Paul Foot

One of Edinburgh’s more intriguing landmarks, found outside St Mary’s Cathedral, is an enormous foot. You wouldn’t be massively surprised if it was dedicated to, or at least now nicknamed, Paul.

Foot has become a beloved thread in Edinburgh’s ever-burgeoning tapestry during his decade-and-a-bit putting on shows up here, with his wilfully uncommercial but oddly influential airs. And hair. While other comics channelled chunks of his style and went on to wider fame, Greyfriars Paul remained at his Underbelly post, cheerfully, uncomplainingly, until he finally snapped and succumbed to the Dark Side. Suddenly, it’s Darth Paul. Heaven help us all.

Actually there’s a very funny bit about Heaven early on here—how all that perfection annoys the angels—but after a truly sensational stream of high-octane comic scenarios, Foot settles into his main theme: how to get revenge on innocent bed and breakfast landladies.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because this show is a varying compilation of classic routines, presumably in preparation for his forthcoming retrospective tour. And yet his ire towards guesthouse owners must have reached a new peak, as he makes the poor fictional woman’s life a misery; ordering then ignoring a mighty breakfast, smashing her doll collection, and causing a major breakdown. That bit is genuinely harrowing.

This is all performed with manic aplomb, of course, but what can it possibly mean? Is it a bold statement about bullying? Or did Foot have a particularly bad B&B experience, years ago? He really should let it go, if so. There are, after all, hotels.