Where? Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre – Just The Meeting Room (Venue 27)
When? 17:50
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s
Edinburgh Fringe season?
Nervous excitement. I’m proud of where my show is at, I’m
excited to see how it will grow throughout the month, and I’m nervous to see
how it will be received.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
Since I was seventeen, I’ve lived by a code: if something
scares me, I have to do it. Join me for a raucous hour of music, comedy, and
bathroom stall graffiti art to find out why.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting
this show together?
The biggest technical obstacle: I have a song in which all
the lyrics are pieces of graffiti from bathroom stalls all around the world,
and I display photos of this graffiti via projector as the song progresses. So,
I’m controlling a foot pedal that switches the photos, as I sing and play
guitar. It’s a lot like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same
time.
The biggest emotional obstacle: my show could potentially be
categorized as a comedy show that stems from trauma, and I have to relive that
trauma every time I do the show. It’s been exhausting and a major challenge for
me but also hugely cathartic.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in
recent years?
When I first visited the Fringe two years ago, I thought, ‘This.
This is exactly where I should be. This is where I belong.’ It’s taken me
those two years to get my ducks in a row, but I can’t wait to be back.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Sean Patton’s Contradickhead is going to blow people’s minds.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
I’d love to be relaxing on some beautiful beach, eating mango, and sitting pretty because this show got filmed as a special, went viral, and got adapted for a hit TV show. Hey, a girl can dream!
What? Joz Norris is Dead. Long Live Mr Fruit Salad
Where? Heroes @ The Hive – The Bunka (Venue 313)
When? 16:40
What are your
feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
Ooooohhhh boy, feeling great. Very proud of my solo
show, hope people really like it. Very
much having fun with my double-act show, it’s a hot mess but I think it’s gonna
be ridiculous. Learned a bunch of good self-care Fringe things last year and
gonna be using them again to make sure I don’t get stressed or go crazy. Gonna
see all my good pals, gonna eat scampi in the City Restaurant. Yes please yes
please.
What is the premise
of your Edinburgh show this year?
A man called Mr Fruit Salad has written a one-man comedy
show and wants to perform it. This is odd, because he doesn’t exist. He knows
he doesn’t exist, and doesn’t know how to write a comedy show, so spends
most of the show just trying to get out of his head and convince himself to do
the show. It’s a sort of nonsense musing on connections and anxiety and hiding,
performed from behind a disguise.
What is the biggest
obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
The character of Mr Fruit Salad first emerged as a way of
engaging with live performance at a time when I wasn’t enjoying it because of
some personal stuff I was having to deal with. As such, when it came time to
build a show around Mr Fruit Salad, the show inevitably became about
that stuff, it became a reflection on why I’d invented him and what he meant
and where he’d sprung from, but I really didn’t want it to become a
confessional show along the lines of “Hey, here’s some bad stuff I went
through, isn’t it sad?” I knew it had to be a show that was informed by all
those things, but I gradually learned they needed to be hidden in the background,
and not shown, or it completely undermined what I was trying to do, which was
to build something silly and hopeful out of old hurt. So realising that and
sort of surgically removing the foundations the show was built on and seeing if
it could still stand up without them was the hardest bit.
Has your attitude
towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I dunno, really. I know which bits of the Fringe I like and
which bits I don’t these days. I love it as a creative playground and a place
to share your ideas. And I really like that it’s an opportunity to build new
audiences and build connections and find opportunities to work with new people
over the subsequent year, and make new exciting things. I do like that side of
it, and it’s important. But out of that side of things grows all the other
things, all the ego nonsense and the industry stuff. I find that side of things
hard, the careerism and so on. It’s all got to exist, at the end of the day, so
I just try to let it exist and stick to the bits of it I know I’m good at, and
the bits I know I like. So my attitude hasn’t changed, necessarily, but it has
solidified.
Do you have any other
Edinburgh show recommendations?
