‘I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar’ is the show you never knew you needed. Holly Redford-Jones is determined to find out where all the lesbian bars have gone. There are none left in Edinburgh, she announces early doors, so for this precious hour, she’s setting out to create one in this cosy cave in the Underbelly.

This is comedy with more than a sprinkling of live music on the side. Skipping through her childhood in Chesterfield (the only church in England with a crooked church spire), she was always singled out as being a little bit different. Attending school in the Section 28 era, her sexuality was tucked away and it was only when she started singing at a local pub that the magic of being surrounded by people like her was finally revealed. No wonder then that this is her quest.

Her script is witty, astute, full of acute social observation (describing lesbian bars as the, “giant pandas of gentrification”) but with an undercurrent of the wistfulness that comes from never quite feeling that you fit in. She punctuates her routine with pop covers, accompanying herself on a caramel coloured electric guitar. Turns out she has a voice like gravel and honey that does resounding justice to Leonard Cohen, Dusty Springfield, a wee chorus of ‘Ghostbusters’ for reasons that make wonderful sense when she explains them, of course her titular song by Jonathan Richman and she sees us skipping off into the night to ‘Yes, Sir, I Can Boogie’. 

In one of the best pieces of self-promotion this reviewer has seen this (in fact, any) Fringe, she invites us all to share a pic of her show flyer on social media, tag her and we’ll be entered into a prize draw for a coveted (very) limited edition T-shirt. You don’t need to go see the show to learn this now but you do need to see this show to laugh, enjoy her cheeky, sultry songs, celebrate her intuitive inclusivity and to revel in the kindness of this woman who may have been the only lesbian in Chesterfield but is creating a nightly safe space for people to be with their community this Fringe.
‘I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar‘ is at Underbelly Cowgate – Belly Laugh until Sun 24 Aug 2025 at 19:25