There is always a risk that local talent can be overlooked at the Fringe but that is certainly not happening with Edinburgh-based Connor Burns. He has sold over 4500 tickets already for his 9.45pm show and has just added two extra dates due to demand at 4pm in the same big room on August 17 & 18. Grab a ticket pronto if you want to see one of Scotland's shiniest newest stars.

 

 

Burns' latest show is entitled 1994 in honour of the year he was born. He notes straight out of the gate that now is probably the shitest time ever to be 30 years old. It's hard to disagree with him as he catalogues the big and small things that are wrong with the world right now, from modern banking technology to Donald Trump to problems with the national anthem.

 

Just to prove how bad things are he has done his research to highlight how things have gone wrong, by playing the songs that were number one at pivotal points since WW2. It might not be a scientifically rigorous, peer-reviewed method to chart decline but it does add a musical twist to his lively set.

 

When his father was born in the 1950s, for example, Bill Haley was topping the charts. Rock and roll was about to kick off and things were never more exciting. Then when his dad was a teenager Jimi Hendrix was at his peak. And then there was the Clash. I won't reveal what was the big hit when Connor was in his cradle but it certainly doesn't have the same swagger as Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

 

And there is certainly plenty of swagger in Burns' set. He has become an increasingly stylish, confident performer since last year, as assured with a quick gag as he is with a longer anecdote. He jokes that he doesn't quite know how to move when the songs are playing but his jerky dad dancing actually adds to the entertainment.

 

If there is a quibble it is that despite his relative youth there is something traditional about Burns. One riff relies on the antique idea that women are bad drivers, while a story about visiting a hipster barber and fretting that they might think he is gay feels a little out of step in these polysexual times.

 

But his audience clearly didn't care about judging Burns on the woke-o-meter, they were too busy laughing at his thoughts on Donald Trump, Scotland's football team and the rich and varied ways the c word can be used.  

 

Despite his comic moans, however, don't be fooled into assuming that Burns is some aspiring Victor Meldrew thinking things were always better in the past. As his slick, punchline-packed set moves to its crowdpleasing finish he finds some positivity too. He talks about how when things were at a low ebb he decided to give stand-up comedy a go. Things have worked out for him and he suggests others should follow their dream too.