EDINBURGH 2023: Review: CHLOE PETTS: IF YOU CAN'T SAY ANYTHING NICE, Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance Above

Chloe Petts is here and she’s ready to be mean. Or is she? Chloe Petts: If You Can’t Say Anything Nice is the second show for Petts at the Fringe, and instead of playing it nice like she did in her debut hour, she’s here to be rude. For those unfamiliar with the comedian, Petts herself splits her fans into two categories; hardcore football fans and beautiful queer people. According to her, it is a Venn Diagram of fans with only a few in the centre circle.

Indeed, the show does begin with a bit of heckling, which was quite amusing and led to a hilarious back-to-back between audience members to see which one was taller. Petts made fun of short guys in the front row when two out of three of them ended up being over 6 feet, ending with her claiming she would protect the 5’9” man from the other men sitting near him. 

Even though the show claims to be Petts “being really rude” and begins with her heckling members of the audience, it takes a serious tone and goes into the consequences of anger, focusing on a particular incident that happened when Petts confronted someone on a bus. It is interesting to see how Petts is able to blend honesty about her anger with her comedy, especially as she built a reputation for being a nice person. 

Ultimately, Chloe Petts: If You Can’t Say Anything Nice is a fun hour of comedy but also an honest look at anger and the effect it has on ourselves and others. The ending is a powerful reflection on how we can view the world and still manages to have a fantastic punchline.

Chloe Petts: If You Can’t Say Anything Nice runs at Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance Above at varying times until 27 August.

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