Edinburgh Fringe 2025
Lily Phillips: Crying
Lily Phillips
Genre: Comedy, Stand-Up, Storytelling
Venue: Monkey Barrel Comedy
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Lily Phillips: Crying is a one-hour blend of stand-up and storytelling, investigating the disconnect between childbirth expectations and the harsh, painful reality.
Review
I should begin by noting that I have never had, and without significant scientific advancement, will never have, a child. With that said, however, I’d argue that, in Crying, Lily Phillips succeeds in her self-proclaimed goal: give everyone in the room a holistic understanding of what giving birth entails. Phillips presents an engaging hour of blended storytelling and stand-up. Delivering double-punch jokes, Crying explores what happens when the birth of your child doesn’t quite match what Instagram promised.
Phillips brings a contagious and addictive positive energy into Monkey Barrel’s intimate MB2 venue. As an audience member, you can’t help but smile immediately when she appears on stage. Before the jokes begin, every audience member has already been drawn in, ready to engage with her story. This undeniable presence cultivates the perfect environment to dive deep into the…unpleasantries of the miracle of birth.
The show begins by addressing an important topic, Lily Phillips isn’t that Lily Phillips. If you’re unsure of who she’s talking about – I’ll leave it to her to explain. Once that’s out of the way, Phillips takes us on a journey from her first IVF appointment to her NCT group reunion. She dives deep into her experiences at each step, offsetting some of the more graphic moments with lighthearted humor while consistently finding ways to connect with her audience. I say lighthearted because, despite obvious convenience, Phillips refrains from using crass language just for the sake of it. Every word seems carefully chosen to support her goal.
The show is undoubtedly about a woman’s journey, but this shouldn’t be seen as exclusionary. In a crowded field of comedic personal stories, Phillips manages to create relatable moments for everyone. Whether it’s forgetting your own name or having a less than satisfactory appointment with a doctor, Crying lets the entire room giggle and emote together. Where many fringe shows become self-indulgent, Phillips invites the entire room into her story, encouraging moments of connection and empathy.All of this celebrates her impeccable storytelling ability, but that shouldn’t be seen to detract from the quality of her comedy. Despite being a more focused arc than a standard stand-up show, Crying deserves every moment of uproarious laughter it received. Philips juxtaposes her own raw experience against the world’s ridiculous expectations for a perfectly-Edinburgh hour of comedy.
