EDINBURGH 2026: Review: AMY MATTHEWS: DEFINITIONS OF TOAST, Monkey Barrel At O'Neills (The Tron)
Amy Matthews: Definitions of Toast runs at Edfringe until 30 August
Amy Matthews brings her upbeat stand-up show Definitions of Toast to the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe.
Matthews, for some reason, can’t get angry in a world where it seems everyone is filled with rage. She compares herself to a hotel rotary toaster as she reads out three of the dictionary’s definitions of toast throughout the show, likening it to her difficulty to express and identify her own emotions.
Much of the set feels like Matthews overthinking out loud, but in a concise way as she flows swiftly between different anecdotes and jokes, as well as examples of what has recently ticked her off. These frustrations are usually the most minute of situations, like someone using a seat on the train for their rucksack instead of offering the seat to another person.
Matthews opened up on her previous relationships, with several of her ex-boyfriends being alcoholics. As a recovering people pleaser, she explains how she tried to help these men instead of getting angry at them when she probably should have, Matthews is now happily in a same-sex relationship, after finally ‘using the keys to the other restaurant’.
Reaching the overall conclusion of anger being more than just anger, with it also being resentment, disappointment, and a whole host of emotions that are often hidden beneath the surface.
The closing moments of Matthews set was a beautiful poem she wrote, inspired by Lily Allens most recent album, where she sings dark and brutally honest lyrics over a track that she herself has described as ’nursery rhymes’. Matthews takes a similar approach, reciting a poem over the music that plays out of a kids’ supermarket ride. The juxtaposition is both unexpectedly hilaroious and extremely poignant, as her words explore her feelings about her past relationships, whilst looking inward with some honest self-reflection.
Amy Matthews: Definitions of Toast is a brilliant stand-up show which finds humour in the mundane whilst exploring the complex human emotions that often sit beneath the surface.
Amy Matthews: Definitions of Toast runs at Monkey Barrel At O'Neills (The Tron) until 30 August
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