Oh boy, so many. I’ve been recommending a show every day for
the last 70 days or so on Twitter, so if you find me @JozNorris you can read a
whole bunch of recommendations there. For this Q&A, I’ll specifically flag
up Ben Target and Ed Aczel, both of whom I’m working with this year and are two
of the funniest, most wonderful people in the world, so check out their solo
shows. I’d also highly recommend Ali Brice’s show – he always makes some of the
funniest shows every year, and this year’s is much more personal and reaches
some incredible heights as a result. And Laura Lexx has become one of my
absolute favourite comedians, she is so much fun to watch and so incredibly
accomplished at what she does. I missed her show last year but am very keen to
see this year’s.
Where would you like
to be in a year’s time?
I try not to plan too much. I think it’s good to be
ambitious, because then it means you’re open to any and all of the good things
that might come your way, but not necessarily to have loads of specific
ambitions, because then it’s easy for them to not work out for reasons outside of
your control and then to look back on them as failures. I’m working on a bunch
of TV, online and radio ideas at the moment, and I’d love it if one of those
took off, and if it did I guess that would become my big project over the next
year. And if not, then in a year’s time I’ll probably be making another new
Fringe show and keeping myself busy that way. I’d like to have been on a nice
holiday by this time next year as well, and I’d like my houseplants and all the
things in my herb garden to be absolutely enormous.
What? Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Real
Where? Gilded Balloon Teviot – Turret (Venue 14)
When? 21:00
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
My feelings are like a like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get but they’re pretty sweet. I’m scared, excited, nervous, sitting on the edge of my seat, enthralled, confused, terrified and so excited I want to kiss a priest.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
The premise is this: In the last 2 years I have become a video game celebrity but my bathtub is in my kitchen. I’m an online hero and a real life zero. What’s real in this weird social media ruled world and what’s fake? I’m asking myself that and at the moment I don’t have the answer. If you think that sounds too heady don’t worry, there will be jokes about my breakdancing vagina.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
The biggest obstacle about putting this show together is putting the show together. I want this show to be really, really, really, really, really, really real and that ain’t easy.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
This will be my fourth time doing the Fringe. I did three consecutive years in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Then for 2 years I experienced what summer is and now I’m back to soak up some more rain, rejection and ramen dinners. After my third year I needed a break from it all and now I’m excited to be back and run around the streets with all the other marvellous nutters who dare to perform in the festival.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
I also highly recommend my other show Lucie Pohl’s Immigrant Jam, a mixed bill stand up show with immigrant comics. I run this show monthly in NYC and am bringing it to the Gilded Balloon on three Thursdays during the fringe.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
In Rome shooting a comedy about a woman who becomes a serial killer to get acting roles. It’s the ultimate #MeToo revenge porn flick. Instead of deep throat it’s cut throat. You’re welcome.
Where? Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Three (Venue 33)
When? 20:15
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
The feeling is positive! I’m really looking forward to showing people what I’ve been working on. I’ve created something that I think will be really fun to watch and also fun to perform, which is something I really concentrated on whilst developing the show
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
My show is an exploration of creative musical comedy and I’ve decided to do this by wearing a full-size keyboard for the entire show, which is physically challenging, but also definitely funny. The show is very silly and I think people won’t be able to see anything like it.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
I think starting the show has been the hardest challenge for me. My act is quite low-energy which is a nice contrast on a mixed bill, but is a challenge in a cold open. Luckily, I found quite a silly way of getting the audience warmed up at the top of the show, which is now one of my favorite bits of the show.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I think it’s more of less stayed the same to me. It feels more like home every time I go up there. Edinburgh is always a place I go to challenge myself creatively, so I always go up knowing that I’ll come out a better comedian, which feels really great. I think the standard of shows has gone up, which is great as I love seeing my friends and peers produce shows that are really fun and inspiring.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
I recommend seeing my Edinburgh favorites Mat Ewins, Alison Thea-Skot, Ed Night and The Travelling Sisters, but there are also really great new acts you may not have heard of such as Janine Harouni, Sophie Duker, Olga Koch, Jack Gleadow, David McIver and Jack Tucker, they’re all great.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
I’d like to be passionate about the next project, I have a few ideas floating about, but I can’t wait for a new challenge. Hopefully this show will run past Edinburgh, so I can perform it around the UK, I’d really like the opportunity to show people the show, who couldn’t make it up to Edinburgh.
