Guardian Comedy Critic Takes Edinburgh Fringe Questions
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- Brian Logan, the Guardian's comedy critic, hosted a live reader Q&A ahead of the Edinburgh Fringe, which launches this weekend with over 4,000 shows across three weeks
- Logan called star ratings 'reductive and dumb,' saying he'd rather critics' words stand on their own, while reserving five stars for shows that are 'real pearlers' you never forget
- Logan flagged a string of acts snubbed by Edinburgh Comedy Awards over the years, naming Cat Cohen's 2023 show, Bo Burnham's Words Words Words (2010), Rhod Gilbert's 2008 show, Natalie Palamides' Nate, and Pappy's Last Show Ever (2012) as prime oversights
- Logan pushed back on the idea that comedy is in a 'left-wing stranglehold,' pointing to Jimmy Carr, Ricky Gervais, Dave Chappelle, Geoff Norcott, and Vittorio Angelone as populist-leaning acts with mainstream reach
- Logan acknowledged it's 'hard bordering on impossible' to review without bias when it comes to Amanda Knox's upcoming Edinburgh show, but said critics' job isn't to adjudicate whether she should be performing
- Logan advised aspiring comedians to gig repeatedly at open mics and watch lots of comedy, arguing the form can only develop 'in dialogue with an audience'
Why it matters: Logan's stance on star ratings — that they're reductive and shouldn't drive critical writing — puts him at odds with a Fringe ecosystem where four-star quotes get stapled to posters and three-star reviews effectively don't exist. His list of snubbed acts (Cat Cohen, Bo Burnham, Pappy's) also spotlights the opaque eligibility criteria for the Edinburgh Comedy Award, a gap he says compounds the problem of idiosyncratic brilliance being sidelined by committee compromise.
