Christian Finnegan: My Goodness

• Suzanne Black
• 5 August 2018

This article is from 2018

Seasoned and sassy stand-up from Comedy Central regular

Although pretty much unknown on these shores, Christian Finnegan has a much higher profile in his homeland of the United States where he appears on VH1 and Comedy Central. There's always the danger that a comedian's material won't translate to a Fringe audience. Heck, even London comics forget that not everyone at their Edinburgh show has intimate knowledge of the Circle Line. Finnegan's production, however, has universal appeal and no such translation issues. To make sure of this, he does throw in the obligatory dissing of Trump so that we know what kind of American he is.

He reveals the general type of person he is in great detail during the rest of the hour. Based on the clever premise of giving himself scores out of ten in various aspects of humanity (charity, honesty, etc) the show's structure is both contained yet flexible enough to allow him to work in asides on his dog and what it means to 'look gay'.

All this comes before inevitably moving towards a heartfelt conclusion, which has enough legs for a whole show in itself. Confident, seasoned and, when pushed, sassy, Finnegan delivers a worthy Fringe debut which deserves a warmer welcome than the small crowds he has been pulling.

Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 27 Aug (not 13), 8.45pm, £10–£13 (£9–£12).