Alexandra Haddow: Third Party

Edinburgh Fringe – Monkey Barrel

It’s not 100% clear how or why Alexandra Haddow defines Third Party the way that she does, but the way that she does it is quite reductive to a point. This show covers two different parts of comedy – political and personal – where one topic is exponentially and noticeably better than the other. 

After a strong start of solid political satire in the form of a fake radio broadcast, Haddow’s political comedy winds down to a dog-whistle of different politicians’ names in the hopes that we will laugh simply because they were mentioned, more often than not refusing to expand too much on it. Like throwing darts at a dartboard blindfolded in the hope that something will stick.

“Haddow has an instinct for comedy that will serve her well”

Early on, Haddow admits to having to re-write the show because of the recent general election, as if to excuse the quality of the material, but by the end it is clear that that decision was ill-advised. Many comedians seem to be in this position – such is the difficulty with political comedy – but it doesn’t make the material any less relevant to us. Whilst, yes, the Tories are no longer in power, but if the discarded material was about the past 14 years, it’s still soon enough after the fact that it keeps its relevancy, as the humour would be in having lived through their time in government and that experience is still a recent memory. It would’ve been to 2024 what COVID was to the 2022 Fringe. And we would’ve laughed and most likely found it a lot more funny than what we actually heard. It would’ve been a really cathartic, lovely shared experience that would’ve left us on quite a high. And whilst this may account for Haddow’s nervousness and the quality of the current material, it’s what we really want to hear about.

Haddow really hits her stride once she manoeuvers into the personal anecdotes portion of the show. Whilst they may challenge some sensibilities at times, she becomes really animated and it’s just fun to listen to her describe these scenarios, creating the appearance that this part of the hour is more true to herself as if she just had to get through the politics to chat about these anecdotes. She’s a naturally funny person who finds the root of the humour in any given situation quickly and communicate it well, in that by walking us through the ridiculousness of any given situation she commentates on the stories as they occur, making jokes in such quick succession that buoys the atmosphere in the room when it threatens to dip down. 

Third Party is not as solid as it can be, but it does have a lot of potential, as does Haddow as a comedian. The show has good bones and Haddow has an instinct for comedy that will serve her well.

By Katerina Partolina Schwartz

Photo Credit: Rebecca Need-Menear