Where? Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre – Just The Meeting Room (Venue 27)
When? 19:10
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
A hot mixture of excitement and untimely stress. As a Stand-up Comedian, I am essentially a one–man production team. So I am trying to do the roles of Director, Performer, and Producer all by myself, so it’s pretty full-on! That being said, I am very proud of the show. It’s something I think people will really engage with, so I’m ecstatic that I get to perform it for a month!
Also in my personal life, I’ve been trying to live my best life as much as possible (which links to the themes of the show). So I feel very fit, healthy happy going into the Fringe. I feel ready!
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
Here Comes Your Man is all about paramours, romance and the events of the last year of my love-life. In my debut hour, I talk about my relationship with relationships and about failing in love. It’s a narrative show, where I talk about how weird and romantically intense I am, and how that impacts me. As well as this, I also open up to talk about the need for men to discuss their feelings more.
The show delivers raw anecdotes, emotionally-honest routines and personable tales of finding and losing his first true love. However it’s not a sad show, its celebratory and upbeat and I take my audiences through a confessional yet sentimental journey about learning to turn break-ups into a positive and non-toxic experience. It’s the most romantic show about a break-up you’ll ever hear.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
This show has been a very personal show for me to write. As mentioned, the show main narrative arch is about the rise and fall of my first true love (which actually started at the Fringe last year). So I’ve had to be very honest and open my experiences, and I’ve had to revisit every fuck-up for the last year.
‘An unexpected result of doing a show entirely about love is that it has freaked out of lot of people I have dated. So this show has heavily impacted my life beyond the stage.
So I do speak earnestly about a break-up onstage (and also start a conversation about why male comedians are exclusively talking about their break-ups onstage). This requires me to be incredibly vulnerable onstage and emotionally expose all aspects of my personality. This is a tricky obstacle. However I feel that is what makes the show relatable, to see someone go through the hidden things which we don’t talk about. I’ve had people come up to me after previews to say that the show has touched them; hopefully it inspires to be more open with their emotions and to talk frankly with people. So the obstacles give texture and substance to the show.
Also logistically, it’s really difficult to write an Edinburgh Fringe show about your real-life. I started previewing this show in November. I had the basic concept for what I wanted to talk about, but a lot of the story hadn’t quite happened in my real life just yet. So I would be talking about a story with no ending. It was a bit like that scene in Wallace & Gromit’s The Wrong Trousers, in which they’re on a moving train and Gromit is laying down train tracks as they go. This did allow me to focus on writing the jokes and developing a fierce gag-rate. The ending did eventually happened and I think the end result is quite unexpected and has turned out accidentally perfectly.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
Yes, in a way. So I’m a relative newcomer compared to others. So this is my second full-run at the Fringe, so I’ve recently had the transition from comedy fan/punter to Performer. The changes are pretty obvious: I feel a lot more fatigued as a performer and I don’t see as many shows. The biggest attitude shift was, as a punter, i thought and kind of assumed that everyone who went to the Fringe would turn out to be really rich and famous afterwards (you do not). So I suppose my attitude changed into a professional mind-set, and treating it as a job. However my excitement for the festival still is the same, just that the parameters have changed.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
I have so many! It’s hard to limit it to a handful of recommendations. However I think that Laura Lexx will absolutely smash it out of the park with her new show Knee Jerk. I work a lot with Laura and she has been a massive inspiration for my show this year. She can excellently tie an emotive story with the best gag-rate you have ever seen. That’d be my hot ticket that I would recommend. (Gilded Balloon Teviot -The Turret – 5:15pm)
