Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Thank you, F*ck You and I’m Sorry
Jonny Forever
Genre: Autobiography, Live Music, Performance Art, Solo Performance, Solo Show, True-life
Venue: C Aurora
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
A moving, haunting, vulnerable performance of music from Jonny Forever’s album of the same name.
Review
“I feel I’m losing the part of me that’s you.”
As we enter, Jonny rings ceremonial bells, cleansing the air energetically in preparation for what is to come. The space is intimate; there is nowhere to hide as he makes sure to make eye contact with each of us, thanking us personally for attending this ritual to honour the dead; both his relatives and ours. A black & white picture, a VHS player, some bleached animal bones and a violin rest to the side of the stage.
Jonny takes us through a tour of his grief with the help of a synthesizer and his violin, with visuals underscoring the music projected behind him. This is a smart choice as being able to read along makes it easier to digest the lyrics. The images he uses helps transport us into a purgatorial space where the mundane meets the magical, using animation and footage from the natural world, focusing particularly on images of bluebells, crows, meadows and mountain paths. It would have been fantastic for lighting to have been utilised alongside sound and projection, as this was the one element that felt lacking.
He describes many experiences that may feel uncannily familiar: not knowing how to help someone going through something horrific; the frustration of not being able to reach someone you love through their bitterness and pain; having to accept that some things will never be mended because you’ll never be able to talk to them again; the pain of losing the part of you that belongs to them and not wanting to move on; knowing that time is running out; seeing the divine in the everyday; finding comfort in something greater. He makes no attempt to scrub clean the uncomfortable feelings that make grief such a complicated experience.
It is impossible not to be moved by Jonny’s music. It is deeply personal, raw and vulnerable. It speaks to something that all of us have felt or will feel. He is a natural performer, letting the music guide his body, and therefore opening the door for us to uncross our arms, close our eyes, and let it hit us where it hurts.
There were only a handful of people that came to witness Jonny’s performance, so I hope that this review will encourage more people to take a chance on a show from a very talented solo artist.
