EDINBURGH 2023: Review: HORATIO GOULD: SWEET PRINCE, Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker 3

What do “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus and the Taliban have in common? According to Horatio Gould, surprisingly, it's more than you might think. Horatio Gould: Sweet Prince is Gould’s way of explaining his thoughts to the audience with a wicked sense of humour, taking on the concept of younger generations being softer than those that have come before them.

For his debut hour, Gould does a fantastic job working the crowd and delivering his points with both jokes and statements. He has a way of telling stories that crack you up but also make you think about how you react to them. There’s a particularly laugh-inducing story about an old man who is in court for exposing himself that ends in the most perfect way. I won’t go into spoilers, but it’s an incredible example of payoff that should be used as a gold standard for comedians. 

One of the topics that Gould focuses on is the popular saying, “It’s okay to not be okay,” which he believes has led to a strange kind of competition in order to prove that you have been given some kind of disability in life. In his own words, Gould is “okay with being okay.” It’s an interesting take and Gould presents it in a way that really makes you reflect while you’re laughing at his jokes. Yes, we are more aware of mental health and try to be kinder to each other, but there is something about the previous generations that you have to admire.

Ultimately, Horatio Gould: Sweet Prince is a fun hour of comedy that manages to do a great job of straddling the line between offensive and hilarious. There are one or two times in which this line is crossed, but Gould is able to quickly win back the audience after their shock and continue on with the show. 

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