You get used to a wee bit of press hyperbole when you’ve covered the Fringe for a while, so when Kate Dehnert’s ‘Echo’ was described as ‘the breakup show to end all breakup shows’ it drew a knowing smirk. Dehnert also told us in an interview that she described her approach to comedy as ‘premium stupid’, so it’s fair to say that defences were lowered going into the show itself. Mistake. ‘Echo’ isn’t just closing the book on a relationship gone sour. This is nuking it from space and salting the earth.

Two years ago Kate’s world, in all the ways that matter, collapsed when her comedian fiance (who remains anonymous, but is referred to euphemistically as ‘Fatberg’ throughout) abruptly ended their relationship of 10 years having fallen for a younger woman he was ‘mentoring’. Calling it a breakup is like calling the Trinity nuclear test an explosion; technically accurate but doesn’t come close to describing the scale. As Dehnert was in the UK through her partner’s visa, Fatberg also took out her home and comedy career in the UK.

So, ‘Echo’ is the result of two years of rebuilding a life from scratch. You would expect Dehnert to be exhausted. Instead, it’s as intensely energetic a show as you’ll see this year. A howl of rage channeled through a constant stomp of trance music into something approaching a cathartic chant. The backbeat imposes unusual rhythms on Kate’s storytelling – jokes aren’t usually restricted to 4/4 time – even if more mellow passages are introduced to allow some ebb and flow. It’s an odd sensation to be tapping your foot as someone tears their heart from their chest. That Dehnert manages to find humour in her situation at all is impressive, let alone wringing something as purely hilarious as her almost-too vividly performed adventures in sexting from her experience.

While it is a funny show, it should be noted that those looking for constant laughs should look elsewhere. Dehnert herself describes ‘Echo’ as 1/3 play, 1/3 rave, and there are lengthy sections, especially during the show’s darkest moments – magnetically reenacted by Dehnert, but unflinching and distressing – of almost literally deadly seriousness. Along with the constant thump of the background music, it’s occasionally punishing on a sensory level, not just emotional. It’s almost like the comedy equivalent of a Melvins album.

Kate Dehnert should be garlanded simply for surviving the last two years. Somehow she’s produced an absolute phoenix of a show that, while uncompromising and disquieting, is focused on healing and ultimately leans towards optimism like a sunflower towards the dawn. There won’t be many shows you’ll see on a comedy stage to match the intensity of ‘Echo’, but there won’t be many others where every small victory feels so triumphant either.

‘Echo‘ is at Baby Grand at Pleasance Courtyard until Sun 30 Aug 2026