It’s essentially the last day of the Fringe and I find myself in a venue that I have never visited before – the best way to describe it would be an over-sized bomb shelter reinforced by an eclectic collection of rugby shirts. It’s slightly hidden down a little alleyway off Cowgate but it’s supporting the free Fringe so it’s all good with us.

We are once again here today because of a poster punt – I like penguins – but no disrespect is meant by that, there are thousands of shows at the Edinburgh Fringe and sometimes you just need a reason, any reason, to pick one and discover something new.

Emmy Fyles introduces herself and quickly discovers that her mic makes her sound like a dalek! Technical hitch quickly fixed and then we are ready to start once again.

Emmy is an instantly likeable clown, she works hard to build some energy within a disjointed room and by the end of the show this pays dividends in the form of some genuinely funny audience participation.

Our clown is at her best when she is using her visual aids – the mid date text messages between her and her mate and the video of her and her mum explaining why they can’t sit in the park were personal highlights. There are some small misses during the routine but nothing that more performances and minor tweaks can’t shake out. 

This show lives and dies by the rapport that Emmy builds with the crowd and at times you can see how hard she is working to keep everyone engaged. The proof that she has managed it is when she asks for people to write down their worst moments of social awkwardness (a device that can go horribly wrong) it pays off in spades. Well over half the audience get on board and contribute and the handful of revelations that are read out really add to the show – a definite doff of the hat to our clown.

This was an enjoyable hour in a tough venue. We’ll worth the punt… Even if there weren’t any penguins 🙂

Clown Stars: * * *

 @Laughing Horse, Edinburgh