What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
Trepidation. This show started as a fun, mad (expensive), experiment and it has rapidly got out of hand and evolved into something pretty ambitious. If you can call dying ten mop heads black ambition, we are.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
Premise shmemise. Which loosely translates as it doesn’t really have one because we don’t know what the show will be before we start. The audience picks the tarot cards and reads our fortune – we don’t know what cards they will pick, or in what order. You can never see the same show twice. Oh god what have we done.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Having five members that live in two different places isn’t easy. It’s been like trying to organise a hen do but instead of doing a cocktail making class and then getting a stripper we’ve been buying blood capsules and trying to cut down on the amount of nudity in the show
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I think I speak for everyone when I say: depends if we have a good run or not. At the moment we think if you work hard you’ll have a good run but if this show plays to empty rooms then we’ll adopt the standard party line that the Fringe is broken and probably loosely blame the Tories for it.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Lots, and helpfully none of them clash with us: Will Duggan, Rachel Fairburn, Jessica Fostekew, Sophie Duker, Maisie Adam, George Foreacres, Rosie Jones and out of grinding sense of obligation; Goose.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Panicking that we haven’t written enough for our show just like every other year, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I love it. Love watching shows. Love doing shows. It’s the best. It feels like being a student going back to school after the long holidays and seeing all your friends again. But it’s also exam time and everyone is worried and excited about how their reviews will go. But I liked school by the time I was a teenager. Perhaps that’s why I became a teacher.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
It’s a defense of teaching philosophy in schools and democracy in the wider world.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Balancing the silly with the serious is tricky over an hour. Too much silly and people get disinterested, but not enough silly and people don’t have enough fun. One review said, ‘the show is actually quite moving, especially considering it had so many penises in it’ so I think I’ve reached nailed it and reached a kind of golden mean with it.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
In my first year I camped in a tent on the outskirts of Edinburgh. My tent blew away (depositing my pants and flyers about the campsite). I upgraded to a camper van the next year which broke down a lot. In recent times I’ve treated myself to a bed in an actual house. It’s very expensive so please donate generously. I guess that reflects an attitude of being a bit kinder to myself while I am up there.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Chelsea Birkby is excellent. Great punchlines but always with something more interesting going on underneath the jokes. I’m directing Matt Hobs who is doing a wonderful show about science and OCD. Both are highly recommended.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Back at Fringe. I love it. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably been and are a keen comedy watcher and fan. If not, then really do go its so, so much fun. Wish I’d discovered it sooner.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I’m going to be in Edinburgh for the whole month, so I’m aware that this means being away from the family for longer than I’d like. I’ll miss them terribly, but they’ll come and visit, which will give me something to look forward to.
As for the show, Who’s the Daddy Pig? marks my debut solo hour, and I couldn’t prouder of it. I’ve worked really hard to create a show that is a good balance of solid comedy and thought-provoking narrative, which I’m confident the audience will enjoy and find interesting. I also think it’s the kind of show that the industry will enjoy, if I can just convince them to come and visit the Free Fringe. I’m not saying those who have said it’s going to win the Edinburgh Fringe Best Newcomer Award are definitely right, but I think it would nice to know it was at least in with a shot by the right people coming to see it.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
Before I started stand up comedy I was an actor and one of my bigger roles was playing Daddy Pig in the stage production of Peppa Pig. Fast forward a few years and I’m a dad for real, with no clue as to what to do. Thankfully I was able to look back at my time before being a Daddy, and who better to learn from than the expert himself? My show, Who’s the Daddy Pig? is a grown up comedy about raising boys with awareness of their unearned privilege in a world that needs more equality, gender awareness & feminism … oh & Peppa Pig!
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
I think the thing I found hardest was making my hour show different from my regular club set. It’s all very well doing joke-heavy sets at amazing clubs like The Comedy Store, The Stand, Top Secret and the like, but I think your Edinburgh show should have something deeper to say about you and your life. I knew the show I wanted to write, and the things I wanted to say about fatherhood, gender issues when raising boys in a post #MeToo world and male mental health as someone who didn’t take to parenting so naturally. The challenge was finding ways to make these topics as funny as the rest of the material. I’ll let you judge for yourselves, but I’m pretty happy with where the show’s at.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I love the Fringe. I’ve been coming for the past eight years, but last year was my first time there for the whole month. As I said, it’s hard being away from the family, but that just makes me want to work even harder whilst I’m here. My show last year was a work in progress of the show I’m doing this year (FringeReview called it a ‘hidden gem of the Fringe’) and between that and the Jewish compilation show I co-run with my good friend, Aaron Levene, I had the best time.
