Thursday August 14th 2025
Susan Harrison. Photo by Matt Stronge
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Award-winning character-comedian, Susan Harrison, has brought a brand-new show to this year’s Fringe, showcasing five characters that provide an hour of silly and manic comedy.
Displaying a host of bizarre characters, these included an unconfident Sindy Doll, 90’s panda, and the most bizarre of them all, an Irish girl who has swallowed a girl in a well.
Susan’s new show, ‘Should I Still Be Doing This?’, previews her strongest character sketches whilst asking the question of, should she still be doing this?
Starting the show with an empty stage, Susan had integrated her way into the crowd, pretending to be an audience member who was confused about why the act hadn’t entered from behind the curtain yet. Confused about what was going on, similar to the rest of the crowd, she walked up to the stage and began ‘arguing’ with the act.
This was the first character Susan displayed, starting with a unique sketch straight from the kick off. Acting out an argument with another character (herself), she then took this character onto the stage.
Despite the creativity of the initial character, this was followed by a portrayal of a unconfident and self-doubting Sindy Doll. This character sketch was overall very strange, providing no shock factor and was over stretched, being the weakest character Susan played.
Despite switching back to the Sindy Doll later on in the show, the rest of the chacarters were very creative, providing hilarious moments. The switch between these characters was very smooth, playing funny announcements introducing the switch whilst Susan put on different items on clothing.
The most effective character sketch Susan portrayed was the bizarre concept of the woman with a girl in a well stuck in her throat. This, despite being very unusual, was very well executed, creatively displaying her skills.
Within and outside of her character sketchs, Susan presented strong stand-up skills. With her show asking if she should still be doing character sketches, the character-comedian uses a portion of her hour-long show to be herself, speaking to the audience about issues in being a character-comedian, her age and her career, posing the question of the show.
This moment, despite being deep, displayed her basic stand-up skills, showing the audience that she is more than just a catalogue of characters.
The show is directed by Ben Target, who is part of the popular Fringe show, SHOWSTOPPER!. Also seen in The Imporvised Musical, Mischief Movie night and BBC Radio 4, he used his expertise to direct Susan’s performance which is reflected in the strong structure of the show.
Overall, Susan Harrison is a hilarious character-comedian, who can display her comedic versatility through her simple stand-up and her characters. This is something most comedians arent capable of, having a clear skill for both stand-up and comedic acting.
Susan’s show was heavy in audience participation, not being a performance for audience members weary of being part of the show. Speaking to members of the characters whilst in character, Susan got audience members to play kazoos, play clown horns and tell her their hobbies, with a section of the show relying on an audience member up on stage.
The show was hilarious and very well structured. By the end of the performance, Susan had answered her own question, that yes, she should still be doing this. Despite some of her characters not being as strong as the majority, Susan’s brand-new show is a unique and creative performance that displays both stand-up and comedic acting, adding up to a hilarious Fringe hour.
‘Should I Still Be Doing This?’ is a must-see performance at this year’s festival if you are up for some audience participation and can see past some cringe-worthy characters.
£11 full price at Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower – Pip
4/5, unique and hilarious performance
