Síomha Hennessy’s show isn’t just the complete package; it feels like the ideal Edinburgh Fringe performance.
It’s difficult to imagine a more archetypal Edinburgh Fringe experience than watching Síomha Hennessy’s show. About 50 chairs are laid out in a room upstairs in Just the Tonic’s “The Mash House,” the venue itself located on a set of steps in an alley between two streets and about four venues. For some performances, people have had to be turned away at the door; on the day I attended, there were seventeen punters, including Hennessy’s loyal sister in the front row.
Oversharing, absurd character bits, pitch-perfect musical comedy, and crowd work straddling the line between affectionate and mean-spirited—Hennessy’s show isn’t just the complete package, it feels like the ideal Fringe performance. Sat in this tucked away spot, with zero expectations on what we’re about to see, Hennessy’s show is an utter gem that reminds you that the true festival spirit can still be found in an overwhelming, testing, and at times saturated comedy festival.
But there’s caveats: the economic hardships and industry starvations faced by comics and artists since COVID, not to mention the effects of Brexit and a cost of living crisis , have excessively punished those on the “fringe” of mainstream artistic success. It’s harder to bring a show to the Fringe, harder to have a successful run, and harder to feel like the whole system isn’t rigged in the favor of those with access to cash.
Hennessy is 35, single, and without long-term career plans ahead of her—what she does have is a sincere, pleading hope that the arts will work out for her. Her talent is obvious: she has a warm, engaging stage presence and an expert command of timing and tone.
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