‘Twas the final day of the Fringe, when all through the town
Not a creature was stirring, not even a clown...

Yes, that was an unnecessarily dramatic opening, but I’m honestly never sure how to describe the actual ‘final day of the Fringe’. This is the odd little extra day on the bank holiday Monday, where only a fraction of the shows are still on, and you’ve spent the previous day hearing almost every other performer moan about how tired they are and how thrilled they are to wrap up their final gig.

Traditionally, it’s a low-energy day. Venues are being broken down, and many of the listed shows get cancelled at the last minute – as was the case for two performers we were meant to see this year. But I say “traditionally” because we may have found the antidote to this lethargic final day.

We arrived at The Stand early doors and found ourselves in a small queue, maybe six people deep. This felt very ‘final day’ – small crowd, low-key vibes. But as the start time crept closer, that queue grew into a respectable size, and it seemed like we might actually get a bit of atmosphere in here today.

Once inside, we grabbed our drinks and headed to one of the little tables a row back from the stage. As we settled in, we noticed that the queue had gotten even longer, and the seats were filling up fast. Before long, it was standing-room-only. I was stunned… and people were still coming in!

It was lunchtime, on the final day of the Fringe, and The Stand was packed to the rafters. People were moving like a sliding puzzle just to get from the bar back to their mates.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed. Without any introduction, our clown took to the stage. The room fell silent for a moment, but only a moment. His opening line – a cheeky political rope-a-dope – unleashed a wave of laughter that set the tone for the next hour.

Mark Thomas is a firebrand of a clown. The energy he brings to the room is infectious as he marauds around the stage, bringing the same level of passion to his political rants as he does to material on religion and League Two football. At one memorable point, he combined these two topics to deliver a series of chants that would definitely draw a bigger crowd to church.

His political leanings are very clear, but don’t let that put you off. He calls out the failings of politicians across the board, screaming for common sense from all sides. This stuff is important… and very, very funny.

One possible reason for our clown’s extra energy this time? A subject we rarely see him touch on: love. Yep, Mark Thomas is in love, and he’s more than happy to discuss the modern-day sex lives of the baby boomer generation. “If you can’t get laid at a funeral, you’re the one in the box.” There’s definitely an extra spring in his step and more snap to his comebacks. Maybe Roxy Music were right: when it comes to comedy steroids, ‘Love is the Drug.’

We saw a lot of great shows at the Fringe this year, but this one might have been the best. If we can end our festival with this clown every year, we’re in. Anything else would have been an anti-climax anyway – this was the closer, the showstopper, and the perfect coup de grâce for EdFringe 2024.

Clown Stars: * * * * *

@The Stand, Edinburgh