EDINBURGH 2026: Review: AMANDA DWYER: BETTER THAN REVENGE, The Stand Comedy Club
For those with a darker palette, Better Than Revenge is sure to be one of the most memorable shows of this year's Fringe.
When the Glasgow International Comedy Festival first introduced the Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award, they put forward the following criteria for the eventual winner: they should be resilient, open, unapologetic, gallus, and, above all else, funny. If anyone fits the bill, it is this year’s winner, Amanda Dwyer.
Opening up the show by telling the audience just how it came to be, Dwyer confesses that at an earlier gig she heard a man mumble how she must be an angry female comic who spends her entire hour ranting about men. So, to exact the perfect revenge, she decided to do just that.
In fairness to her, she has had to deal with her fair share of shitty men. From Lance, the testicle deficient blackmailer, to Nigel, the misogynistic flag shagger, to Donald, McDonald’s finest employee-cum-scumbag (all names changed for legal purposes, of course), Dwyer has truly encountered some horrible characters.
Discussing such horrid experiences, Dwyer delivers her anecdotes and tidbits in such a terrifically dry manner that one can’t help but laugh, no matter how uncomfortable they may feel. The experiences the comic has gone through are far from funny, but the way Dwyer heightens the stories she is telling is so ridiculous that the comedian has the crowd in stitches from the first minute to the last.
It is that constant tightrope walk between humour and discomfort that shows off Amanda Dwyer’s talents on stage. Not every comedian would have the guts to turn their trauma into a full-on hour of stand-up comedy, and even fewer would manage to deliver it with such quality, but that’s exactly what sets her apart. She constantly has the audience in the palm of her hand.
Of course, such serious topics as sexual assault and revenge porn are not going to be for everyone, especially when delivered in such a comically drab way. However, for those with a darker palette, Better Than Revenge is sure to be one of the most memorable shows of this year's Fringe.
Amanda Dwyer: Better Than Revenge is at The Stand Comedy Club until 30 August
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