Edinburgh Fringe 2025
Mark T Cox : Paddy Daddy
Mark T Cox
Genre: Cabaret, Comedy, LGBTQ+
Venue: Dram at Gilded Balloon Patter House
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
An hour of camp cabaret with songs (mostly cover versions) and witty stories of Cox’s life growing up in rural Ireland and now in east London.
Review
Camp cabaret artist Mark T Cox returns to the Edinburgh Fringe 2025 with, he says, the same show as Fringe 2024, called Paddy Daddy. Just for four nights. The hour is very much cabaret with a variety of elements: six or so songs, mostly cover versions of well-known numbers, witty stories about growing up in and return trips to rural Ireland, and a few mildly raunchy stories of gay hook ups. There’s a little bit of banter with the audience, especially giving a loud straight single woman, Nancy, a selection if tips for how to get a man, and of course, hilariously, most of the tips were much more suited to picking up gay men on the scene.
The show’s publicity says we should prepare ourselves for, amongst other things, filth. Cox also tells us that his Irish mother has been threatening to come to the show for over two years and he has been stalling her because of the content. But the show I saw would not be something to worry about bringing elderly relatives to. Cox is so charming, and gentle and convivial. We get a bit of raunch but it is not graphic or overly shocking, his mother would take it in her stride.
The longest story Cox tells us is a captivating tale of his childhood friend Dermot who he played with every day after primary school, and eventually they played with each other rather more intimately. But things changed when they went to secondary school. There is a funny and moving present day update on their friendship when Cox tells us of returning home to rural Ireland (he now lives in east London) for a local wedding. The other sexual story from rural Ireland concerns the need for car sex given the lack of privacy and closeted nature of the community.
Apart from one original song, which was the best number in the evening, we get cover versions of hits by J Lo and Kylie, and a cover of a cover by The Corrs (it was originally a Fleetwood Mac song).These cover versions are not adapted or played around with, just given an ironic or cheeky context and Cox sings them very well, accompanying himself on the keyboard.
The evening is camp cabaret that is charming, gently mocking and professionally performed but with nothing hugely original and I left feeling entertained but rather underwhelmed, wanting more original songs and stories and much more raunchy gay grit.
