EdFringe Review: Mark Bittlestone: I Need a Straight Guy*

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It’s impossible to overstate how much I like Mark Bittlestone, out there in his rhinestone England football top, telling zingers and skewering stereotypes. He has such a splendid energy on stage, that it gives an audience confidence that an hour in his company is an hour well-spent.

Seeing him on the final night of his Fringe run, there were two possibilities. Either he would be knackered from three weeks of giving his all, or he would be absolutely on fire, the fat trimmed from the set and delivered with easy expertise. Fortunately, the latter was true for a healthy crowd given the late-evening Monday slot.

Whether it’s telling tales of his life before coming out, and the consequences of disowning the search history on the family computer, or of early misadventures in pub toilets with admission fees, Bittlestone knows how to tell a tale. His crowd work is lively, engaging, and deceptively ambitious to boot.

There are personal moments layered in here and there, touching on his loneliness before finding/building a community, and one darker passage acknowledging the dangers of chemsex, societal prejudice and the instinct for self-preservation. For some, it may seem a jarring turn, but to me, this swift journey into trauma and out again straight into a punchline is a pretty sharp commentary on the human condition.

There’s also implied peril for advertisers wishing to avail themselves of Mark’s impressive social media following. Suffice it to say, Mark may not use your products as expected, or be all that convincing. He will, however, find a place for it in his next standup set.

The secret to Mark’s appeal ultimately stems from his happiness to find his laughs where he will. That could be football culture, gay or straight cultures, BBC Sounds, or misunderstanding instructions at an STI clinic with legendary consequences. He finds a slew of banging punchlines throughout.

It’s also absolutely delightful to see a comedian who’s made their name on social media not relying upon it to shore up their live work. There’s liberal referencing of his online adventures, but mostly riffs on the comment sections, as well as some novel use of Grindr by straight family relatives. That Mark used to have the username @poofsrus on his socials also provides fuel for some of the best material in the show.

This was my final review of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024. Tired, beaten down and bewildered it was a delight to find Mark at the end of the rather grey stone road. Thank Mark, you’re a wee star. As Fringe debuts go, I’d say you absolutely smashed it.

With that #EdFringe dreamers, until next year. (unless you have an interest in the performing arts the other 11 months of the year, in which case, see you in a few days probably!)

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