“Award-winning comedian Jonny Pelham is newly single, he’s moved to London and is being encouraged by the government to take speed everyday.
Is It Me? is a hilarious new stand-up show looking at what it means to be diagnosed as ‘neurodiverse,’ what constitutes normality and how to find happiness in a world that’s falling apart.”
Where: Monkey Barrel, The Hive 2
When: 28 Jul-25 Aug
Ticket link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/jonny-pelham-is-it-me
The world’s in a mess. What does Is it Me? bring to the table to make any sense of it?
The world is in a mess — but my show isn’t here to give you a five-point plan to fix it. Instead, it explores our modern obsession with self-improvement in the middle of societal collapse. We’re told that the solution to burnout is a better morning routine, that the answer to anxiety is mindfulness apps, and that all we need to feel less overwhelmed is a bullet journal and some scented candles. Meanwhile, housing is unaffordable, wages are stagnating, and half the country is in therapy for “personal issues” that suspiciously resemble structural problems.
So the show asks: What happens when we turn all this introspection back outward? When we stop trying to ‘fix ourselves’ in isolation and start asking why we’re all feeling this way to begin with?
How you are finding life in the big metropolis?
I love London, yes, it’s wildly expensive, I live in what’s basically a very fancy cupboard, and there are moments on the Tube where I genuinely question all my life choices. But despite all that, it’s great. There’s so much happening all the time — you can do two or three gigs in a night, and still pass someone dressed as a Victorian ghost just because it’s Tuesday.
How did you get your start as a performer?
I was wandering around freshers fair at university scrambling to redefine myself, I saw the comedy society and thought why not. 13 years later, I am still doing it which is mad, but excellent.
What are you looking forward to the most in Edinburgh?
Obviously, Edinburgh is the biggest arts festival in the world,a uniquely magical place where you can walk into the back of a pub and see shows that will change how you think and feel about the world. However, the thing I love most about it is the only time I let myself play Football Manager.
We all know that the fundamental problem with Football Manager is that it’s so much better than life. You can be halfway through the most passionate love affair, at the most exciting party, but if you are playing the game a small part of you will still be weighing up whether you should buy the seasoned pro,or gamble all your budget on a Latvian 17-year-old. So, throughout the year I just don’t let myself play the game.
However, because Edinburgh can be such a strange, tiring, suffocating bubble, any form of escapism is actively encouraged. Therefore, on day 3 or 4, when I feel the show is settled in, I load up the game and try to lead Bradford City to Champions League glory.
Where can we see your show after Fringe?
I plan to tour the show throughout the UK after the fringe. Follow me on social media for details.
Like this:
Like Loading…