The main change I’ve noticed is how expensive its is to go to Edinburgh. Travel and accommodation costs are preventing many people from attending the Fringe, either to perform or even to come for a short visit, meaning audiences are being priced out of the world’s biggest arts festival. Something’s got to change or there won’t be any Fringe Festival for people to come to. A huge number of artists will leave Edinburgh out of pocket, and in some cases, in debt to their producers and agents. When you take into account all the costs incurred, in some venues it’s literally impossible for the acts to walk away in profit; even if they sell out their entire run. Someone’s making money in Edinburgh, but it’s rarely the acts.
I guess what I’m saying is, come see my show! It’s free to come in, and then you can pay what you think it’s worth on the way out.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Yes, loads…and I’ll tell you on the way out of my show, or my compilation show, Jew-O-Rama (5:15pm at Whistle Binkies on Niddry street – Free Entry)!
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
I’m quite slow with DIY, so I imagine it will have taken me about a year to build the trophy cabinet for the Edinburgh Fringe Best Newcomer Award I’m going to be taking home shortly. Whether I’ll have used that procrastination time wisely to write another show remains to be seen, but other than that I’d like to have toured my show, and also still be doing what I’m doing; gigging around the world on the live comedy circuit, continuing to write for television and other comedians and perhaps have increased my profile just enough that people don’t still call me Simon.
Where? Assembly George Square Studios – Four (Venue 17)
When? 17:10
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I am going to be found out.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
In January 2019, a B list French celebrity made the global headlines when he said that a woman once she turns 50 is unlovable and invisible. I turned 50 a few weeks later and mostly just wanted to know if by August anyone would be able to see me. So I decided to put on a show.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Money, kids, time, self-belief, public transport – not always in that order.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I used to work on the other side of the fence – as a person with alleged influence in the world of telly – so it’s gone from everyone wanting me at their shows/parties to more of a ‘Cally who?’ approach.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Where to begin? Flo & Joan, Jenny Bede, Maisie Adam, Luisa Omielan, Sara Barron, Yuriko Kotani for starters.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
In my lover’s arms on a Thai beach. Only kidding. My lovers can’t afford to take me to Nando’s let alone a Thai beach, so I’ll go with doing this again, but with an even better show.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
There’s some trepidation, but so there should be! Who the flip do I think we are just changing lanes on our musical (not that kind of ‘musical) past at this stage of the game? At some level being older makes certain moments land with a thud (most recently when I had an out-of-body experience during a particularly empty preview show watching myself flail around pretending to be a dying robot) and others land a little lighter (namely what other people think as I’m looking less for validation from people). Of course I still want people to come and see it and love it more than their children.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
What begins as a self-help seminar led by frontman Felix Scoot and drummer Lee Delamere, spins out of control and crashes through the wall of ‘lies’ each of them have erected to predicate a life of grasping after something as unnatural and ethereal as the validation of mass-approval, aka ‘fame’. There are songs. There is dancing (both classically trained in tap, ballet and hip hop) so it would be a waste not to show off these hidden talents. We split our britches writing this. That was a lot of fun. Now it’s time to get to work.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Covering our likely losses and justifying the investment. We’re still honing it to ensure that we’re saying everything we want to. We’re basing the show on our experiences whilst not letting the truth stand in our way. As we dug into the writing we found we’ve a lot of complex feelings around the subject matter and we wish the show to serve as the most fun cautionary tale we can muster.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I ran tech for two shows a day back in 2003. That was the last time I was there, so I don’t really have an attitude to the Fringe owing to my inexperience of it. I look forward to answering this next year. Al and I went as punters last year and the scale of it blew me away. Like the Glasto of comedy festivals. It’s overwhelming. I marvelled at the sheer number of creative people out there.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Looking forward to seeing what Spencer Jones and Phil Nichol call fourth from their sick-puppy minds.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
In a position where it doesn’t make sense NOT to bring a show to Edinburgh. Get your head round that. Took me a while and I wrote it only a moment ago. Let’s see what happens this time around…
Where? Gilded Balloon at Old Tolbooth Market – Bottom (Venue 98)
When? 17:15
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I am actually excited this time. A stark contrast from my first show, I wanted to run screaming from it.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
My life in the UK after my move from LA for love fell apart. But also about the choices I have versus the choices my parents had, and about control and flatmates.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Is this enough? Is it funny? Do people care? All the same thoughts I have with every set.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
Yes, I am more mentally prepared for it than I was my first hour. It’s a beast of a festival and very trying financially, mentally, and physically and I always complain about it, but really it has helped me grow as a comedian more than anything else I’ve done.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Helen Bauer: Little Miss Baby Angel Face, Nick Elleray: Big Nick Energy, Esther Manito: Crusade, Daniel Audritt: Better Man.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
A mixed bag of feelings! You never really know what to expect and it’s always a risk taking a show up to the Fringe. Both artistically and financially!
