The Secret Reviewer #42: Last Chance Saloons

Every month our clandestine critic reveals the murky truths behind that infamous trade, and live comedy generally. This month: Was that the last Fringe as we know it?

I miss the days when comedy reviewers were big villains. At Edinburgh Fringe, shows we'd be slagged off generally, as a breed, or sometimes even picked-on personally, while getting absolutely rinsed on social media if our comments weren't to the comic's liking, which is fair enough really.

They got to actually physically kick us at Edinburgh's annual comedians vs critics game of football, which was right up there with Rangers/Celtic, beef-wise. That...