Yoga with Jillian – A New Comedy, Pleasance Courtyard.

A play with a difference, as Jillian invites members of the audience to join her on stage for a yoga class, whilst the rest of us sit cowardly in our seats to watch the fun. Jillian has had a tough time over the past few years – Covid hasn’t been kind to her, nor have her attempts to become a yoga teacher after years as a lawyer. But she’s a survivor, and River has given her a few slots at the studio to see if she can make her mark with a mat and a few asanas. If you’ve ever been to a yoga class you’ll recognise all that chakra stuff, and you’ll also know – unlike Jillian – that when the body goes OUCH you don’t blast through the pain barrier… Michole Biancosino invests Jillian with a wonderful blend of hearty encouragement and bitter resentment, and Lia Romeo’s play is beautifully structured and written, surprisingly realistic – and also very, very funny! And you don’t need to be a yoga freak to enjoy it!

Nuclear Children, Pleasance Courtyard.

The story of Isla, an English literature student, who has hallucinations and intrusive thoughts – no doubt made worse by her father’s death in a submarine accident. It hasn’t helped her mother either, nor her grandmother; no wonder her brother is travelling the world to escape it all. Ezra England gives an amazing performance as Isla in this terrific play, which they have also written and imbued with dark humour and unsentimental precision. An exploration of Isla’s life trying to contend with the worsening world around her, and her mental condition, it’s also a very effective examination of the struggles within a family when no one knows quite how to handle grief. The play is packed with devlilishly wicked observations which helps us to understand what Isla, her flatmate, her boyfriend and her family are really like. Punchy, profound and very very funny.

Unforgettable Girl, Pleasance Courtyard.

Every so often a show comes along that is almost completely uncategorizable. The Fringe website describes this as a dark comedy but that only tells part of the tale. Unforgettable Girl is the brainchild of writer and performer Elisabeth Gunawan, and came about as a response to her never being on the right side of “white”; she was always subject to “Asian Othering”. But the show also exposes the grim realities of the Thai Mail Order Bride industry. I’ve known of at least two men who have married Thai Mail Order Brides, and I wasn’t aware that it was simply a front for human trafficking, more fool me. Split into three parts, the first is a funny, albeit challenging, introduction to an apparently willing young woman eager to do anything to please you. The second – an interlude – is a side reflection by an Asian woman who identifies as white and pities/ridicules anyone not like her. She challenges white members of the audience to explain what it is about being white that they like – #awkward. The final part is a harrowing examination of the reality of people trafficking. If the show aims to bring the horrors of the trade to our attention, it works. However, no matter how laudable the aims of the show might be, it is at times excruciatingly painful to watch, and implies a complicity from the largely white, middle-class Edinburgh audience in this appalling practice. It feels overlong, a little repetitive, and I felt that its ideas are stretched. I was definitely challenged – which is a Very Good Thing – and I also felt very uncomfortable, which is, maybe, questionable. In any event, it certainly leaves you with masses to think about.

Almost Adult, Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose.

Hope has grown too big for her dull home town of Macclesfield and seeks the bright lights of a flat share in London. After a few days of doing the tourist thing – including buying the all-important London Underground T-shirt and socks, she applies for a job working at Dino-World; starting off by cleaning the toilets (obvs) but then progressing to dancing in the windows and bar work. It’s long, hard, zero hours work, but she doesn’t mind. Her boss Daz is a bit of a knob, but she thinks she can cope with him; and anyway, he’s arranging for a team-building night out, free bar all night, what could possibly go wrong? Written and performed by Charlotte Anne-Tilley, her very realistic and entertainingly written play is based strongly on Hope’s open kind-hearted nature, and it’s a relatively gentle amble through “office” politics and sexual misconduct. She portrays Hope as a hugely likeable character, and it pains you to watch her being easily manipulated by colleagues and flatmate alike. Fortunately – there’s a happy ending! An all too predictable story about an ordinary young woman who doesn’t suspect the ulterior motives of bad people – and thus it’s very relatable and recognisable. Engaging and enjoyable, and extremely well presented.

Joe White: Ethiopian and Still Not Hungry, Gilded Balloon Teviot.

It’s always fascinating to see a comedian who’s a complete unknown here in the UK but has a big reputation at home – and Joe White fills that bill. Originally of Ethiopian heritage, he lived in a refugee camp in Sudan until his mother somehow managed to bring him and his five siblings to safety in Australia. As a result, a lot of his material is based on contrasting comparisons of Ethiopian and Australian culture, and encouraging and coaxing his mother to say the right words in the right way so as to fit in with her new environment. He has a very laid back, gentle style, likes to spend a lot of the show getting to know the audience in a warm, unconfrontational manner, and the show is a feelgood, supportive hour or so. Nothing too challenging, nothing too risque, nothing too in-your-face. Just kind, good-humoured comedy.