A show about OCD and other funny things. Like how my dog died.

'Shannon Brooke is one to keep an eye on' (One4Review.co.uk).

After a very successful 2025 debut show “A Horseless Rodeo”, Shannon Brooke is back and she still is NOT talking about horses!

“Tonally, she walks a tightrope — absurd, honest, dark, heartfelt — and never loses her balance”. - One4review

“A working dichotomy between sunniness and edge” - Edinburgh Laughter Bulletin

August 27, 2026    EdFringeReview

Following her debut appearance at the Fringe last year, Shannon Brooke is back again to present her wonderfully charming hour of stand-up in 100 Million Fish in the Aquarium. Weaving between topics of mental health, family history and spending Christmas alone Brooke is evidently not afraid to address some of the more somber aspects of her life and yet, she does so with such great humour and optimism that it ultimately makes for a splendid hour of entertainment. Click Here For Review

August 25, 2026    EdFringe Review

At the start of her intriguingly titled show 100 Million Fish in the Aquarium, Shannon Brooke announces in a mock Q-and-A session that she will absolutely not be talking about actual fish. As it turns out, the Australian stand-up comedian is only partially telling the truth, playing with audience expectations in a way that emerges as characteristic as the set progresses.


Nestled in an intimate, and rather remote, venue in the basement of the Hanover Tap, the show acquires a personal, almost confessional nature, allowing the audience to feel at ease in Brooke’s friendly company. Her compellingly cheery delivery becomes the hallmark of her routine, bolstered by confident crowd work that never strays into the bullying, interrogative style (of which I live in perpetual fear), but works rather to cast her as an approachable, down-to-earth friend in a pub, her magnetic personality establishing her connection with the audience from the start.


Her routine is aided by the visual accompaniment of a slideshow on which she projects graphics and screenshots of WhatsApp texts, granting her show another dimension expertly timed to complement her sense of humour, and her somewhat absurdist manner of storytelling. Brooke’s sense of individuality shines throughout; there is no hint that she is attempting to imitate anyone or be anything other than her own authentic self. Her material does not shy away from the lived reality of her OCD, incorporating the deeply personal into a show in a way that is not, however, allowed to utterly define either the performance or the performer. Instead, it becomes part of a broader collection of anecdotes, such that Brooke succeeds in balancing revelations about the more intimate parts of her life with witty deflations and entertaining tangents, somehow surprising and relatable at the same time.


Her confident delivery is facilitated by her engaging cadence, punctuated by her dry observations, good eye-contact, and amusing facial expressions, and the show maintains a good pace throughout, although the segment on the kidnapping of her dad’s stepson does drag on just a little too much. Brooke prioritises the gloriously silly, and her performance style effectively precludes the boredom of her audience. The ending to her show, however, feels rather understated, lacking the requisite punch that would have done justice to the vibrant material that comes before.


Her routine, on the whole, is neat, its structure tightened by her clever use of callbacks, such that, despite the bizarre quality of some of her material, the audience is never at risk of feeling lost. Brooke’s originality, enhanced by the easy-going relationship she maintains with her audience, makes her show a diverting, and, at the same time, laid-back, way to spend an afternoon at the Fringe. Click Here For Review

August 25, 2026    On The Mic

Shannon Brooke should really put her name in the title. It deserves to be there. She’s an accomplished comedian. This crowd knows it, the popular Hanover Tap’s back room is brimming past capacity.

The performer kicks of the show by answering some frequently asked questions. She explains, among other things, that she’s an Edinburgh based Australian comedian and that the show isn’t about fish.

I won’t spoil the plot. Strap in as, with the help of some very funny visual aids, you are transported across the globe. It’s a wonderfully entertaining story, with cheery delivery, confident crowd work, and a world of great jokes.

Go and see Shannon Brooke before she gets famous. Be quick. Stardom, if that’s what she wants, isn’t so far away, I think.

Martin Walker Click Here For Review

August 12, 2026    One4Review

The Australian ketamine Smurfette is back! This year, it seems the budget has improved too, with a proper giant screen boasting the highest HD resolution you’ll see at the whole Fringe, unless you head to the IMAX.

She kicks off from where last year left off, with the theme not so much where she’s from, but where she’s been and where she’s going. Flights play a huge part in this, with a screen timeline of her misadventures displayed behind her, and a Ryanair section hitting brilliantly.

She’s been through a lot, with a breakup that actually took place on an aeroplane causing audible gasps from the audience. Travelling is a huge thread throughout the show, taking us from Berlin to Madeira to Malta on a single trip over Christmas, with the kind of travel misadventures that make you wonder whether a holiday is actually worth it.

But it’s not just her. Particularly strong is the section where her stepson gets kidnapped by Greeks and her dad goes full low tech Dog the Bounty Hunter trying to find him. It’s completely bonkers, beautifully observed and delivered with the kind of conviction that makes you briefly wonder just how much of this can be true.

Then there are the smaller diversions: insomnia without the symptoms, OCD and the various little glitches that make up the human experience.

Visually, this is a big step up from last year, and Brooke has blossomed too when it comes to commanding the stage, adding superb facial expressions to her sheer enthusiasm. You can see the thoughts arriving on her face before the words have even caught up.

There’s a genuine sense of adventure to it all, even when the destination is questionable, and the route is decidedly turbulent. She’s on the right flight path, no matter where these misadventures may take her.

Brooke is killing it this year and you should come along for the ride. Click Here For Review

August 12, 2026    The Student

Shannon Brooke’s 100 Million Fish in the Aquarium is a stand-up show that doesn’t shy away from the realities of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The Wee Tap at Laughing Horse is an intimate venue under The Hanover Tap that adds to the confessional nature of the show. Brooke recounts her compulsions and shines a comedic light on them, before telling a story through the medium of WhatsApp messages about the time her dad saved his kidnapped step-son in Greece. Brooke’s use of callbacks, multi-media storytelling, and mental health jargon establishes a connection with the audience, joking about her compulsions while simultaneously exploring the profound effect they’ve had on her. Every joke, though sometimes predictable, brings a laugh and a reminder of the all-consuming nature of OCD.

However, it felt like the kidnapping story dragged on a bit and could have been cut down. The WhatsApp message format repeats later on in the show in the context of a Christmas trip to Malta, though this was after she had already told most of the story without the messages, so it slightly lacks in its impact. I was never bored; just wondering if this was her standup show or her dad’s.

The highlight of 100 Million Fish in the Aquarium is Brooke’s fantastic crowd work, returning to audience members throughout the show, and even having a quip for the broken aircon that would rattle at random points — claiming someone was trapped in there. Despite being someone with a phobia of being called on by comedians, Brooke’s remarks made my fears melt away.

The show, while rough around the edges, is worth the watch. There wasn’t a moment that I thought “God, the show must be ending soon,” and Brooke’s camaraderie with the audience combined with her fantastic storytelling makes for a charming evening and leaves you wanting to hear more about her life. There’s potential in Brooke’s show and I can’t wait to see her grow as a comedian. Click Here For Review