Defeated Count Binface to perform one-off comedy show at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

The “novelty politician” is to return to the Fringe eight years after his alter ego, Jon Harvey, performed a stand-up run in Edinburgh, branded the “biggest surprise of the Fringe” by The Scotsman’s reviewer.

The one night-only show, entitled Face of the Establishment and billed as a “one-hour dose of political comedy and sci-fi satire”, will be on at the Pleasance on 26 August.

The Clacton by-election, announced this morning, saw Binface win 9,455 votes, losing out to Reform’s Nigel Farage with 22,239 votes. The other main political parties all boycotted the by-election and refused to stand against Mr Farage. The Westminster investigation into Farage has been reopened following his re-election as the MP for Clacton.

Harvey, a former BBC News journalist-turned comedian, performed a stand-up show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2018, which later transferred to a run at Soho Theatre in London and Vault Festival.

A statement from the politician’s representatives said: “Galactic phenomenon Count Binface comes back down to Earth for his Edinburgh Festival Fringe appearance. Join Binface for his unique take on Britain, his special brand of sci-fi satire and, of course, his unbeatable manifesto.

“Cheaper 99 Flakes? Check. The nationalisation of Adele? Check. The return of Ceefax? Check. Water bosses to take a dip in UK rivers to see how they like it? CHECK! Face of The Establishment brings Binface's unique dose of political comedy to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for one night only.”

After taking on Theresa May in the 2017 General Election, disguised as Lord Buckethead, and challenging Boris Johnson in 2019, he ran for Mayor of London in 2021, receiving 92,896 votes and coming in ninth place. He returned to the mayoral race in 2024, winning 24,260 votes, beating Britain First.

According to The Scotsman review with the headline “The best new comedians you have to see”, the 2018 show, Jon Harvey: TreasuRETROve, in Assembly George Square, packed his comedy hour with “his love of current affairs, cult movies and archive footage”.

“In a stuffy Portakabin tucked around the back of George Square, Jon Harvey is hiding the biggest surprise of the Fringe,” said The Scotsman review.

The review goes to describe Harvey’s “enthusiastic gallop” through “some of the worst British films ever made, an exploration of forgotten Marvel characters and – his specialist subject – a trawl through some of the oddest shark movies ever made, shonky special effects and all.”

However, the reviewer admits Harvey is “not the most natural performer”.

Harvey’s biography listed on the page of his agent, Ebdon Management, states that his credits include satirical TV shows such as The Thick Of It, Have I Got News For You, Time Trumpet with Armando Iannucci, Yes Minister and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.

The show is at the Pleasance King Dome on Wednesday, 26 August at 4.50pm.