EDINBURGH 2023: Review: ELIOTT SIMPSON: (A)SEXY AND I KNOW IT, Laughing Horse @ Dragonfly, Main Room

As someone who identifies as asexual, seeing an asexuality-themed comedy show made me stop in my tracks and immediately book a ticket. In nearly every comedy show I have seen at the Fringe, there have been sexual jokes, with some going as far as having vibrators and dildos on stage. To be honest, I needed a break from all of that, and Eliott Simpson: (A)Sexy and I Know It would be the perfect place to laugh without the fear of another graphic sex story.

Eliott Simpson: (A)Sexy and I Know It is an hour of standup from Eliott Simpson, whose style of standup is unrelenting jokes. There is not a single second wasted as Simpson launches into joke after joke, sometimes with props, other times with audience interaction. Within minutes, it feels like you have known Simpson for years. They are not afraid to get personal quickly, especially in a show themed around sexuality. Simpson’s explosive energy grew a bit overwhelming at times in such a small venue, but I would rather have someone have an overflow of energy than not enough. Sometimes he got very in the faces of audience members, which I was not the biggest fan of, but to each their own.

Simpson’s jokes are fantastic, particularly one gag in which he kept accidentally revealing “dick” pics when using posters to explain asexuality. Along with the humour, I greatly appreciated how, even though the show is stand-up, Simpson did an excellent job explaining asexuality for those who were unfamiliar with it, including topics like the “A” in LGBTQIA+ standing for “asexual” not “ally” and the asexual love for cake. It is both informative and hilarious, a difficult feat to achieve, especially with just an hour!

Ultimately, Eliott Simpson: (A)Sexy and I Know It is fun and packed with jokes thanks to Simpson’s incredibly quick pace and a great step forward in asexual representation in the world of comedy. Simpson is open about not only his sexuality but his autism as well and it was great to see them fully lean into their identity with pride. Us asexuals truly are the 1% and I look forward to more asexual works in the future!

Eliott Simpson: (A)Sexy and I Know It ran at The Laughing Horse @ Dragonfly, Main Room.