Edinburgh Fringe, Tuesday 5th August 2025: Larry Dean (WIP), Glesga Da F**ks Off, Ray O'Leary, Alasdair Beckett-King, Rhys Darby

Bob and I took advantage of the '2 for 1' day at the Fringe, seeing the following acts:

Larry Dean WIP £12 (12 noon) Monkey Barrel 3

A reliable start to the day, with Larry working on a set about his recent marriage. Some banging punchlines. It is going to be a brilliant show when he's finished working on it. 

Glasga Da F**ks Off £10 (15.40) Hoots @The Apex Hoots 2  

Stuart Mitchell and Raymond Mearns sign off from their podcast with a run of shows at the Fringe. An improvised hour of chat, with the veteran Mearns providing most of the banter. I was surprised by how little Stuart contributed. Lots of fans of the podcast were in the audience and were very much up for a laugh. The seating layout was a bit awkward, with entry to the rows only from the side nearest the door and hardly any room for people to get by. After the show, on the way out, I got to shake Raymond's hand as he thanked everyone for coming. 

They've ended the podcast because it made them no money. Any income they made went back out to pay for the studio, the producer, and the techies.      

Ray O'Leary: Laughter? I Hardly Know Her! £15 (18.05) Pleasance Beside

As we stood in the queue, we were informed by the ticket checker that this show would start twenty minutes later than billed. I'd left a long enough buffer between shows that this didn't matter, but others were annoyed. The previous show had started late.

Ray gave a good performance, opening with a bit where a stranger accused him of being a good role model for autism. Only he hasn't been diagnosed as autistic. Not that you'd know from the way he constantly touched his hair, face and glasses. His deadpan hour was humorous, using his slow speech pattern to good effect. When he left the stage at the end, following a scripted section involving audience participation, the girl speaker was left holding her microphone. When she looked behind the curtain to return it, Ray was already gone. 

Alasdair Beckett-King "King of Crumbs" £17 (20.00) Pleasance Dome - King

This was a fine hour of left-field humour, utilising clever sound effects, PowerPoint and stage props. Alasdair has a unique view of reality and takes us into his world. The jokes are insightful, clever, obscure and very funny.  Highly recommended.

Rhys Darby "The Legend Returns" £19 x 2 (21.20) Pleasance Courtyard - Grand

One of the finest shows I have seen at the Fringe. Rhys is concerned about AI and the imminent rise of the robots and takes us on a journey into the future, masterfully making all his own sound effects to illustrate it. The stories he physically acts out are hilarious, and the way he ties them all together at the end is brilliant. 

My only problem was seeing over the full head of hair in front of me. When Rhys stood centre stage, my view was blocked by the lush, spiky locks of the youth in front. I'd recommend getting there early to snag a seat nearer the front. 

All in all, a fantastic day at the Fringe, with five top shows for under fifty quid each (excluding transport and sustenance). 

Rhys Darby, 25 Years. Glasgow Pavilion, Tuesday 7th November, 2023

This Kiwi comic was another one on my bucket list. I'd never caught him during his Edinburgh Fringe days and, now that his acting career has taken off, he doesn't tour much so I jumped at the chance to see him in Glasgow. Knowing this was a best-of retrospective, I deliberately didn't rewatch any of his old shows, not wanting to be overfamiliar with the material.   

It's been a long time since I've been in the stalls at The Pavilion. The last time was probably to see Goodbye Mr Mackenzie back in the days when Shirley Manson was singing with them (I particularly remember her gyrating on her knees on the stage - can't think why). Back then, I was at Uni and probably didn't sit in my seat for very long. I certainly don't recall the seat being snug. Tonight, the armrests are gripping my love handles. When I have to rise to let a latecomer into the row, I have to make an effort to remove myself from the chair. I pitied the poor folk who were bigger than me, with their shoulders scrunched up, wedged between the people on either side. One larger gentleman appeared to have booked himself two seats and even then had to sit at an angle otherwise he would have smothered the young lady on his left. What I'm saying is Pavilion, you're going to need to modernise and give us bigger seats. We ain't getting any smaller.

The show opened with Janey Godley who did a fifteen-minute slot much to the appreciation of her home crowd. She may have terminal cancer but she's still got remarkable comedy chops and doesn't give a f*ck. She then introduced the first act, Steve Wrigley, another friend of Rhys and a fellow Kiwi. I'd never heard of him but he was good. The audience loved his humour.

Then we had an interval so the Pavilion could sell us fatties more confectionary and ice cream. How very Glasgow, providing more calories to people who already could barely fit into their seats. Actually, it could be more Glasgow. Here's a tip for your suggestion box, Pavilion management, add deep-fried Mars bars to the menu. 

Janey returned to introduce her old pal, Rhys Darby. If you don't know his comedy, his style is similar to Eddie Izzard, acting out increasingly outlandish scenarios and relating the characters' surreal and silly exchanges (only he does it in more sensible shoes and with less lipstick). He's a great physical comedian who also does sounds: the 'robot', three different types of doors and even the beep made by a self-checkout till. Themes and characters recur for comic effect building a strong set, despite it being cribbed from all of his shows over the years. 

The audience was obviously huge fans of his work and showed it with frequent cheers and rounds of applause but never to the extent of ruining the show. It was a fabulous night of comedy made all the more special by overrunning by a good half hour.

The drive home was an ordeal. Road closures and multiple car accidents added to the chaos. I did spot a man eating his pizza out of the box at a bus stop and thought, he looks like he's playing Battleships because of the way the lid was angled. Then we nearly decorated the car's radiator with a fox stole when the animal heard the first part of the joke "Why did the chicken cross the road?" and decided to look for itself. 

Janey Godley

Steve Wrigley

Rhys Darby

Ticket Price: £37.85 (direct from venue)

Promo blurb:

Rhys Darby: 25 Years

2023 marks Rhys Darby’s silver jubilee in standup comedy, so he has been taking a look at all his favourite material for the past quarter century. Rhys will be bringing this retrospective show to the UK this year!.

When asked about it Rhys said, “You’ve seen my standup, now see it again!”

Darby is one of NZ’s most successful comedy exports. Starting in Christchurch in the 90s, he has performed his unique style of storytelling all over the world. Ten years into his career North Americans discovered him via Flight of the Conchords. He has starred in blockbusters like the Jumanji franchise, indie hits like Hunt for the Wilderpeople and is currently starring in Our Flag Means Death with long-time collaborator Taika Waititi.

Rhys is never far from his standup roots. He has released five comedy specials and this show will draw from all five of them. In addition to stand-up and acting, he has also written four books, This Way to Spaceship, a loosely autobiographical novel, and three kids' books about his alter ego Buttons McGinty. He also has an irregular podcast, The Cryptid Factor which is all about cryptozoology, the science of hidden animals.