There is a scene in the movie Human Traffic where the lead character stops his ‘big night out’ routine  and says, “But first, a daily injection of the late prophet Bill Hicks… just to remind me not to take life too seriously“. This is exactly how we have started to think of Andrew Maxwell.

For the last few years, we have booked his show on our first day at the Fringe. It sets the tone, gets us in the mood, and starts things off with a guaranteed banger of a gig. And this year proved no different.

This year our clown has turned 50 – which may explain why on this night he is dressed like a Florida retiree – and even though he is genuinely thrilled with his place in the world, he can’t help but get a few “look at the state of this” topics off his chest.

Royalty, racism and politics all feature in a first half that, whilst incredibly funny, all rang sadly true. I genuinely wish that just one of our politicians was half as good at public speaking as our clowns are… It’s all giving off some very worrying King Lear vibes.

In the second half, Andrew is back to storytelling. He gets into the New York-Dublin Portal (I love the idea that, on the Dublin side, they placed it in a part of town that you wouldn’t wear a Casio watch in!) – and memories of his dad, who has always been both a touching and very funny addition to his routines.

This is another top-notch show from one of the best to ever do it. He’s the first name on the team sheet and we recommend catching his act any time that you get the opportunity.

Clown Stars: * * * * *

@Just The Tonic, Edinburgh