We must stress at the outset that this is by no means intended to be a full review of Lauren Pattison, that will surely come at a later date.

We had been hoping to catch Lauren Pattison live for a while now (certainly since the “cutting up fair-trade cocaine with a Waitrose loyalty card” Roast Battle burn on Tom Houghton) but every time we had the opportunity something got in the way. So when we happened to be bored and in Edinburgh on a Sunday night and the Monkey Barrel’s line-up popped in our Twitter feed with Lauren headlining it felt like serendipity… god that’s twee!!

Moving on, since first discovering the Monkey Barrel via Tony Law it has quickly become one of my favourite comedy venues. I love the artwork on the walls, the staff, the set-up and even the stage decals – so much so that I nearly bought the t-shirt. It’s a venue that generates a festival feel at anytime of the year and was exactly what we needed on a cold and windy night.

Our compere for the evening was George Fox and he held the evening together incredibly well, bantering with the crowd and dropping some mid act material that was second only to our headliner. The support acts on the evening were all solid and each had a few comedy punches that landed, the best by far though was Robin Grainger who looks a bit like either Andrew Lawrence on heroin or a Make-A-Wish child depending on his choice of head wear, definitely someone we’d like to catch up with again though.

But with no offence intended to any of the other clowns we were here really for one reason and one reason only.

Lauren Pattinson didn’t walk to the stage, she attacked it. A breath had barely been taken and she was done with introductions and on to her opening monologue. It was at this stage that I realised one of the main differences between headliners and support clowns. The headliners don’t need to feel their way in, they don’t “test the vibe” they just go. They know they’re funny and they have an act worthy of your ears. It’s not arrogant or brash, it’s chutzpah, confidence, a belief in their craft… ok I’m guessing, but whatever it is, Lauren Pattison has it.

The story comes fast, the punchlines self-depreciating yet endearing but the material is not the star here, it’s the delivery. In a less capable clowns hands these tales of Tesco, posh boyfriends and xenophobic Australians could be everyday/mildly amusing but when delivered with this type of passion they become so much greater than the sum of their parts.

This show was the confirmation that I didn’t really need to tell me that we have to see this clowns next solo show. Thank you Monkey Barrel, we’ll see you again soon.

Clown Stars: ( – unrated – )

 @Monkey Barrel – Edinburgh