Words: Caitlin Finnerty

4 Stars

John Tothill shows us he’s not just a clever comedian, but a deeply charming and delightfully chaotic storyteller. I’ve seen and reviewed John’s last three shows at the Fringe, and this latest offering is exactly what I’ve come to expect: whip-smart, oddly philosophical, consistently hilarious, and just a little unhinged, in the best way.

Dressed in a velvet blouse he likens to something a flirtatious female English teacher might wear, Tothill commands the stage with self-aware, cheeky ease. From the moment he appears, sipping wine from a pint glass, he has the audience firmly in the palm of his hand.

The show dances between the absurd and the intellectual. He weaves together tales of 19th-century oyster-thief Edward Dando, a disastrous cruise gig, and his nearly deadly appendicitis with razor-sharp wit and surprising tenderness. His tangents might seem chaotic, but they’re tightly crafted, packed with reflections on wonder, gluttony, and the beauty of small talk.

Tothill is a gleefully unreliable narrator, clever but never smug, surreal but never distant. As always, it’s a joy to spend an hour in his strange, sparkling world.

John Tothill: This Must Be Heaven 
Beneath, Pleasance 
21:00
Aug 7-24