A kids’ film taught me the power of delusion – and helped me chase my standup dreams

The protagonist of A Little Princess wills reality to bend to her desires. Comedians need that same idiot confidence when we’re starting out, or else we’d all give up Explore the rest of our coverage of the Edinburgh festival 2026 I was 28 the first time I did standup. It was an open-mic competition where the audience decided the winner. As I held the tiny gold trophy, I decided to quit my job the next day. Some people might call that crazy, and it probably was. But I’d been honing that del...

By Sarah Roberts; as told to Olivia Ladanyi