REVIEW: ¡Ay! Papi: Jilberto Soto, EdFringe 2026, ★★★

Jilberto Soto explores a complicated relationship with his father in his comedy hour Ay Papi! The result is a heartwarming hour with a nice sense of humour. 

Soto is a comfortable and charming performer. He commands the room with grace and delivers the material well. It mostly focuses on his relationships with his extended family – brothers, cousins, his mother and of course his father, who didn’t attend Soto’s wedding to an older partner, Bob. The set is very cleverly structured around searching for fatherhood in these relationships. At one point Soto points out that his relationship with his father is the root of many of his relationship issues. 

Rather than needlessly criticise his father, Soto is very empathetic. You can understand the friction between them but Soto repeatedly talks about the love he has for the man. He speaks about his dad’s experience as a first generation immigrant, his work in protecting other Mexicans from ICE, and also the effect this had on Soto. It is a work that does not shy away from the issues at the heart of their relationship, but is always funny, sharp and welcoming. 

Bits around his current husband Bob are less developed. It’s not necessarily the comics role to share the inner workings on their relationships – but in a show that wears its heart on its sleeve as this one, it seems odd to gesture to marital crises and not resolve them. Indeed the last punchline of the set refers to Soto’s dad coming to his ‘second wedding’, and there is much turmoil and talk of unsatisfactory sex lives that never really adds to the set, and instead complicates it. 

There’s an interesting moment there where Soto’s partner becomes a cipher for his dad but it’s not really explored, and that might not be the performer’s prerogrative but at that point why might it be gestured? It does complicate the shape of this hour. 

The set is at its best in its simplicity – the ICE bit draws from lived experience beautifully, a bit where Soto’s mum talks about Vicks Vapo Rub is beautifully Latinx, and the opening bit on beauty pageants is also great. The jokes are very well written here, and its worth going for them, a nice afternoon comedy slot with a lot of charm and a lot of love. I can’t wait to catch Jilberto Soto’s next hour. 

You can catch Jilberto Soto’s Ay Papi! until 30th August at Just The Tonic The Caves (Just Up the Stairs) from 14.25 (60mins). Tickets available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.