Bennett Arron: Depression and dementia are taking me back to the Fringe

“I’ll never do that again!” How often do we say that in a lifetime? After drinking too much? After eating cheese after midnight? After dating a best friend’s girlfriend behind their back. (To be fair, some of these are oddly specific.)

I said it after performing at the Edinburgh Festival for the eighth time last year. I would not be returning. Not ever! Not because it hadn’t gone well — quite the opposite. I played to full houses, received excellent reviews and wasn’t cancelled, protested or chased down the Royal Mile by an angry antisemitic mob.

No, the reason was much simpler: I felt I was getting a bit old for it. I used to love it and those industry Festival parties… but last year I felt like someone’s dad picking up their kid. So why, you may, ask am I going back this year? Because I am someone’s dad.

My son Xander is in Edinburgh – again. Last year he made his festival debut alongside fellow acting graduates in the comedy play Holly Street. It picked up four and five-star reviews across the board and I was incredibly proud… and also slightly jealous. At his age I celebrated if a joke got a laugh from someone who wasn’t related to me.

This year they are returning with a new play, Is This Your First Crime? and naturally I want to see it. Hopefully not six times, which was my tally last year, when I knew the lines so well, I was a step away from demanding my own dressing room.

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The other reason I’m returning is because of the reaction to my own show. It’s about coping with dementia and depression. Yes, it really is a comedy – but Jewish people have been unearthing humour in tragedy for thousands of years. Frankly, if we waited for cheerful subjects there would be no Jewish comedians!

I’ve been touring this show for the past few months and never known a reaction like it. I’m naturally quite a modest person – probably one of my greatest attributes – but have to say that post show comments have made me think that perhaps, after almost 30 years in comedy, I’m doing something right.

People have really related to the themes, with some telling me they’ve struggled with depression personally or cared for relatives or friends with dementia. I’ve done both – so to hear others describe the show as ‘uplifting’ – well, those are reviews I’d like framed. (I have framed them btw.)

So I’m returning to the Fringe to perform I Regret This Already Hoots at the Apex. Rachel Creeger is at the same venue – and 50 other fantastic Jewish comedians will also be in Edinburgh. I don’t have the space to name them and to be honest, unlike some I’m not a fan of making lists of Jews.

Lots of us are in a WhatsApp group where – along with our plans for world domination – we’ve also been discussing concerns about possible antisemitism during a festival that has always prided itself on being inclusive.

When alternative comedy emerged in the 1980s, it wasn’t just about moving beyond traditional set-up-and-punchline jokes. It was also a reaction against casual racism, homophobia and misogyny. Sadly, some of those attitudes seem to have crept back in and certain forms of prejudice are apparently fashionable now.

That said, while some people in comedy have shown their true colours (responding to Jewish concerns with yawning emojis), many others have been incredibly supportive. And support is what we need right now, for whatever it is we’re going through.

So be supportive. Come and see us. Jewish humour has always been one of the things that helps us cope. Funny that!

Bennett Arron: I Regret This Already is at Hoots at the Apex from 19 – 31 August at 3.45pm. edfringe.com