blue powersuit and gravity-defying hair, as she collects her Academy Award against the backdrop of a sparkly stage set, promising to recount how the unlikely award came to be. The plot is largely incidental, with Maggie signed up to play herself in the first film of a new “Prime Ministerial Cinematic Universe”, before finding out that she’s not the hero of her own story. Various twists and turns ensue, but most importantly the songs are all catchy and there’s never long to wait for a joke or the most tortured of comedic metaphors.

Tedford has every one of Maggie’s mannerisms and vocal ticks down to a fine art in a parody of the notorious milk snatcher that’s surprisingly affectionate. Sure, she’s a bit evil, but he still gets a Scottish audience to largely root for her – an impressive trick to pull off north of the border.

Two high-energy co-stars (Kathy Maniura and Rosalie Minnitt) carry out much of the real hard graft, playing an array of famous faces and LA stereotypes in a curiously-modern Hollywood. Highlights include a sleazy Harvey Weinstein-esque producer, a pair of equally-monstrous Gen Z acting wannabes and a particularly sinister Meryl Streep.

There’s a vague feminist message largely lost in the glitter but neither character nor audience really learn that much of note, with that very shallowness very much part of the show’s irresistible charm. David Hepburn

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COMEDY

Steffan Alun: Windows ★★★★

Hoots @ The Apex (Venue 108) until 31 August

If you like your comedy warm, accommodating and gentle - and loaded with laughs - may I recommend Steffan Alun, who made his Fringe debut last year after having done stand-up for 15 years.

Charismatic and witty, the Welshman jokes that he doesn’t like sport because he’s bisexual and can’t pick a team. The spectrum of sexuality also informs a cute Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch joke, and, like many other bisexual folks, Alun wonders if he mentions his wife enough.

Anyone else who hasn’t been in a position to pick a side will recognise the reassurance he offers about how you are the only one who can say what your sexuality is.

It’s an entertaining hour that also touches upon autism, the true dangers of biker gangs in bars (these two points almost certainly being connected), the relatable ins and outs of a pub quiz and a fun moral quandary involving technology.

He's got some run riffs on the influence of The Matrix on teenage fashion at the time, with a nice flight of fancy imagining the costume designer’s motivations. Similarly, he gets some good mileage out of our instinct to dislike people on public transport, but it never feels hack, perhaps because his lines are carefully written and he demonstrates a natural empathy for a (probably neurodivergent) woman he shares a journey with.

Alun takes a light-touch approach to matters of mental health, our perceptions of each other and our own selves. In doing this, he shares some interesting insight gleaned from an evolutionary biologist: that humans developed the ability to notice the emotional states of others before our own. In other words, our primitive selves had to be on the lookout for potential danger before analysing our own feelings.

We’ll all relate, too, to his mother’s ability to provide documentary proof that’ll help her win an argument, even if she can’t find his birth certificate. This is a laugh-heavy hug of an hour. Ashley Davies

COMEDY

Marc Jennings: If & When ★★★

Monkey Barrel (Venue 515) until 30 August

It doesn’t feel like there’s much topical stand-up at the Fringe this year, but Glaswegian Marc Jennings, who hosts the Some Laughs podcast with Stuart McPherson and Stephen Buchanan, offers up bucketloads of observations on current affairs in his latest slick show.

A chunk of the hour comprises some fun foreshadowing material about how Peter Murrell, ex-husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, spent the money he admitted embezzling from the SNP, and you can see why Jennings does well on news panel shows.

Looksmaxxing, Scottish football and trying to stay in shape all get the whip-smart Jennings treatment, and insight into his family life is particularly enjoyable, particularly as he’s living with his dad to save money for a flat and the widower is on his own dating journey.

Look out too for the cracking pun about what might happen when climate change turns Scotland into a more appealing holiday destination. If that’s not on one of the jokes of the Fringe lists we demand an inquiry.

A story about a brief “no labels” relationship – a departure from the gag-heavy material in the first three-quarters of the show – absorbs a bit more time than it warrants, but there’s a satisfying pay off and everyone leaves happy. Ashley Davies

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