Reuben Kaye knows how to put on a show. From the electric opening number to the final song, Hard to Swallow is loud, glamorous, filthy and relentlessly funny, with Kaye commanding the room from the second he steps onto the stage. There is a real sense of occasion to it too; this is a performer who understands how to make an entrance, hold an audience and keep the momentum high for the full hour.
Part cabaret, part stand-up and part political takedown, the show sees Kaye tear through everything from Trump and Elon Musk to religion, sexuality, the far right and his own Jewish identity. The material can get dark, and absolutely nothing feels off limits, but Kaye has a way of pushing a joke right to the edge before landing a punchline that catches you completely off guard. I made the mistake of taking a sip of water at exactly the wrong moment and very nearly did a spit take.
Kaye clearly knows exactly who his audience is too. After one particularly dark run of jokes earns a huge response, his delighted “you are my kind of people” feels like the perfect summary of the relationship between performer and crowd. If you are on his wavelength, Hard to Swallow is ridiculously funny.
Then there is the music. Kaye has an incredible voice, moving from rapid-fire comedy into huge cabaret numbers seemingly without effort. Backed by a fantastic live band, the songs are every bit as important as the stand-up, and his ability to tell a story through them is one of the strongest parts of the show. He looks fabulous, sounds even better and has the kind of stage presence that makes it difficult to look anywhere else.
There are moments where the political material becomes more direct, but that feels essential to what Hard to Swallow is doing. The title is not just there for the joke, even if Kaye has plenty of fun with it; there are ideas here that are deliberately uncomfortable and difficult to ignore. I found myself, along with much of the audience, nodding, agreeing and even finger-snapping at some of the points he made. Kaye still knows exactly when to bring the spectacle and comedy back, but those more serious moments give the show real weight.
Hard to Swallow is bold, provocative and completely unapologetic, but above everything else, it is incredibly entertaining. Kaye is a phenomenal live performer with the voice, comedy and showmanship to match. One of the most dazzling shows I have seen at this year’s Fringe, and an absolute must-see before the festival ends.
CultureCues Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Reuben Kaye: Hard to Swallow, Assembly George Square Gardens, 20:00, until 29 August 2026.
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Nikki Murray is a UK-based writer, screenwriter and founder & editor of CultureCues, covering film, television, music and pop culture. Her work focuses on storytelling and the moments shaping modern entertainment.