Comedy review: Rosie Jones, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh

After last year’s superb debut, inexplicably overlooked for a best newcomer nomination, set in motion the best, most intense year of Rosie Jones’ life, her follow-up, Backward, doesn’t really take her forward.

Rosie Jones returns to the Fringe after last year's excellent debut, Fifteen Minutes.

Rosie Jones, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh * * *

The comic, who has cerebral palsy, is accustomed to being patronised as an “inspiration” or dismissed as a “retard”. However, soured love, fame and the confidence to really express herself in public have complicated the equation, her recognition as a “powerful lesbian” in a magazine rundown and the shifting social norms that have sprung up around the #MeToo movement only further muddying the waters. This last element is particularly problematic.

Her doomed affair notwithstanding, Jones has always resisted being seen as a victim, or at least, not in control. The wellspring of her arch, mischievous wit, it’s a big part of what makes her such a redoubtable and easy to warm-to act. But there’s no ignoring the rather uncomfortable way that she objectifies women in this show, the fact that she has been similarly treated herself hardly mitigation. Beyond that, her tale flits around a bit capriciously, when a more linear structure might have served her better. And she’ll be back with better you imagine.

Until 25 August

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