Shepherds Bush Comedy Club: Shepherds Bush, London, 2009
After Hours Comedy: Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh, 2009
Terry Alderton: Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 2011
We Love Comedy: Effra Social Club, Brixton, 2013
Play: The Shawshank Redemption: Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, 2013
Terry Alderton: All Crazy Now: Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 2017
Terry Alderton: The Musical: Assembly George Square Studios, Edinburgh, 2018
I first saw award-winning comedian Terry Alderton’s act in 2009 at a tiny comedy club in Shepherds Bush, London. Playing to the small room, I could witness at first-hand his unusual exaggerations and strikingly perceptive impressions together with his enthusiastic loose-limbed physical comedy.
Wanting to see him again, I watched more twenty-minute routines at After Hours Comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2009 and then saw his full hour show in 2011 also at Edinburgh. Alderton effortlessly entertained an excited audience with random alter-egos, amazing verbal gymnastics, thrilling physical pranks and unnerving visions into the inner workings of a unique comic mind.
I caught him again performing in the intimate surroundings of the Effra Social Club in Brixton in 2013 for the We Love Comedy project headlining the evening with his riotous hilarity. Again, Alderton delivered a mesmerising collection of noises, voices and even tap dancing combined with incredible physicality into his set. He was a joy to watch and completely held and took over the room whilst he was on stage.
Apart from a supporting role in the stage version of The Shawshank Redemption alongside Omid Djalili and other comedians at the Edinburgh Assembly Rooms in 2013, I didn’t see Alderton perform live again until 2017 where he returned in triumph to the Edinburgh Fringe with his show All Crazy Now. The show was passionately funny and perfectly formed. It was a magnificent comeback for an always great comic and it was a genuine thrill for me to see Alderton’s unique kind of talent on a stage putting his heart and soul into a show with such comedic force.
Along with two friends, I went to see Terry Alderton’s new show at the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2018. It is fair to say that one of my friends is quite shy but insisted on sitting in the front row of Alderton’s show and I had been doing at the other shows I had seen. I warned my friend that he may be picked on by Alderton and indeed he was. Alderton made him do something out of the ordinary that after some hesitation my friend eventually did, which brought the house down and made for a great show.
I had seen Alderton’s manic comic energy in many shows at the Fringe and in 2018’s offering he decided to deliver his version of a musical. The stage started empty except for mannequin with the head of a poodle and this gave an indication of the madness this most unprompted and extreme comedian was about to unleash. The Musical resulted in another assault of fast-paced, often destructive lunacy. After the show we met Alderton who was calm and charm itself, praising my friend’s efforts in taking part in the show. Alderton’s stage presence of extreme insanity was very infectious and very, very funny.
Alderton’s act must be experienced live to be believed. He is a great performer, has made consistently cry with laughter and is very highly recommended.