Katie Mulgrew: Your Dad's Not Funny

Many people of a certain age would argue that, despite the title of this show, Katie Mulgrew’s dad is funny.

That’s because the perky comedian’s father is entertainer Jimmy Cricket, who at one point was a fixture on primetime British television. Now he’s also the focus of his daughter’s first full-length Fringe show.

Mulgrew has plenty of anecdotes about growing up with her famous dad, which she sprinkles around a warm and confidently-delivered set. Her views on social media and its potential impact on the families of the famous are smart and witty, while she has an easy rapport with the audience that many more experienced comedians would sell their joke books for.

Unfortunately, when she digresses from the main theme the results are more mixed, with a fair number of punchlines failing to spark. Meanwhile, many of her callbacks seem at best forced, and at worst entirely unnecessary.

A selection of pictures and videos add some variety and keep things moving along but ultimately seem like cheap filler to get the show up to the required hour running time.

She gets back on track in a closing section about her university days and ends on a suitably heartwarming note. There’s also a piece of material about Operation Yewtree which could well be the sharpest riff about a subject which is cropping up in venues across the city.

Lots of potential then, even if she’s not quite yet the finished article. Dad must be proud.