Adele Cliff simply will not leave the people of Edinburgh alone. Having performed at every Fringe since 2016, she returns again this year with two shows, her main show, Adele Cliff’s Topical Late Show with Adele Cliff, and a work in progress. Her 2025 show, Adele, Adele, Adele… Cliff It Isn’t The Consequences Of My Own Actions, garnered four and five star reviews, and she has filmed it to release as a special later this year.
How did you get into comedy?
As a child I met a fortune teller at a fair who gave me a cursed amulet that I’ll only be able to remove if I make people laugh for 30 years. This has all just been me working on getting it off!
What’s your show about and where can we see it?
I don’t actually know what the show will be about yet, because it’s topical! Whatever is happening in the news in August, silly and serious, will all be in there somewhere.
The show is going to be entirely new each day, featuring a monologue, breakdowns of the bigger stories, analysis of ongoing topics that shape the news, and a bit of history. We will also have a brilliant guest each day and a house band.
It’s going to be at the Edinburgh Fringe in the Yurt on Potterrow at 7:20pm from 7th to 30th August, with clips going up during the month on Instagram and the like!
Tell us about your comedy style.
I jump between quite a few styles really. I’ve variously incorporated one-liners, storytelling, and topical material into stand-up, as well as more surreal material into sketches and improv. The key is knowing where to put the emphasis to make it land.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
For this show I’m mostly inspired by the American Late Night comedy style, particularly Seth Meyers and John Oliver. Seth is especially brilliant at packing in jokes on jokes whilst delivering a detailed news story, and I love his sillier segments like Jokes Seth Can’t Tell and Corrections. John Oliver is the king of in-depth analysis. I also really love the Weekend Update segments on SNL, both the US and UK versions, as they’re a great showcase of punchy topical writing.
Closer to home, I enjoy the sharpness of the jokes that get showcased on Breaking The News (BBC Scotland) and The News Quiz (BBC Radio 4).
What do you think makes great TV comedy and great live comedy?
For both, I think the key is the connection to the audience. It makes the laughs feel bigger and the moments between the laughs land better.
At a live show, it’s about the feeling that what’s happening is a unique experience to the people in the room. This is not necessarily because the show contains audience interactions or elements of improv, although both can be great, but because you can see the performer responding to the laughter, tweaking their emphasis, and relishing a crowd that matches their style. I love it when you walk out of a show knowing that the comedian was in the zone.
For TV comedy, I know a show has hit that connection well for me when I can’t help but rewatch it and when the emotional moments and the laughs build each other up. I just finished Hacks and I adored it. It is immediately going into my rewatching cycle along with The Good Place and Ted Lasso.
Any advice for those taking their first show to Edinburgh?
It’s like swimming really: don’t eat less than 30 minutes before your show, bring a pound for the locker, and, hopefully, no bombing.
Keep up to date with and follow Adele Cliff on Instagram.
Tickets and more information for Adele Cliff’s Topical Late Show with Adele Cliff can be found here!
