I usually avoid comedy shows like the plague. I rarely get the jokes and I live in fear of being picked on by a scary comedian. I once went to see a stand up with my husband, and it was all he could do to stop me leaving at half time. I spent the entire show slid down in my seat, eyes fixed floorwards.
So when I say I have just been to Thanyia Moore: August, and loved every single minute of it, I think that tells you almost all you need to know. This woman is searingly funny, but she’s also warm, empathetic and a brilliant storyteller. You leave feeling that you not only know this lovely person, you’d really like to keep chatting with her all night. She’s smart and sharp, but she’ s not scary, not even to a total wimp like me.
Thanyia first came to the Fringe in 2022. She’d already been a comedian for ten years; she was ready. She wanted to be the ‘Usain Bolt of the festival’, powering on to the end of the month as others fell by the wayside. She had the backing of a production company; they took care of everything, all she had to think about was her show.
Just before she arrived in Edinburgh, Thanyia found out she was pregnant. No reason not to carry on, right? These days expectant women run marathons, climb mountains and no doubt abseil merrily back down the other side. The Fringe? Can’t be that difficult.
Thanyia is so good at telling a story that by now we have travelled with her on the train from King’s Cross to Edinburgh, met her soon-to-be friend, Ahmed the taxi driver and arrived at her tenement rental. It’s the small details she includes that draw us in; it really is like sharing stories over a drink with your best friend or eavesdropping on a particularly fascinating conversation on the bus. You may not get a drink at this show, but you will get some excellent jokes, and you won’t have to get off half way through either.
Then, just like that, the narrative is ripped apart. On the day of her first show, Thanyia has a miscarriage. Or at least she thinks she does; the reality, when it’s finally diagnosed, is even worse than that.
What happens next forms the rest of Thanyia’s story. It’s one of huge resilience and determination, cut through with glimpses of terrible grief and pain. Along the way there are terrific cameos; the guy she sits next to on the train, her family, especially her Mum-who-never-listens; the wonderful Scottish NHS staff; the guys she shares her flat with; the head of marketing at her production company. Somehow, in the space of sixty minutes, these characters become real to us, and the fact that they do is entirely down to Thanyia’s immense talent and deep humanity. Within seconds, August switches from making you laugh like a drain to shattering your heart into tiny pieces – and sticking them back together again.
There are just two more days left to see this wonderful show, so please do yourselves a favour and go.
Thanyia Moore: August is at Pleasance Courtyard (Upstairs), Venue 33 at 5.40pm on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 August. Tickets from the Fringe Box Office here, or from the Pleasance Box Office online here or in person at the venue. After the Fringe, Thanyia will take the show to London’s Soho Theatre for 1-6 September.
