Caroline Rhea

When Sarah Silverman played London in 2008, there was much outrage when she clocked off for a heavily-priced event some 40 minutes in. Last year, Carol Leifer, the inspiration for Seinfeld’s Elaine, graced the Fringe by reading straight from reams of A4 notes rather than ‘perform’ an actual stand-up show. Do these showbiz north Americans not actually understand what constitutes a proper comedy gig? Here, in a highly-anticipated debut, Caroline Rhea rolls out her fella, Costaki Econompolous (yes he’s the ‘biggest name in comedy’), to do a 12-minute warm-up before trying to make everyone late for their next show by happily failing to eke out extra time with the Gilded Balloon staff (a week into the Fringe, can she really be unaware that another show is due on straight after her?).

Maybe the purpose was to make herself look extra good by having her man take the audience hits with some humdrum stuff about the Loch Ness Monster (oh, yes) amid revelations that Americans and British actually have different words for the same things: what’s that all about, huh? And yet Rhea could have easily just gone on and chatted amiably and occasionally hysterically for a full hour about fame, motherhood and masturbating orang-utans.

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 25 Aug, 9.30pm, £14–£15 (£13–£14).