Matt Forde: The End of an Era Tour ★★★★★

It’s been an extremely tough year for Matt Forde. Diagnosed with cancer on his spine, it was touch and go whether he would actually be around, let alone come back to Edinburgh to boss another Fringe show.

In much the same way that Billy Connolly handled his Parkinson’s Disease when he did his last major tour, Forde quickly calls out the walking stick he now has to use and moves on to ripping politicians of all persuasions.

And what a gift 2024 has been to comedians of his ilk, with the UK elections just gone and the US ones upcoming. The cast of characters that make up the main political players is a godsend to a skilled impressionist like Forde. He may be left-learning but his targets come from a wide pool as everyone from Kier Starmer to David Cameron to George Galloway are torn through.

His Trump impression is a thing of side-splitting wonder. But he saves his must vicious barbs for the quite dreadful Lee Anderson, recounting him as a school bully who will nick your dinner money.

In amongst the outlandish caricatures, there is much clever and original humour to be enjoyed. Indeed, this is probably the only show that manages to make a joke about ABBA Voyage and council tax. And you’ll never be able to look at Rishi Sunak again without being distracted by his “Kermit energy”.

Forde may have gently coerced his audience into giving him a standing ovation, but it was a hugely deserved one. With an almost-perfect gag hit rate, he may be enduring his personal battles, but The End of an Era Tour is an energetic and riotous slice of polemic.