Josie Long: Romance and Adventure

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Josie Long continues to be one of the most adorable and sharp comics at the Fringe; if you don't leave uplifted and sort of wanting to be her best mate, you're probably dead inside. 

Yes, she's still politically active, but she's also starting to get weary. Romance and Adventure explores what it's like to fee small and unimportant; she suffered a breakup, started getting a taste for posh pursuits whilst campaigning for social justice and, to top it off, David Cameron's stolen the NHS. Her attacks (mainly on the Tories) are kept on the right side of angry, tempered with ridiculous impersonations and a penchant for illustrating important points in a 1920s film noir accent.

She's as enthusiastic and loveable as she is frustrated; anyone who's been unemployed, dumped or alone will feel that twitch of recognition, and more than a little twinge of sympathy. While her personal frustration is often poignant, because it's Josie, it comes drenched in 300 gallons of funny. Sure, she probably spends cumulatively a good half an hour ripping the piss out of rich people, but you get the feeling nobody in that hallowed one per cent will hold it against her. If she starts getting too preachy, she reigns it in with a self-deprecating dig, excessively camp impression or an unpredictable, well-observed side-step into hyperbole. 

A few of her later routines are a little joke-lite as her enthusiasm for socialism gets the better of her, but, whatever your political orientation, this is a return to top form for Long and you'll definitely want to buy her a pint afterwards.