Zoe Brownstone review: Razor-sharp jokes from a hopeless romantic
Edinburgh Fringe
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Edinburgh Fringe 〰️
Image: Dylan Woodley
by Zoe Paskett
Dating app fatigue is sweeping the world. No one wants to be on them and yet all those meet cutes you used to hear about seem more elusive a concept than ever. The hopeless romantics among us are longing to meet people out in the wild. A decade ago, I was asked out via a handwritten note slid across a library table (cute!), so I know it CAN happen! So why doesn’t it anymore??
Zoe Brownstone approaches her Edinburgh Fringe debut A Bite Of Yours like a romantic comedy: there’s the meet cute, the getting to know each other, all of the drama as life gets in the way, and the promise of a happy ending. Growing up in the golden age of rom-coms, the 90s, she’s determined to live this for herself.
Like me, Zoe is an eternal optimist, and a hopeless romantic. This badge of honour is put to the test when she meets a guy at her sister’s wedding and decides to move to the Netherlands to be with him.
As adept at delivering gags about destination weddings as musing on her parents’ divorce and questioning why on earth Dyson aren’t moving into the sex toy industry, she approaches every topic with gusto and charm. The combination of her confident storytelling ability and precise, razor-edged jokes make this the kind of show you’d be running to rent from Blockbuster on a Friday night. She might view herself as the quirky best friend but there’s no doubt this show puts her front and centre.
And that happy ending she promised? You’ll have to go and find out for yourself…
Zoe Brownstone: A Bite Of Yours is at Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker Three) at 19:15. Tickets here
