Daniel Sloss: X | Edinburgh Fringe 2018

     The Fringe might be over now, but there’s a few more posts about some of the shows I saw that I want to write. I’m not writing about everything I saw, as it was eight different shows in total, so I’m really just picking out some favourites! Daniel Sloss is a stand up comedian and a Fringe veteran, having been performing at it for over a decade, writing a new show each year, and I’ve seen him a few times in the past and always enjoyed his comedy, so I wanted to go again this time.

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     His brand of comedy is known for being quite dark at times, so he likely isn’t going to be to everyone’s tastes, but I certainly enjoy it, and he sort of acknowledges that fact at times. I first got into his comedy years ago because his material was often quite relevant to me, being of a similar age, and that still holds true some of the time now. Most of his set this year revolved around differences between men and women, and ideas of masculinity, and it was not only hilarious, but also socially relevant, and he has a lot of opinions I agreed with.

     His jokes tend to be stories, telling of scenarios both real and imagined, that build up to funny situations and circumstances, combined with lots of humorous observations about people and aspects of society, making you question why we do the things we do sometimes. It’s all relevant, relatable, and quite poignant at times. Its also very clever comedy, making intelligent remarks; yes, some of the jokes can be dark and dirty at times, and there’s few topics he wouldn’t dare approach, but it’s not crude or just full of cheap laughs, it’s smart and well thought out. Everyone’s comedic tastes are different of course, so I can’t guarantee that his brand would appeal to everyone – which is why it’s usually mentioned that his is quite a dark style – but I think it could be pretty wide reaching for a lot of audiences.

     It’s also worth noting that his sets each year usually follow a similar format, where the first 45 minutes are all typical stand up, and for the last 15 minutes he turns to more serious topics. There’s still some jokes thrown in, but it’s generally a more sombre section of the show, often about a topic one wouldn’t normally joke about, which he does acknowledge, and so tries to approach it tastefully. There was also a clear line between the topics he’d covered during the set so far, building up to this more serious issue, so it didn’t just come out of nowhere. He talked about some very important stuff, and the audience burst into applause at a few moments during it, because he was saying all the right things. This may not appeal to everyone, if you go to see him expecting only comedy, but I think it’s great that he uses his platform to speak on important issues.

     It was a funny set from start to finish, as well as being of great social relevance, so I’m glad to know that I still enjoy his comedy as much as ever, seeing as its been a few years since I last saw him. His shows from the last two years, which I didn’t see, are being released as Netflix specials in a couple of weeks, so I’m excited to check those out too!