Four comedy reviews from the final week of the Edinburgh Fringe cover shows performed on 25 August 2026, with five stars awarded to the comedian behind SNL UK.
Roger O'Sullivan: Divil May Cry
Roger O'Sullivan is a smart and likeable stand-up who shares his lineage from the peasants and the ancestral Rogers who came before him in rural Ireland, where ambition is a sin and 'being atheist is the most Protestant thing you can do'.
There are stories of growing up in the Catholic church, of differences with the English, and why the Irish don't much care for Bono. Predictable topics perhaps, but none of this feels thrown in for an easy laugh.
A few inventive frills and props on top of his regular spoken material all work well without taking the show into gimmick territory. O'Sullivan is a thoughtful and intelligent show writer and a warm and engaging presence on stage. ★★★★☆
Jonno: Here Comes Mr Funny
Once a Fringe regular in the sketch group Sheeps and now head writer for SNL UK, Jonno's debut solo hour includes several elements of musical comedy. These range from the daft but sticky office-based doo wop opener and banjo-plucked encounter with a cowboy, to the sublime bigger set pieces parodying James Bond theme tunes and a West End show.
Over the course of the hour, there is a lot more stand-up and occasional bits of crowd work than would be fair to reduce this to being described as a musical act. His deadpan Yorkshire delivery lures you into believing every setup before the killer punchline, and he even utilises 'the chair of sincerity' to assure the audience when he is not leading them up the garden path.
Jonno's comedic brain is subversive and highly imaginative, and some of his musical numbers will get in your head. ★★★★★
Kate Dolan: Trout
Kate Dolan says her act has been described as 'an ADHD fever dream… I don't have it'. Big performance doesn't do it justice, with the reviewer leaving feeling like they had just been Tango'd.
There isn't a moment's breath. At any point she could break into a random accent, song or dance. She starts by telling the crowd 'let's take the roof off' and certainly on this night she does that. Some of the audience are in fits of laughter throughout at the unrestrained silliness.
“We shouldn't be uncomfortable with loud and weird women,” she says. While not exactly a relaxing experience, so capable is she at all the twists and turns of her stage presence that it wouldn't be called an uncomfortable one either. Some people will absolutely love this madcap experience. Others probably need to get out of their lane just for an hour to see what it's like in this alternative universe. ★★★½☆
Kate Dolan is supporting Sam Campbell on his UK & Ireland tour this autumn, including the Eventim Apollo on 5 November (sold out - join waiting list).
Finlay Christie: Champagne Casanova
Finlay Christie sits somewhere comedically between Jack Whitehall and Rob Beckett if he'd come from money, but he doesn't shy away from the fact he's from a rich boy world. He is more relatable than that and doesn't fully position himself as a pompous ego encouraging you to bring on the hate; leave that to Jimmy Carr.
He is more likely to pick on an even richer member of the audience as a figure of fun, and the writing is undeniably strong. It's exactly the type of late-night act you'd expect to see in the underground, youthful Monkey Barrel 4 venue (Champagne not served). ★★★½☆
