Comedy news: Josie Long: The Future Is Another Place, Edinburgh Fringe 2011 review

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Josie Long is angry. Not the kind of anger which you may see flare up on the streets of Edinburgh on a Friday night; this seething rage is more deep rooted. It is a brooding feeling which comes from a sense that something is not quite right with the world. In Long's case this brooding manifests itself in a muttering of obscene language, including the use of the word cunt in a way even Jim Jeffries might consider excessive.

The Tories – in their loose term - are not a political party, they are an omnipotent force in society, they are the people who don't wait for the passengers to get off the bus before boarding, the ones who can make a peaceful protest movement be portrayed as 'violent campaigners'.

In short Long is frustrated that underpinning this confusion are lies which are being perpetuated to us consistently. This is what fuels the brooding rage that underpins her show. 

Out with the whimsical, in with combative political activism. And this is a refreshing and brave  direction for Josie to take. One of my favourite jokes from her previous shows includes a line about the difference between 'your' and 'you're' in a love letter.

It is a reflection on a semantic mistake which the writer is unaware of, but essentially means that the subject they are writing to is not just beautiful, but the very meaning of the word beautiful. This simple joke for me sums up what Josie Long is, a celebration of the parts of life which are make you feel happier about yourself and your place in the world. Yet like may of us, Josie Long has been jerked out of this cocoon and thrown in to a cauldron where, to survive, our libraries will soon be in the Tesco confectionery isle.

As you watch Long's show, The Future Is Another Place you can see a comedian reacting to what she feels is a deep injustice and imagine what it was like for Alexi Sayle or Ben Elton to strive against Thatcherism in the 80s.

Sure, Josie Long isn't either of those two comics, but her style is reflective of a whole swathe of people who had – or thought they had - a fairly comfortable lifestyle earlier in the century and now find themselves confronting debt, stagflation and recently riots for reasons that they are all struggling to understand.

Long does manage to include a decent does of whimsy within her show, including a great skit based on the Bronte sisters, but the message is by far the more important of the two. 

Long may not have the same approach as many of the political comedians such as Mark Thomas, but in a way that makes her show more evocative. You're not watching someone who strives to walk the length of Palestine to make their point (though that is equally impressive), this is a comedian who enjoys the same things in life that many of us do, such as running or swimming outdoors. Long doesn't claim to be the authority on matters which she has been delving into for only 18 months, but should be lauded for feeling compelled to approach it.

In The Future Is Another Place, Long's message, which has been echoed down the centuries in various forms, is that the future can always be what we choose it to be, even if sometimes it seems that those choices are being denied to us.

It isn't simply comedy, it's a message which Josie is longing to convey. And because of her very nature, this makes more important to hear what she has to say. As you hear the audience head off into the night, the conversations seemed to agree – she has a point. Highly recommended.

Tim Clark

Josie Long is appearing in The Future Is Another Place at The Pleasance Queen Dome at 7pm.

Want to experience the Fringe yourself? Travel with East Coast and you can be in Scotland in no time, with fares from £16.50 one way – visit eastcoast.co.uk/edinburgh