I’m currently having loads of fun performing the show and so I’m pretty excited to debut it to Edinburgh audiences. I’m hoping they’ll get as much enjoyment from it as I do.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
It’s a character comedy show about a washed up 80’s power ballad singer called Yasmine Day who attempts to put on a concert extravaganza! It borders on cabaret and it’s a really silly late night show.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
This is the first solo show I’ve done and so working alone is always scary. I think when you’re writing with other people you have a sounding board and people to share ideas with. So working on your own sometimes feels harder!
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I think it’s learning to not expect much, or think you’re going to get huge amounts out of it career wise. I think it’s healthier knowing that you’re going to spend the month getting really good at something. I think the fringe definitely helps you to become a better performer and so really making the most of doing that is the best thing you can get out of it.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
There are loads of really great shows this year and a lot of fantastic debut solo shows. Sadie Clark is doing her play Algorithms at the Pleasance,
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
I’m having loads of fun with this show and would love to keep doing more things with the character I’ve created. Hopefully she’ll pop up at the fringe next year.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I am very excited not to go to work for a month! I work with kids and they make me very tired and spit on me quite a lot. The other day a little boy smacked me in the face with a spade. As long as that doesn’t happen in Edinburgh I think I will have a comparatively fun time.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
It’s a character comedy show in which I recreate an online roleplaying game. I’ve invented my own World of Warcraft-style game, and I enlist the audience as players in a quest to gain a magical spell book that will teach me how to teleport. On the way we meet an oracle, an enchanted amulet and a bunch of other fantasy characters. I was obsessed with these games as a teenager and this is an attempt to get some value out of playing World of Warcraft for five hours a day for a significant portion of my youth.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
The show makes some reference to a fairly heavy autobiographical story, but in the early previews this was a huge part of the show and it was incredibly depressing and not fun to do. Fine-tuning the perfect amount of emotional heft has been, and with a month to go until the Fringe, still is, the biggest challenge. Also I use a big hula hoop as a prop, and when I’m walking to gigs sometimes men on public transport will shout things like ‘hula hoop!’ at me, which is pretty hurtful.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
It kind of used to be an excuse to get drunk with my friends every night, but now I think I have to be more sensible. I’m a lot healthier now and I’m gonna go climbing twice a week and eat lots of fish. Maybe I’ll go for a swim at the beach – I’m an ice junkie now and live for the cold thrill of the ocean.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Will Rowland is one of my favourite stand-ups and he’s doing his debut hour this year, called Cocoon. He’s very thoughtful and sensitive, and his show will be more rich and considered than some fringe shows from acts that have been going for a decade.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Back at the Edinburgh Fringe 2020 doing another hour of financially unviable alternative comedy in some sort of hot basement.
Where? Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Two (Venue 33)
When? 21:15
What are your
feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
This is my sophomore year and I’m excited! As the Edinburgh
Fringe kind of coincides with the academic year, it’s a bit like being back in
school and working towards exams. Last year I’d say I felt like I’d studied,
but then when I got there none of the questions were what I expected, my pencil
broke and I needed the toilet whereas this year I feel much calmer and more
prepared. By which I mean I will be wearing adult diapers.
What is the premise
of your Edinburgh show this year?
This is a much more personal show than my last show. I talk about childhood, identity and what it means for me to be a foreigner in the UK. It’s also a much more topical show that dives into some of the grey areas surrounding the #MeToo discussion. This sounds more serious than it is. It’s a very silly show about being defined that pays homage to my home country. I won’t say where I’m from to keep an air of mystery but we’re known for tulips and prostitutes…
What is the biggest
obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
I’d say that this year I really tried to integrate the
sillier side of my personality, which in the process of writing the show seemed
to clash with the straight-talking part of me that wants to be able to joke
openly about things like sex and gender expectations. But I really think I’ve
done it, and it’s a perfect balance of both sides of me.
