Thursday August 21st 2025
Marc Jennings
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Scottish comedian, Marc Jennings, who had to add extra shows to his popular Fringe run, blessed Monkey Barrel Comedy Club’s stage with hilariously sharp observations on today’s world with the addition of classically catastrophising yet hysterical Scottish humour.
Proclaimed Scottish Comedian of the Year in 2019 and coming off his debut stand-up special recorded at Glasgow’s iconic King’s Theatre, Marc Jennings’ creative stand-up hour, ‘Bread and Circuses’, explores our world today with sharp observations on current events, modern dating and politics.
His observations on societal issues was the core theme of his performance, bringing light to depressing issues with wit and outstanding punchlines. Explaining his views on the world today alongside issues in his own life, Jennings used creative comedy that was perfectly strung together to show the crowd that despite issues in life there is always room for laughter.
With all his recent success outside of the festival and selling out his Fringe runs in 2022, 2023, 2024, and this year, he is on the road to becoming a household name. The level of comedy he showcased made you understand why he has been so critically acclaimed whilst appreciating his level of dedication as he explained issues in his life of feeling stuck in his childhood town.
Back in 2019 when he won the award for best Scottish comedian, reviewers and comedy nerds were already explaining Jennings as having that special talent, and in the years following he has perfectly displayed that with his 2025 Fringe performance being a masterclass.
Despite covering a large variety of topic matter, there was no dull moment, with every punchline and story perfectly connecting to the next.
His sharp humour pierced the crowd with fits of laughter. The smart and relatable, but heartfelt, comedy blended a strong world understanding with personal life stories, discussing things wrong with our society and relating them to his own experiences. His intelligence shined through, displayed through both his smart witty comedy and his critique on life.
Even though Marc Jennings is potentially one of the next big names in comedy, his relatability was not lost with his stories being extremely familiar, especially to the Scotts in the audience.
Poking jokes at the English and touching on Glasgow’s sectarianism, his show had all the classic Scottish stand-up moments but with the addition of a heartfelt understanding of the world. His show felt more like a hilarious conversation with a familiar friend, rather than a ticketed Fringe show, creating moments of empathy, nostalgia and laughter.
Marc Jennings’ show was extremely Scottish, containing all the classic ‘Scottish patter’ whilst displaying a skillset that is extremely versatile. His dark and crude humour at times was hilariously inappropriate, touching on his most outrageous dating experiences.
Creating both genuine moments of relatabilty, moments of ‘should I laugh at that’, and moments of hilariously classic stand-up, Marc Jennings displayed the same standards as one of the greats in both his overall comedy and delivery. His comedic timing was well-tuned, providing a lighhearted approach to controversial moments.
Naming his show ‘Bread and Circuses’ off of an inspriational quote that turned out to be an Instagram post he saw, this gave the audience a fantastic insight into the comedian’s happy-go-lucky and comedic nature which was showcased throughout the entire performance.
Alongside the incredible delivery, his audience engagement was top tier. Displaying the classic comedic crowd involvement, he used conversations with audience members to add more comedy and contact to his jokes. The crowd work, despite being simple, was very well executed with no awkward moments and using these interactions to excel his jokes.
It is no surprise that Marc Jennings had to add more shows to his run at this years festival. Selling out his Fringe shows in previous years and coming off the back of his debut special and a UK and Ireland Tour, the comedian is beginning to receive the recognition he deserves. Marc Jennings is one of the top shows at this year’s festival, providing that hilariously classic comedy with a heartfelt Scottish twist. He is one of the up and coming comedians where in a few years time will be selling out tours and large venues, and hopefully still returning to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe where the crowd adores him.
Sold out for the remainder of the festival, performing from 5:50pm at Monkey Barrel Comedy – Monkey Barrel 4.
5/5, one of the best stand-up performers at this years festival.
