Matt Forde

Matt Forde: Defying Calamity

05/08/25

Pleasance Courtyard (Beyond), Edinburgh

It’s rather lovely to see Matt Forde strolling out to greet a sold-out house at the spacious Pleasance Beyond, the mere sight of him bringing back memories of alcohol-fuelled nights at earlier fringes (in smaller venues) in those far-off days before we went on the wagon.

Anyone coming to this show after spotting the poster and expecting some kind of Wicked mash-up will be sorely disappointed. That title is, I think, a reference to the comedy-impressionist’s own recent brush with cancer and the couple of years he’s spent learning how to adjust to his new condition. If anything, the experience has given him an added openness, a willingness to talk about his own situation in unflinching detail. I now know a lot more about erectile dysfunction than I did before.

Which is not to say that this isn’t a rollicking evening of laughter as he flits from impersonations of one politician to another: a hapless Keir Starmer, trying his level best to do the right thing but invariably putting his foot in it; a swaggering Nigel Farage, fired up on pints of best bitter and loudly opposing anything his opponents present him with; and is there any other impressionist who can portray the execrable Donald T with quite such skill, capturing the man in all his awfulness which just a frown and a grimace?

Forde is also rather adept at making me reconsider views that that I’ve long held, merely by coming at a subject from a slightly different direction. He’s a staunch centrist, and I’d like to hear his views on the new Corbyn-Sultana alliance, but maybe it’s too recent an event for him to have built a routine around.

Tonight’s set offers an overview of Great Britain as it stands at the crossroads of change. Just exactly where our country is headed remains to be seen, but it’s great to have a skilled comic like Forde to provide the commentary, offering his own authoritative insights into the world of politics.

I’m glad to see him back on stage, where he belongs.

4 stars

Philip Caveney

Matt Forde: Inside No. 10

26/08/23

Pleasance Courtyard (Pleasance Beyond), Edinburgh

Matt Forde has built his reputation on a canny combination of political commentary interspersed with impersonations of the people in power. He’s a seasoned, confident performer and, pretty much from the get go, Inside No. 10 has the sizeable audience at the Pleasance Beyond laughing it up. The over-riding message is that the country is being led by the biggest bunch of buffoons in history and our only hope is to giggle about it. No arguments there. I’ve always thought that Rishi Sunak would be a hard man to impersonate but Forde manages it with ease, highlighting his ability to sound inappropriately effusive, even when he’s delivering horrible news.

And it’s not just the Tories. There’s a brilliantly observed Keir Starmer in there too, austere and seemingly obsessed with tearfully mentioning his late father at every opportunity and, since we’re in Scotland, the recent woes of the SNP are duffed up too, even if Forde wisely keeps his Nicola Sturgeon down to a few one-liners.

Ironically, it’s when he steps outside of British politics that the show really takes flight. His impersonation of Donald Trump is, as ever, spot on, nailing the man’s petulance and his childlike habit of blaming everybody else for his misfortunes. It’s easily the funniest part of Inside No. 10, (especially after being handed the gift of that mugshot) but, unfortunately, it has the effect of making the remainder of the show feel slightly anticlimactic. The piece doesn’t conclude so much as peter out.

Perhaps a little restructuring would help, holding back Trump (if only such a thing were possible) and finishing the exercise on a high point. Or maybe having him as a guide, observing our political system from his jaundiced POV?

Mind you, it’s bit late in the day to be suggesting changes, when the Fringe has almost run its course; besides, if the object of the exercise is to make an audience laugh, Forde certainly succeeds in that respect, big time.

3.8 stars

Philip Caveney

Matt Forde: A Show Hastily Rewritten in Light of Recent Events – Again!

09/08/17

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh

My, but this is a boozy crowd! No judgement intended (I can be a bit of a boozer myself) but it’s noticeable: almost everyone entering the room is holding on to at least one pint; many punters are gamely carrying two. Well, it wouldn’t do to run out, would it? I’ve never been so aware of the drinking at a festival gig. And there are a fair number of actual drunks here too: people who, though friendly and good-humoured, have clearly already reached the stage where they might just derail a show. I’ve also never seen Matt Forde before. I wonder if his audience tells me something about him.

Not really, it turns out. Maybe it’s just coincidence. There’s a kind of blokey jocularity to Forde’s delivery which complements the room’s beeriness, and there are indeed interruptions from a group of older men (one wants to go to the toilet; a second worries that the first’s been gone too long; a third just wants to have a chat) but Forde handles it well: he’s friendly and polite, but doesn’t let things stray too far.

Because he has a lot he wants to say – and we all want to hear it. His schtick is political impressions interspersed with commentary, and it’s really very good indeed. The impersonations are witty and well-judged, and the observations show he’s knowledgeable: interested and interesting, letting no one off the hook. Okay, so the Nicola Sturgeon section falls a bit flat (I don’t think there are actually many Scottish people in tonight, so there maybe isn’t enough shared understanding for this to really fly), but most of what he says hits the mark successfully. It’s not massively challenging, but it is thought-provoking: it’s Rory Bremner territory. His Donald Trump is a definite stand-out: as sharp and satirical and funny as can be.

A fascinating show, this one – quite different from most of what’s on offer at the Fringe. It’s well worth an hour of anybody’s time.

4.2 stars

Susan Singfield