The Guardian: A former alcoholic, a cancer survivor and a man who lost all his money in a Bitcoin crash are among the comics coming back from the brink at the Edinburgh fringe.
‘I didn’t start drinking until I was 18,” says Matt Rees. “That’s quite a rarity for someone in the UK. But straight away, I recognised that I liked it – and I knew that one day I’d have to stop.”
Rees, who was born in Maesteg, south Wales, is making his debut at this year’s Edinburgh fringe with Happy Hour, a look back at his battle with alcohol. He started performing in 2010 and quickly scooped up some new act awards. Then, two years ago, his comedy career stalled as he experienced problems with addiction.Being a standup, Rees “got away” with his drinking for longer than most.
In 2016, after a visit to his GP, the damage became clear. “There’s an enzyme called GGT that shows how hard your liver’s working. It should be under 50 in a healthy adult. At that point, mine was over 1,700. My doctor said, ‘You’re going to kill yourself if you don’t stop drinking.’”
Happy Hour makes Rees part of a new wave of comedy at the fringe, as standups share stories of coming back from the brink. Last year’s Comedy Award was shared: Hannah Gadsby won for her passionate diatribe against homophobia and sexual violence, and John Robins for his raw account of his reaction to a breakup. This year, to name just a few, Dave Maher describes surviving a coma, Louise Reay explores free speech after being sued by her ex-husband, Jim Tavaré relives his near-fatal car crash, and Lou Sanders tackles addiction.
Which brings us back to Rees who, on Good Friday last year, stopped drinking completely.
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