Okay, we fully intended to stop writing anything about work in progress shows, we sort of had to during COVID as comedians shook off their ring rust, but we know it’s not the norm and don’t plan on doing it again in the future. That being said, we caught Troy Hawke during his one week run at the Edinburgh Fringe and were so blown away that we couldn’t help but say something.

Over the last couple of years, we have slowly become somewhat addicted to watching this clown greet people outside high street stores in what he calls “non-consensual customer service”. The exchanges are often hilarious, and the reactions are even better. As his reputation has grown, he has been invited to bigger and better events, but this was our first opportunity to see him in person.

In a beautiful juxtaposition our suave and sophisticated clown walks to the stage (a church hall bathed in dark red light) to the jungle kick of M Beat featuring General Levy performing ‘Incredible’. He then quickly takes control of the room and what follows is an hour of anecdotes from his many days working for Jan Molby at the Greeters Guild as well as tales of his life growing up with mother.

This was quite possibly the most polished work in progress set that we have ever seen and was even met by a standing ovation from some members of the crowd. Obviously, this show will evolve and grow as our clown fine tunes it but if you get the chance to see Troy Hawke perform in any capacity then we wholeheartedly recommend it – this is one of the finest character comedians on the circuit today.

Clown Stars (-unrated-)

@Just the Tonic, Edinburgh