After taking a break in 2011, Jo Caulfield returns to Edinburgh for her ninth solo fringe show with a deliciously witty and razor sharp routine.
Years of experience on the stand up circuit, as well as on television shows such as Mock the Week, Have I Got News For You and Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Road Show, have imbued Caulfield with a languid confidence and superb knowledge of how to structure a set in order to make it engaging and appealing to a wide audience.
Striding onto the stage, she looks completely at home in the comedy club set up of The Stand and embarks on an hour long routine that has the audience in stitches. Questions such as, ‘Have you ever written down items on your shopping list that don’t exist, just to see how long it takes your partner to realise?’ elicit an eager response of ‘I’m going to try that!’ from a lady behind. The audience were eating out of the palm of her hand, and she revelled in it.
Her routine displayed brilliant balance in all respects: pithy one liners were interwoven with longer anecdotes, monologues with audience participation and topical jokes with ones based on her personal life. The intimate space and Caulfield’s manner immediately put the audience at ease, creating a feeling that you were sharing stories with a friend - even when quizzing and mocking those in the front row she managed to be hilariously harsh whilst remaining decidedly likeable.
The only part that lets her down is when she reads out ‘bad thoughts’ she has had and tweeted. It comes across as a little long and given that everything else in the routine is so beautifully woven together, this sticks out as not quite fitting.
If you are looking for dry humour, a drink and the traditional comedy club experience, head down to The Stand and see Jo Caulfield: Thinking Bad Thoughts. Her talent for observation and storytelling will have you muttering ‘yes, you do do that’ to your partner and wondering why you had never thought of these seemingly obvious opportunities for humour in everyday scenarios before.
