Phil Nichol: I Don't Want to Talk About It

There are bad Fringe shows, there are good Fringe shows, and there are happenings, those rare feats of creative chutzpah that make you want to surreptitiously switch your phone back on for some serious “OMG!” action. Which is actually fine at this one, as you inexplicably find yourself marching musically across a square, joining an al fresco hoedown then forming the VIP section of another gig altogether, which is also a bit of a happening.

Such a turn of events certainly doesn’t seem likely for much of Phil Nichol’s new show. I Don’t Want to Talk About It is supposed to be a cathartic hour in which the usually ebullient Canadian tells us about a recent wretched period in which his long-term girlfriend turned out to be having a long-term affair with one of his best pals. It's all true, apparently, and there are clues as to who that scoundrel might be, comedy scandal fans.

Nichol—who now sports a goatee that has transformed him, freakishly, into a Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark doppelganger—insists he’s now over it. He tries to appear upbeat but “I’m not well” is a regular between-routine mantra, and the whole show seems likely to implode at any moment, until it spectacularly does. Then, everything makes sense. Although, ironically, given the show’s title, we can’t really talk about that, without ruining it. Just be sure to keep a few hours free afterwards, as your evening may fly off in an unexpected direction.

Audiences: assemble!