August 8, 2025 Fringe Review
Recommended Show
June keeps telling us that her show is not political, that she is not interested in the big issues, that she just wants to live as a woman “You’re no son of mine!” shouted her dad at her once – so true. But how can you possibly not be political if you as a trans woman are constantly bedeviled in the media and in public, called a paedophile and accused of all sort of heinous plans, even when you are simply hoping to go for a pee.Sometimes going to an event with absolutely no preconceptions can make for a very enjoyable hour of fringe entertainment and added food for thought.So it came to pass when June Tuesday, a young transwoman invited this reviewer into her tiny cubicle at the City Cafe in Blair Street at half past two on the windy Monday. June wears a pretty white blouse, long black skirt and with her blonde curls held up by a hairgrip, she looks like any young woman you might meet but she sounds different. The throaty chuckle told me that here was a story worth hearing, a person worth finding out more about. Plus – the show is actually called Comic Trans.June confidently and chattily welcomes the five of us, learns our names and includes us in her show. We’re among friends, even if some of us seem a bit more embarrassed about some of her questions and cheeky ideas than others. Nothing will stop this performer who calls herself toxic in her show info but comes across more like a bubbly and slightly bitchy friend.June’s astute observations of the habits of men compared to women are hilarious and spot-on:”You use shampoo in the shower as a body wash??? Ewwww!!” Only a woman would find that gross, right? June’s becoming a woman has been an experience of years but until her early twenties (she constantly and hilariously lies about her age, I am only guessing) she was a gay man. She tells us many hilarious, daunting and tough stories about what she has experienced before and since being able to live her truth (my words not hers). Being told in a toilet queue that your sort will never know the cost of tampons is countered later when June earns £2000 for her stand-up work and quips “that’s enough to buy 4 tampons!!”June’s style is rambling, she keeps announcing she wants to talk about something else and then doubles back to her jokes and anecdotes, though it never gets boring. It’s such a small and intimate space that a full on show would feel fake. The lights are on, the air-conditioning whirrs, cuts out, she sees our reactions, it’s almost as if we’re hanging out in someone’s rather bare kitchen. Sometimes it feels like it’s our turn to contribute our story but no, June has far more to give.Part of her show deals with a severe mental health breakdown which must have been distressing at the time. In retrospect it has become a highly amusing set of anecdotes. June keeps telling us that her show is not political, that she is not interested in the big issues, that she just wants to live as a woman “You’re no son of mine!” shouted her dad at her once – so true.If you consider that any trans woman has to deal with being constantly bedeviled in the media and in public, called a paedophile and accused of all sort of heinous plans, how brave is it to invite strangers to join you in a basement room to share jokes and some jiucy home truths with!Without the need to bang a big angry drum, sweet patient funny June let’s us know that if you are at all worried about how dangerous trans women are, then please go see this performance, talk to her, let her talk to you and find out a bit more of her and other transwomen’s reality. Click Here For Article