Has your attitude
towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
Well, five years ago I didn’t even know the Fringe existed, and that’s still pretty recent, so I would say it’s changed a remarkable amount. It’s less scary now than it was three years ago when I first went up to do a double-header. The more people I get to know, and the more I feel a part of the community, the less frightening the Fringe becomes. It is starting to feel more like ‘that thing I do in August’ now, which is nice. But I am still a baby comic in many ways and I can’t wait for the day when I feel completely at ease at this festival.
Do you have any other
Edinburgh show recommendations?
Oh yes! First, go check out Helen Bauer’s amazing debut Little Miss Baby Angel Face and see for yourself one of the funniest new voices in comedy. She will make you laugh and make you want to be her best friend – she’s incredible. Also check out Nathan D’Arcy Robert’s debut Glowed Up, which is a stand-up show inspired by his love of cinema. Nathan is one of the funniest people I know and an incredible writer, you won’t regret it! Also check out my fellow sophomore Heidi Regan, whose show Heidi Kills Time is for anyone who likes their comedy both silly and smart!
Where would you like
to be in a year’s time?
Heading back to the Fringe, I hope! I really enjoy making
shows, so I hope to keep doing that for as long as I can. Hopefully I’ll get to
do more fun things like writing for TV and acting, but the dream is to keep
getting better at stand-up and gig in as many places in the world as will have
me.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I’m buzzin’, mate. I lead quite an Anchoritic existence. If I’m not reading alone in my room I’m in a care home chatting to people with dementia. And they do things like deposit lumps of poo behind the radiator ‘to stop the temperature from breaking’. Which is great – but I’ve started to question their knowledge of thermoregulation. (To be fair, the temperature didn’t break at any point after the poo was dropped behind the radiator.) So, yeah, I’m looking forward to a month away from that.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
I’ll be closing Bound & Gagged’s AAA showcase at Gilded Balloon alongside the wonderful Nicole Harris and Adam Riley. That’ll be my usual 20 (featuring dementia, drugs, wound-dipping and a woodlouse’s pregnancy sack). I’m also bringing the critically acclaimed Pope’s Addiction Clinic to Monkey Barrel. Pope’s Addiction Clinic is a show that’s similar to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. It’s a place where comedians and audience members can share the stuff they’re most ashamed of and initiate a process of purification through confession. I might talk about the time I swallowed cat litter soaked in morphine.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Asking comedians to cut the safety net of prepared material and bring something to the room that’s an undiluted account of their personal experiences. Having said this: I also fall back on prepared material because if I’m too candid I’m scared I’ll say something where the audience is like ‘Oof. You showed your true colours there, son. We were on board with the anecdote about putting your hand in a diabetic ulcer but we cannot, WILL NOT, tolerate you undermining radiators!’
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I preferred it last year because I had a girlfriend.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
There’s too many to list but I’ll go for these two: Joz Norris is Dead. Long Live Mr. Fruit Salad. Joz has created a tulpa that allows him to vent any latent insecurities; any hang-ups or anxieties about feeling out of step with the world. As you’d expect from a show by Joz it’s silly and hilarious but the premise of disassociation provides a poignancy and psychologically depth. Similar to Edogawa Rampo’s dopplegänger fictions Joz uses the performative function of repressing his body and identity – in the character of Mr. Fruit Salad – to rid himself “of the restlessness in [his] heart”.
And Kelly Convey: Telephone Voice. Kelly and I started comedy about the same time and it’s been a joy to watch her go from strength to strength. She owns the stage with a Medway swagger and uses her unabashed coarseness to undermine the affectations of the upwardly mobile. She’s the ‘Chatham girl done good’ and she’s hilarious.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Stewart Lee said after he returned to stand-up in 2005 he wanted to build an audience of 3000 followers who were willing to pay £10 a year to watch him perform. I’m aiming for that.
I’d also like to remain in the care home, sitting in the garden while the evening sun purples the sky, ignoring all the residents who are tangled up in SCART leads or lying on the floor having fallen out of bed. (For legal reasons I’d like to state that this is obviously a joke.)
