Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of The Fringe: Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 2017
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2017
Always Be Comedy (2 shows): The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2019
Kiri Pritchard McLean: Victim, Complex: The Firestation, Carlisle, 2019
Berk’s Nest Mid-Fest Comedy Special: Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 2019
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2019
Always Be Comedy Online: Show Eleven: 2020
Comedy at The Covid Arms: Online: 2020
Next Up Comedy Festival: Online: 2020
Comedy at The Covid Arms 1st Birthday Show: Online: 2021
Always Be Comedy Online (2 shows): Online: 2022
Kiri Pritchard McLean and Rachel Fairburn: All Killa No Filla Live: Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 2022
Kiri Pritchard McLean: Home Truths: Bloomsbury Theatre, London, 2022
Dylan Moran and Friends: The Clapham Grand, Clapham, London, 2023
I saw Kiri Pritchard McLean delivered two guest spot sets in 2017, one for Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of The Fringe in Edinburgh and the other for Always Be Comedy in London. McLean’s style was of a personal nature describing each time the state of her relationship playing with the audience’s feelings and doing so with injections of lewd humour.
Pritchard McLean guested at Always Be Comedy in January 2019. Her big, brassy presence together with a routine of no-nonsense, direct, sometimes filthy stories of love, life and relationships was endearing to the encouraging audience and McLean delivered belly laughs throughout her set.
I saw her again on tour in April 2019. I don’t normally go to a comedy gig on my own, but I was in Carlisle and on this occasion, I was very glad I did. McLean presented a searing honest account of an incident in her life that clearly affected her told with honesty, cutting dark wit, extremely funny asides and relatable audience interaction. Her ability to make an audience listen to her story and make them continuously laugh was extremely impressive. On stage, she was effortlessly on stage with the audience clearly engaging with them.
I saw Pritchard McLean again perform at the Berk’s Nest Mid-Fest Comedy Special at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2019 and again for Always Be Comedy in September 2019. Her ten-minute routines about her love-life was tight, concise, brilliantly constructed and exceptionally funny.
From a wonderfully opening line about the pressures of being isolated, Pritchard McLean’s set for Always Be Comedy Online that I watched in June 2020 was inspired and featured her comic experiences of living closely with loved ones.
Pritchard McLean was resident compere for Comedy at The Covid Arms that I watched in June 2020. The weekly Saturday night online comedy show has proved extremely popular raising money for charity and the comedy industry. Pritchard McLean made an engaging host and was very encouraging introducing the acts with inspired comic routines.
The comedian had her own guest show for the Next Up Comedy Festival that I watched in July 2020. Full of new material, she talked for an hour and was sneeringly honest, powerful, shocking and extremely funny.
The host compered for Comedy at The Covid Arms 1st Birthday Show in March 2021. She was bright, cheery and enthusiastic as she chatted with the audience and introduced the acts streaming from the Pleasance Islington as the extremely popular online comedy night celebrated its first birthday.
Pritchard McLean’s new show Home Truths was previewed at Always Be Comedy online as one of two appearances in January 2022. Tackling subjects including identity, accents, television and radio recognition, childbirth, memories and growing up in Wales, the comedian was charming, honest, insightful and exceptionally funny with her views.
In August 2022, I watched a special performance of the popular podcast All Killa No Filla live at the Edinburgh Fringe with McLean and Rachel Fairburn. The pair managed to create laughter from describing a macabre true story of a serial killer to a packed audience.
I watched McLean’s tour Home Truths at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London in November 2022. A show dedicated to moving back to her native Wales, the show was packed with exceptionally funny jokes on such wide subjects as skinny jeans, learning Welsh and rescue chickens! The show was a joy to watch from a very confident comedian at the top of her game.
She was a worthy compere for Dylan Moran and Friends at the Clapham Grand in June 2023. Her routines were razor-sharp as was her funny banter with the audience.
Pritchard McLean is a great comedian who is very engaging to watch and also fearless and extremely likeable. She is one of the best writers and comedians at work today.