Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Jenny Gorelick: SORRY
Jenny Gorelick
Genre: Comedy, Solo Show, Stand-Up
Venue: The Studio at Monkey Barrel Comedy
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
From unhinged dates, family drama, and publishing your private life in the New York Times. Jenny Gorelick has done it all and has got you covered.
Review
As we waited in Monkey Barrel’s studio, a playlist featuring Ariana Grande’s thank u, next and Shania Twain’s Man! I Feel Like a Woman! set the tone perfectly. Then New York comic Jenny Gorelick took to the stage for her Edinburgh Fringe debut hour, SORRY. She did tell us why the show is called that, but the story is too good, I fear that relaying here would not do it justice.
What truly elevates SORRY is Gorelick’s stage presence. She has the ability to feel simultaneously polished and completely approachable. There’s no sense of a performer hiding behind a persona. Instead, she comes across as the funniest person at the party who somehow also happens to have immaculate comedic timing. She moves through the hour with a relaxed confidence, never rushing a joke, trusting the audience to join her. Even when she gently roasts audience members, such as the finance guy who lied about his job or the couple who met at work, there’s a warmth behind it that keeps everyone onside.
I guffawed at the back as she joked about being 5ft 2 but only wanting tall guys. In fact, I was almost constantly laughing. Many of Gorelick’s jokes are brilliantly smart, often hiding an extra twist, taking an extra beat to register before the audience catches up and the laughter grows even louder. I particularly enjoyed when after another laugh, she would inform us that that was one of her favourite jokes in the set actually, making us all laugh with her again. The use of music and visuals from bikini photos to screenshots from real text exchanges gave us a front row seat to the absurdity and is always a nice addition, enhancing her stories.
And we can’t forget the boats. What starts as a throwaway detail becomes one of the show’s most delightfully absurd recurring themes. Gorelick’s enthusiasm for boats is so sincere and specific that it becomes impossible not to get swept along by it. The obsession is funny in itself, but what makes those sections work is how committed she is to making this dream happen, with screenshots on the screen to prove it. Instead of simply cringing and laughing at another person’s dating mishaps – which would also be funny – we found ourselves rooting for her. From her opening jokes, the audience is fully invested in her journey both on water and land.
It’s clear that she is a great storyteller; wrapping us up with a slightly niche premise, then turning it into some of the biggest laughs of the night. Her tales of her family and how she turned one date into a New York Times article were particular highlights. With her clever writing, seamless crowd work, and sharp observational humour, these moments help make SORRY feel distinctively Jenny Gorelick. In a Fringe packed with dating stories and tales of life in your mid twenties (read: thirties), she finds angles that are entirely her own. The result is an hour that feels fresh, smart, and wonderfully unpredictable.
SORRY is an excellent debut, packed with big laughs, surprising insights, and lovely charisma. Keep an eye on what she does next.
