EDINBURGH 2023: Review: STAMPTOWN COMEDY NIGHT, Pleasance Courtyard, Forth

Walking into Stamptown Comedy Night, you know you’re in for something . . . special. 

The warnings alone are enough to make one question just how far this comedy show is going to go - “May contain audience participation, potentially triggering themes, nudity, scenes of a sexual nature, violence and sexual violence, strobe lighting, swearing, loud music, gunshot noise and haze.”

As you enter the venue, there’s a man roller skating around with a Dylan™ (Dylan Woodley), seemingly just vibing and giving a few audience members nods, joined by others in purple morph suits (Amadeo Fusca). I later learned this was called the DylanBrand Premium Pre-Show Experience. Incredible. 

The concept of Stamptown Comedy Night is simple, even if the actual execution is anything but. Jack Tucker (real name: Zach Zucker, the creator of Stamptown) MCs as different performers do sketches or other bits, making for a night of cabaret acts in various forms. Of course, nothing goes to plan, and a range of characters come in to interrupt the show, which usually ends up making the show run past its 90-minute runtime (what, were you planning to see a show exactly at 12:30 AM?).

The characters the night I saw it included the sweet Spanish Fuckboi (Josh Glanc), Scottish Spanish Fucklady (Karen Gillan!!), a man who would show up out of nowhere and break open a can of beer with a hammer before chugging it (Cory Peter Lane), two ridiculously serious stage hands (Lexi Ritter and Carter Iddings) and an incredibly stressed venue manager (Erin Farrington).

At the performance I saw, Marshall Arkley started the show with whipping and stripping. What more can you ask for? Well, this is Stamptown, so you’re gonna get more whether you like it or not. Lara Rictoe did a great bit of standup, Michelle Brasier sang a hilarious song (and yelled at a man for judging her Crocs), Tadiwa Mahlunge had a hilarious standup set, and the show ended with BriTANicK, a sketch duo who revealed Zach Zucker’s audition tape for Saturday Night Live. Oh, and there was also Natalie Palamides doing a horrifying character bit as The Virgin in which she ate raw meat. Your average night at Stamptown. 

And then, to end the show, Dan Smith from the band Bastille showed up for the final song. Where else in the Fringe are you seeing something like this? Granted, it was Jack Tucker attempting to play the guitar and Smith trying his hand at comedy to vamp, but it was one of those incredible moments that only happens once in a lifetime.

But the thing that truly makes this show stand out, not including raw meat and stripping, is the brilliant SFX and lighting team. Jonny Woolley on the SFX and Zucker seemingly share the same brain in the way that they are able to immediately pick up what the other one is putting down, with sound effects happening the instant Zucker makes movements. Lily Woodford-Lewis also does a fantastic job on lights, changing the vibes of the show as it quickly moves along. I cannot imagine how stressful it must be to do the tech for such a chaotic show, so major kudos to the whole team!

Ultimately, Stamptown Comedy Night is an absolutely insane night of comedy that is impossible to replicate, which is what makes it such an appealing show to come back to over and over again. There’s a reason it’s a cult classic. 

Stamptown Comedy Night runs at Pleasance Courtyard, Forth at 23:00 from 24 to 26 August.

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