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The Guardian
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Zainab Johnson: Toxically Optimistic review – US comic targets gun culture
'I've got a gun.' Nice to be pitched, with that opening line, straight into a show declaring itself different from the others. Zainab Johnson's maiden fringe set – although she's already a big noise in the US – gives an account of how she came to own a firearm. It's not an explicitly political show – if a show about gun ownership by a black, Muslim, American female is allowed to be anything but. But Toxically Optimistic does invite engagement with some searching questions about guns, their use, and the safety they supposedly ensure – even if, so poised is Johnson's delivery, you barely notice it doing so. Hers is that particularly American style of standup that can feel too polished for UK tastes: smiling, slick and a little bit frictionless. If a British comedian tells a dating story, you can bet they'll be the butt of the joke; when Johnson does, it's to lord it over the short guy who wants but can't have her. Small wonder she is, by her own account, an eternal optimist – even if that quality is now to be tested when a friend tells her, apropos of her buying her own house, that she should acquire a gun without delay. Is that so? Johnson resists, and keeps resisting, even when her friend drags her to a shooting range, even when she imagines the home invasion scenario that might make a gun worthwhile. She asks herself questions about fear, with reference to an odd anecdote about a homeless man and a 'bucket of shit', and about safety, which has arguably been secured, but at what cost? Delivered with authority by the Harlem comic, the tone is smooth and philosophical, with the safety catch coming off only occasionally – see the excellent joke explaining why she takes notes when out on a first date. The show's final quarter pivots to a different subject entirely – and a less compelling one, too, notwithstanding that Johnson justifies it persuasively with a take-that reveal at the end. If you didn't know she was armed and dangerous before, that fine flourish of an ending proves it. At Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, until 24 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews
Scotsman
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Fringe comedy reviews: Zainab Johnson Charlie Mulliner
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Zainab Johnson: Toxically Optimistic ★★★★ Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) until 24 August Zainab Johnson calls herself 'toxically optimistic', the legacy, perhaps, of a terrible accident she suffered as a teenager, hospitalising her for a year but leaving her relatively unscathed. That's the context for her disclosing she's bought a gun. The US stand-up may be debuting at the Fringe. But she's performed in Europe enough to appreciate the frisson of discomfort such a statement might cause in these isles. As a tall, elegant, black, Muslim woman, she's nobody's image of a stereotypical, pistol-packing American. And her relationship with the weapon is complicated. For one thing, it's a talking point on dates. Although she entertains worst-case scenarios, arguing with amusing but persuasive logic about the precautions she takes before embarking on these liaisons, her optimism tells her that even if there isn't a romantic spark, she'll at least get some stories. And so it proves. Johnson is open to matching with 'short kings'. But she is tender while letting down those who don't interest her, reasoning 'you gotta keep the nice ones nice', performing a patriotic service for American women by gently sending them back on their way. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It was a male friend who convinced her to get the gun, his advice to her as a single woman living alone only making her feel more in peril. Johnson is wise about the various power relations in play here. So she and us can only guiltily enjoy the sass that she wields when she acquires the shooter. The final third of this smoothly related, consistently compelling hour seems to take a leftfield turn, with Johnson recalling the bond she formed with an actual home invader, an opossum. However, prompted by the experience of another comic, there's justification for this tactic, with her demonstrating she can do anything she puts her mind to on stage. Jay Richardson Love Hunt ★★★★ Just the Tonic at The Caves (Venue 88) until 24 August A vivacious blend of character comedy and clowning, Charlie Mulliner's Love Hunt delightfully depicts yearning, desire and soul-searching in all its messy chaos. Her principal creation is Amber, a privileged but pitiable young woman. She's poured herself into a decade with Rob, an unfeeling, oblivious rugger bugger, who leaves her utterly distraught and desperate when he casts her aside. Relating their relationship in heartbreaking, unwitting testimony, unable to fully appreciate the wretchedness of their loveless procession through skiing holidays with well-to-do friends, the whirl of endless weddings and external pressure to tie the knot, Amber is a beautifully realised study in personal implosion. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Thanks to Mulliner's affecting, exquisitely pitched performance, you'll find yourself laughing hard at the character's romantic naivety, her commitment to conventional illusions of happiness, then sad and guilty for doing so. Never for too long though, because you're invested in Amber's recovery. And Mulliner intersperses her resurgence with various other, more outlandish characters. The first of these is a wild-eyed nun, slavish in her commitment to rooting out lustful thoughts in the crowd, pelting hither and thither with a bloodhound's nose for sin, inhaling the reek of carnality as a vicarious turn-on. At the opposite end of the spectrum and indeed, the universe, is a lonely star, RSF32, hesitantly dipping its points into dating, its shy inhibition expressed in a winningly soft Welsh accent. A hardcore, antipodean personal trainer is maybe the least original of Mulliner's set, her commitment to the burn and ill-disguised mismanagement of her own issues approaching caricature. But then the vampiric femme fatale is a familiar archetype as well. And the comic imbues hers' with a viscerally gruesome horror. Entertainingly involving the audience, getting them on board to support her, Love Hunt is a fun, early afternoon diversion to gladden your heart and soul. Jay Richardson Trevor Lock: How to Drink a Glass of Water ★★★ Hoots @ The Apex (Venue 108) until 24 August We are asked to observe our fellow audience members closely at the start of the show and to compose a couple of lines of poetry. We will learn a lot about everyone in the room – where they are from, relationship status, even spiritual beliefs. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Lock, who is drinking a glass of water, asks a series of questions which divide the room, over and over again, into a myriad of different possibilities. Some of the questions are comic, some are intriguing, others are psychological and some are positively cosmic. It's an object lesson in the way comics capture our attention and analyse a room, but this time we are part of the process. It becomes quite dream-like as an experience. We are all the same, even if we have different points of view. We are an audience. Lock talks us through a few of the entries in an alternative dictionary he claims to be writing. And he suggests a plethora of alternative ways to configure a hipster restaurant. It's a strangely hypnotic show which reveals our common humanity by showing what separates us and what we have in common. The poems, which Lock reads out to us at the end, are surprisingly lovely. Claire Smith Tiff Stevenson: Post Coital ★★★ Hive 1 @ Monkey Barrel Comedy (Venue 313) until 24 August She might have mis-sold this show by giving it such a sexy title, particularly as it's taking place in one of Edinburgh's most notoriously smelly cellars. But Tiff Stevenson has a lot to get off her chest – and she's not going to let the sulphurous surroundings get in the way. Her subject is womanhood – and the expectations placed upon us as we age. In her youth, Tiff was a bit of a babe. It has to be said she's ageing very gracefully, but she's noticed that the world doesn't leap to attention for her in the same way it used to. Now she's fully in her power, but also starting to think about ageing, especially as she's concerned about her dad, who is living with dementia. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Tiff always has an interesting perspective on class, and she brings out some choice hypocrisy about the way women are treated depending on their accent and their social status. I loved her material about dementia, which was beautifully written and full of insight and compassion. I'd actually like to hear her talk about the subject for a full hour, particularly if it could take place in a fragrant, light-filled room. Claire Smith Robin Ince: The Universe and the Neurodiverse ★★ Gilded Balloon at the Museum (Venue 64) until 17 August Once a regular nerdy comic known as a lover of rare and obscure books, Robin Ince is now a popular broadcaster who brings a bit of levity to shows about science and hobnobs with the stars. The show starts well with some lovely photos Robin took on his morning walk around Arthur's Seat. There's some poetry, some half-arsed observations about art and science, rather a lot of name-dropping and far too many exhortations for all of us to 'Be Kind.' His audience, who he describes as mostly librarians and knitters, listen politely. Perhaps they are being kind. Claire Smith 50 Ways To Succeed at a Pointless Job ★★ Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hollywood at Laughing Horse @ City Cafe (Venue 85) until 24 August It is tricky to put one's finger on quite why this show fails to be funny, because the premise is good, some of the writing is not bad, and there is such a wellspring of ridiculous business jargon and methodology to draw on. But when the guy from the audience who wins the Pointless Bingo prize comes up at the end to give the bucket speech and wipes the floor with both performers, you realise that a comic needs to be more than someone who just says the occasional well-crafted comedy line.
