Adele | Get Your Coats On

“Each year I bottle as much Scottish tap water as I can, a few more years and I think I’ll have enough to start selling it for profit in London.”

WHO: Adele Cliff

WHAT: “Adele uses her gag-heavy style and penchant for silliness to tackle the topic of lying and why we do it (or does she?) ‘Guaranteed laughs’ ***** (The Student). ‘A consummate jokesmith’ (Comedy.co.uk). ‘A sophisticated and intelligent comic with oodles of talent’ (FringeReview.co.uk). ‘Absolutely charming’ (Scotsman). ‘Knows how to keep an audience enthralled’ (SquirrelComedy.co.uk). Dave’s Funniest Jokes of the Edinburgh Fringe 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016. UK Pun Champion 2020. Leicester Comedy award nominee – Best New Show 2023.”

WHERE: Just the Cask Room at Just the Tonic at The Mash Hou (Venue 288)

WHEN: 17:05 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No, this will actually be my 11th time performing at the Fringe, I can’t wait to be back, it’s always a highlight of my year.

Each year I bottle as much Scottish tap water as I can, a few more years and I think I’ll have enough to start selling it for profit in London.

I think the Edinburgh Fringe is special because it makes you feel part of such a big artistic and creative community, it feels so important to bring and present you best work whilst also allowing you to see so many other people’s shows and get inspired.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I think the last year has taught me I can connect people with universal yet personal experiences via my comedy and it’s been really great to be able to do this at festivals in Australia (Adelaide and Melbourne) earlier in the year and across the UK in the lead up to the Fringe.

I have also learnt that I can’t juggle knives yet and got much quicker at doing jigsaw puzzles because I love a wild night in!

Tell us about your show.

I have been writing and working on my show for about 18 months and taken it round the world to get it ready.

The show is about lying and honesty and how we use the truth when we interact with people, it’s also about regret and family and it has a whole load of very funny jokes in it that I’m really enjoying.

The show premiered at Melbourne International Comedy Festival and I can’t wait to bring it to Edinburgh.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

I love watching other peoples shows at the Fringe, it’s so great to see everyone’s hard work paying off.

I’m especially looking forward to:
Bec Hill – who creates the funniest imagery and loves jokes about butts. (@bechillcomedian)
Sikisa – who’s brilliantly intelligent, yet relatable on so many subjects. (@sikisacomedy)

and newcomers:
Jess Carrivick – who is fantastic and engaging character comedian. (@JessCarrivick)
Robyn Reynolds – who has such a compelling and funny tale of medical incompetence.
Will Davies – who’s wonderfully silly and analytical in glorious combination.

This year I’ve made a link tree to share all the shows I’m excited about and will add even more when I see them at the Fringe.
https://linktr.ee/AdelesRecs

LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!

INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!

“A real gem of a show”

Editorial Rating: 4 Stars

I can’t believe it’s already that time of year again where I dust off my quill for Fringe season. Time seems to be moving incredibly fast and before the madness of the month commences I find myself taking stock of just how far I’ve come since my first Fringe experience 10 years ago. It’s somewhat fitting then that my first review of the year is for Adele is Younger Than Us – a frank and funny assessment of one’s life’s achievements in comparison to those of a global superstar. And while, in so doing, it would be easy to wallow, have existential crises or bury one’s head in the sand, Sally O’Leary and Rhiannon Neads take a light-hearted musical look back at their journey to (almost) thirty.

Opening number “How do you write a love song?” isn’t the most original of subjects, and early on I was worried that this show would end up being one big cliché of every “unlucky in love” story ever told. But there’s more than enough personality and punch in the song to maintain interest, and a likeability and professionalism about the partnership that command respect.

Indeed, likeability and laughability are perhaps the words I would use most emphatically in describing the qualities of this show. The script is full of witticisms and puns (my particular favourite: describing the notion of being romantically unavailable as “Taken – like the daughter of Liam Neeson”), while the delivery and comic timing from both performers left me giggling on numerous occasions.

The framing and structure of the show, using Adele’s life and works to compare their own lives to works really well, and helps bring a sense of originality to proceedings. It allows the O’Leary and Neads – by all accounts two normal girls – to trace their own lives in comparison with Adele’s, giving the audience the chance to join them on their journey through adolescence into adulthood. It’s personal and revealing, but also reassuring that actually, we’re all in the same boat.

While there is some variation in mood and genre of the musical numbers, I would have liked to have seen a bit more risk taken creatively here. The attempted rap was a nice try but perhaps a little undercooked, or just a pastiche of itself – I’m not sure.

Overall, it’s a slick, polished and accomplished performance delivered with verve. A real surprising gem of a show.