Review: Courtney Buchner: Big, If True – Fringe 2025

In an age of fake news and carefully curated online personas, what is the value of a true story? South African comic Courtney Buchner dives headfirst into this question with Big, If True, a brilliantly constructed hour of comedy that gleefully blurs the line between fact and fiction.

It’s a show that is less about the performer’s life and more about the art of storytelling itself.

For Legal Reasons…

The show’s central premise is as simple as it is ingenious. Buchner shares a series of increasingly outrageous anecdotes from her life, covering everything from her family dynamics to a particularly memorable incident involving her mother on the table during a high school party. Each story, however, comes with a caveat: she cannot confirm its veracity for ‘legal reasons’. This clever device immediately transforms the audience from passive listeners into active participants in a game of truth or dare.

This creates a fascinating dynamic that takes a little while to settle in. Buchner’s initially confrontational style only adds to the ambiguity, positioning her as a classic unreliable narrator. Is she telling the truth? Is this whole show a lie? Does it matter? The slow burn of the first half is the foundation being laid for a spectacular second-act payoff, as you slowly buy into the absurdity of it all.

The Truth of the Punchline

While we’re asked to question the factual basis of the stories, their emotional honesty is never in doubt. Buchner’s tales, particularly those concerning her parents, are delivered with a vulnerability and wit that resonates deeply, whether they happened exactly as told or not. It’s here that the show makes its point: perhaps the emotional truth of a well-told story is more important than a mundane, verifiable fact.

Ultimately, this is a comedy show, and the constant misdirection is a masterclass in comedic construction. The entire performance builds, layer by layer, towards its conclusion. And what a conclusion it is. The final moments deliver what is, without exaggeration, one of the single best punchlines I have witnessed at this year’s Fringe. It’s a moment of pure, shocking clarity that makes the entire journey preceding it utterly worthwhile.

Overall

Big, If True is a sharp, sophisticated and incredibly funny piece of comedic theatre. It’s a show that trusts its audience to keep up with its central conceit, rewarding them with a performance that is both intellectually stimulating and hilariously entertaining. Courtney Buchner has crafted a memorable hour that will have you questioning everything,