Welcome to Hell - Review

What to watch at Fringe! A review of Welcome to Hell Live. 

If you've read any of my previous reviews, you'll know how much I adored being at Edinburgh Fringe. I saw so many incredible comedians and performers, met amazing people and had the best Fringe experience I possibly could have – but there was one show I planned the entire trip around, one show I knew I absolutely couldn't miss, and it was even better than I could have hoped for.

Welcome to Hell is a podcast from comedians Daniel Foxx and Dane Buckley which revels in pop culture, gossip, and the confessions and grievances of their listeners, known as "devilled eggs". Daniel and Dane, the beloved "infernal aunties", offer their advice and opinions on everything from the salacious to the serious on the podcast which charted in the Apple and Spotify Top 10 comedy charts immediately after its release. I consider myself something of a super fan, so when the live Edinburgh Fringe show was announced, I knew I just had to be there.

A lunchtime showing was perhaps not the time that Daniel and Dane would have preferred, but there was something so special about queuing up outside with the other fans in the middle of the day, knowing that there would inevitably be friendships formed and drinks to look forward to after (both of which absolutely happened). Finding the right queue outside Monkey Barrel Comedy Club wasn't difficult; you just had to listen for the cries of "Darling!" and Rosamund Pike impressions to know you were in the right place.

Of course, Daniel and Dane were wonderful. From the offset I found myself laughing out loud; the pair brought energy, hilarious anecdotes and slightly questionable cocktails for each other to try (a lukewarm G&Tea, anyone?) but more than anything the joy of seeing Welcome to Hell live is seeing them interact with each other. Their ability to bounce off of each other, to tease and playfully mock one another and let their friendship shine through every moment brought so much warmth into an utterly hilarious live show.

From hearing the boys (rightly) despair at the existence of the Fringe silent disco walking tours to listening to a letter from a listener, I loved seeing elements of the podcast come to life on stage, but this was no ordinary episode. The fan participation was gorgeous, from general chats and call outs to the audience to devilled eggs being asked for their deranged childhood crushes and suggestions for a game of "fuck, marry, kill, start a small business with" which an audience member got to participate in. Perhaps selfishly, my favourite part of the show was the ultimate podcast knowledge quiz between two fans – yes, you guessed it, I was one of them – with some beautiful witchy prizes up for grabs for the winner. Who won the devilled egg showdown? You'll have to watch the recording to find out.

Whilst this was a one-off live show for the Fringe, it wasn't the first Welcome to Hell Live, and I truly hope there will be more to come in future. The only thing I would have changed is the amount of time we had, as this joyful, slightly ridiculous and absolutely hilarious hour simply flew by and I truly didn't want it to end. It's no surprise that the show was so full of adoring fans, and neither is it a surprise that Daniel and Dane both sold out their individual Fringe runs – I honestly couldn't name funnier comedians.

Whilst the live show is sadly over, the podcast continues and I would encourage anyone reading this to give it a listen. You can subscribe on both YouTube and Spotify, where you will find hilarious main episodes, but if, like me, you'd like an entire extra episode every single week, you can also sign up to the Patreon for "less than the price of an oat flat white a month", where you can also find the recording of this absolutely phenomenal Fringe highlight. There are a lot of podcasts out there and a fair few podcast live shows, but none of them come close to being as delightfully funny and warm as Welcome to Hell. Give it a listen and see for yourself; the infernal aunties and their devilled eggs can't wait to welcome you in, darling.

Written by Tam Page

Posted by Mr. Tomney

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