EDINBURGH 2026: Review: BRIT BARRON: CHURCH, Gilded Balloon Teviot
Brit Barron: CHURCH runs at Edfringe until 30 August
Los Angeles-based Brit Barron makes her Edinburgh Fringe debut with her one-woman stand-up show, CHURCH, at Gilded Balloon Teviot.
Greeting the audience as they entered the Nook, Barron handed out programs which were an important part for later in the show, however, it felt as though you were entering a genuinely welcoming church service.
For the next hour, the Nook at Gilded Balloon Teviot turned into Barron’s church as she told her story about growing up in the Evangelical church, attending a Christian college and eventually becoming a pastor at Mississippi’s fastest growing megachurch at just 26 years-old. That all came crashing down after falling in love with its creative director, who happened to be a woman.
Queerness is a major theme throughout the set, and along the way, she takes several entertaining detours, including rants about straight men, golf and Jojo Siwa’s journey from lesbian to straight. These tangents are well placed, providing a quick refresh before bringing the audience back into the story.
The show also featured some musical interludes, with help from Paul Stephens on the keyboard and vocals. He has an amazing voice and brings plenty of emotion to these moments, adding another layer to Barron’s storytelling.
A highlight in the set that had the crowd in stitches was when Barron reenacted her role as a pastor. As the music plays, she stops moving around the stage and lowers her tone of voice, before launching into ‘riddles’ and seemingly meaningless phrases, but delivered with complete conviction as she waits for something to resonate with one of the church’s members.
Barron’s stage presence was phenomenal and she is an incredibly confident and engaged storyteller. It doesn’t come as a surprise given her experiences of speaking in front of congregations of 5,000 people, but she commands the room with ease and keeps her audience engaged throughout.
Brit Barron: CHURCH is a humorous, heartfelt and musically driven hour that explores faith, queerness and the complexities of being human.
Brit Baron: CHURCH is at Gilded Balloon Teviot until 30 August
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