Brett Epstein is alone on stage. Which is pretty common in the comedy section of the Edinburgh Fringe, though the nervous energy Epstein displays at the start of this show really emphasises that point, the performer alone on stage with an hour to fill and an audience to engage. He presumably knows that’s going to happen – duly engaged we were for the hour that followed – but that persona from the off made the performance feel more honest, despite being more theatrical than a basic stand-up show. He shares stories about the highs and lows – mainly the lows, because that’s the point – of life as an artist living in New York, pausing to respond to rejections, professional and personal, with comedic rage. Co-opting an audience member to deliver one half of a conversation on dating app Hinge was a particular highlight, even if, for that moment, he was not, in fact, entirely alone.

theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, run ended.
tw rating 4/5 | [Chris Cooke]