The Guardian
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
It's not all haggis and Scotch pies up here
I'm not sure who Zainab Johnson's been talking to, but she'll have no problem finding vegan/plant-based food here in Edinburgh during the fringe ('I spent a month sleeping in a cupboard': comedians on the true cost of the Fringe, 27 July). We have thousands of restaurants, the vast majority offering plant-based McGovernEdinburgh I too expect Nigel Farage to be on Gardeners' Question Time soon (Letters, 24 July). Not for any money-tree expertise, however, but because it seems to be the only BBC media platform to which he isn't already given regular open HineKingston upon Thames, London I agree that 'Having a well-informed tranche of young voters would be wonderful' (Letters, 23 July). But given many electoral results here and in the US, I would go further: having well-informed voters would be BarrettNettleton, Lincolnshire We will remember Tom Lehrer by poisoning some pigeons in the park (Tom Lehrer, acclaimed musical satirist of cold war era, dies aged 97, 28 July). Derek McMillan Durrington, West Sussex A review of The Winter's Tale (23 July), but no mention of the climactic bear scene! The best bit. Actually, all I remember of the BrookerWest Wickham, London Why are women performing on a stage called 'actor' instead of 'actress' but women performing on a football field 'Lionesses' instead of 'Lions'?Christine FuchsChigwell, Essex Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Scotsman
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Comedian and actor Zainab Johnson makes Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut with 'Toxically Optimistic
Following her hit stand-up special Hijabs Off (Prime Video), and her first UK run with her sell-out and critically-acclaimed show at London's Soho Theatre last year, comedian, actor and writer Zainab Johnson makes her highly-anticipated debut at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. One of Variety's 'Top 10 Comics to Watch', Zainab will be performing her new show, Toxically Optimistic, at the Fringe at Pleasance Courtyard, Above from 30th July – 24th August at 6.40pm. Edinburgh Festival Fringe tickets are on sale now. Full dates and tickets at Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Quickly propelled as one of the most unique and engaging performers on stage and screen, Zainab has become known for telling stories about dating, alongside her identity as a Black female Muslim and being one of 13 siblings. In her new show, Zainab explores being charitable on dates, owning a gun but refusing to kill, a surprising friendship with a wild animal and revealing her toxic trait: Optimism. Zainab's debut special, Hijabs Off, was named as one of the 'Best Comedy Specials of 2023' (Vulture), and saw her profiled in Rolling Stone and the LA Times. Elsewhere on television and radio, she stars as a series regular in the hit original comedy sci-fi series Upload (Prime Video), was one of the hosts on documentary series 100 Humans (Netflix) and starred as Dr. Hanniel in the brilliantly written web series has also appeared on Ramy (Hulu), A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO), American Koko (ABC), Private Practice (ABC) and was a stand-out panellist on comedy quiz show Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me! (NPR). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad As a stand-up, Zainab made her first late night stand-up appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers (NBC), had a breakout appearance on stand-up series All Def Comedy (HBO) and was a finalist in the Emmy-Award nominated series Last Comic Standing (NBC), the American reality television comedy competition. Zainab also hosts the I'm Reasonable with Zainab Johnson YouTube podcast, examining her own life as well as everything happing in the world through the lens of trying to be reasonable all the time, which alongside her stand-up videos, has gained millions of views on social media. Zainab's debut special, 'Hijabs Off', was named as one of the 'Best Comedy Specials of 2023' (Vulture). As a live performer, Zainab has performed at the prestigious Melbourne International Comedy Festival, at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, first in the festival's annual showcase of emerging stand-up talent, New Face of Comedy, and most recently on the longest running JFL show Just For The Culture. Zainab is a regular at The Comedy Store, The Improv, and Laugh Factory in Los Angeles as well as the Comedy Cellar in New York City.
