Review: Tom Neenan - Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan | Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026

Tom Neenan brings his new hour of comedy Portrait of a Tom as Young Neenan to Underbelly George Square, at Edinburgh Festival Fringe through August 2026. Read my review here.

Tom Neenan. Photo: Matt Stronge

Tom Neenan: Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan ★★★☆☆

Review: 11 August 2026 | Edinburgh Fringe, Underbelly George Square

Writer of The Mash Report and numerous other BBC radio and TV comedies, Tom Neenan returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year with his new comedy show Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan.

A mix of stand-up comedy and deeply personal storytelling, the deliciously awkward Neenan expertly weaves his tale about art, body image and what happens when you take up portrait painting as a hobby during lockdown.

Tom's story starts with a commission to paint a portrait of an 86-year-old man, and an invitation to a destination wedding that reawakens his body image issues. His set has plenty of callbacks to art, painting and even passport photography woven throughout, but unexpectedly, this hour of comedy is rooted in Tom's personal insecurities and the kind of anxious overanalysis that I can unfortunately relate to.

Where Tom excels is with his clever, expertly researched quips and punchlines, but he also makes great use of music. Remarkably, the biggest reaction in the room was a section about the nation's favourite sweet treats. But his anecdote about a "five-word story" is superbly timed and delivered, and a skit about calling The Samaritans is brilliantly realised.

Tom's comedy is gentle and, for the most part, family-friendly (age guidance 12+) and while I didn't physically wet myself or double over in pain with laughter - my benchmark for a 5-star comedy review - this is a well-crafted hour of intimate comedy from an intelligent, witty man who's forthright about his personal insecurities. It's so refreshing to hear a man talk about social awkwardness, body image and spiralling mental health!

But men of the Edinburgh Fringe - please don't let that put you off. There are also references to Monty Python, filmmaking and war in this comedy set.

There are far worse ways to spend an hour at the Edinburgh Fringe, and if anything I could've spent longer listening to more of Tom Neenan's tales. His Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan seemed to be over in a flash. Good fun ★★★☆☆

• Tom Neenan's Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan is at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, at Underbelly George Square (Bluebell) until Monday 31 August 2026.

  
  

• Find all my Edinburgh Fringe coverage here: https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/edinburgh-fringe