Dana Alexander: Breaking Through

As a fellow Canadian living in the UK, I walk into this show, promising an outsider’s perspective of this great, rainy land, with probably a few too many expectations. Describing herself as ‘the only black comic in Canada,’ Dana Alexander’s brings Breaking Through, her second solo show, to Edinburgh after doing the rounds of the comedy circuit in the UK for the last year. Unfortunately, maybe it's just this particular night, but she comes off as a bit amateur-ish. She seems a bit nervous, and mentions there are reviewers in the room.

To be fair, there is a drunk in the crowd who is definitely disturbing her throughout her set, loudly cackling and commenting after every joke. He is rather harmless and obviously having a good time; many seasoned comedians could have turned this around in their favour. She is nice about it in the beginning, but then starts warning him to ‘stop ruining her jokes.’ Past performances indicate Alexander as a funny and gifted comedian, but this was definitely an off-night for her.