Whatever your politics or beliefs most people would agree that one way or another the world is currently in

a complete mess and deteriorating rapidly. For this reason I attempt to avoid watching or listening to the

news where possible as I just find our current predicament very depressing.

There are a lot of shows in Edinburgh this year dealing with the hot topics of Brexit, Trump, Boris etc but

mainly in a light-hearted way. I find these events too serious and worrying to be treated in a comic fashion

so decided to avoid them all.  However, having said that I was impressed by the Edinburgh Preview shows

at Sherman Theatre and felt that Matt Forde was worth checking out.

It is a strange feeling being in an audience where everyone was having a great time without me. My own concerns were proved correct as Matt launched into an attack on Johnson repeating the stories we have all heard in the media. No-one involved in this issues is safe and Forde runs right through the political gamut including May, Trump, Davies, Farage, Corbyn et al.

My issue is that is rather obvious (try Mock The Week, Dead Ringers, The News Quiz) and by making these potentially people figures of fun you normalise them. And by destroying everyone there was no semblance of hope on the horizon which I found very depressing.

However, there were descriptions of Theresa May which made me laugh out loud and his impersonations were spot-on and the rest of the audience (including my wife) had a great time.  So, the problem here is not Mr Forde but me and I should have stuck to my initial thoughts and stayed at home.

If an hour of making fun of our leaders sounds like your cup of tea ignore my grumblings and head to Pleasance to see an hour of political satire that (almost) everyone will enjoy.

Matt Forde: Brexit Through the Gift Shop plays at Pleasance Courtyard from August 1st to 26th

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/matt-forde-brexit-through-the-gift-shop