The show I am most looking forward to see, as a comedy nerd, is Tom Parry: Parryoke! I’m a big fan of Pappy’s; they taught me to be anarchically playful whilst entertaining an audience. Tom Parry in particular showed me in his 2015 solo show, Yellow T-Shirt, how to spread pure joy over the course of an hour. I imagine this show will not be any different! (Pleasance Courtyard – Beside – 18:00)
Bec Hill’s new show I’ll Be Bec is a really fun sci-fi /comedy concept. Bec is a comedic genius onstage and an utter delight offstage. I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying this show. (Pleasance Dome – 10Dome – 17.40)
Alice Fraser – Mythos. Alice is a Fringe show champion. Her writing is impeccable, she’s incredibly intelligent and her ideas are so innovative. Her shows can be utterly moving too. I can’t wait to see her next instalment. (Gilded Balloon Teviot – Billiard Room – 20:45)
Michael Legge: The Idiot – Michael is one of the loveliest people in the world and an utterly wonderful comedian. His last show, Jerk, was a masterpiece and always think about some of his quotes on a daily basis. I will never tire of watching Michael’s shows. This show will be a delight (if you find an angry Irish man delightful). (The Stand Comedy Club 1 – 12:00)
Finally – Sean Morley: I Will Soon Be Dead and My Bones Will Be Free To Wreak Havoc Upon Earth Once More – now, when people ask me for recommendations, I ALWAYS want to say ‘Sean Morley’. However, I know a lot of people who are going to Edinburgh for the first time and may not appreciate Morley’s ‘alternative’ vibe. But if I ever meet any comedy nerds, I always wholly recommend Sean’s show. Genuinely innovative and highly hilarious – he creates some of the best and most original comedy to date. I’m convinced he will win award very shortly for one of his shows. Go at your own peril. (Heroes @The Hiive – The Bunka – 15:20)
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
My smart-arse answer would be ‘In the Bahamas, on my private plane with my own entourage, whilst I sit with all my Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Awards’. However, the earnest answer would be ‘Slowly stressing out about my second Edinburgh fringe hour, but being quietly happy, as I believe it to be EVEN better than Here Comes Your Man (whilst I sit with all my Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Awards)’.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
The closer it gets the more excited I am. Which isn’t always the case but this year I’ve taken more time to get my show how I want it and hopefully I’ll peak at the right time. It’s also my first time doing Free Fringe (PBH) so again my focus is less on admin or worrying about ticket sales and more on the creative side of making something I’m proud of and that people will want to see!
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
It’s basically just me recreating the 1991 film Hook. I’ve got a bit of the old Peter Pan Syndrome so I put myself in Robin Williams’ (my comedy hero) shoes and think ‘what would Neverland look like if I were Peter Pan?’. Who would be Rufio and the Lost Boys? What would that stupid ass crocodile say to me now I’m older? All told through my usual style of songs, sketches, stand up, storytelling and lots of [friendly!] audience interaction – including the Choose Your Own Adventure Game ‘Drunk Auntie at a Wedding’! Oh and there’s also lots of pictures of my cats Snoop Catty Cat and Bibby Smalls.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
It is a happy and silly show about looking forwards but the writing process meant looking back and using some darker parts of my life and my mind to inspire it. I always want my shows to be fun but sometimes combining that with honest discussions about dealing with stress and anxiety made the initial writing stage quite difficult. But I’m so glad I went there because I think this is the most honest thing I’ve ever written.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
It’s easy to get a bit down about the Fringe because the wealthier acts end up sucking attention away. But having watched dozens of shows down the years and spoken to a lot of other comedian friends I’m so excited to do the Free Fringe this year. The general consensus is that is where the most fun is to be had and the most originality.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Well yeah I’m also doing a live version of my football show/ podcast Jim and Dave Have Lost the Dressing Room. I also love what Lewis Doherty does and the line up in my venue, Globe Bar, is amazing. Just stick around for all of those I’d say!
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
My next show Life: The Gameshow is already at the back of my head shouting to be let out so I’ll probably be answering your questions about why everything I said in 2019 is horse shit but I’ve figured it all out so LISTEN TO ME NOW!
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I’m excited – it’s really easy to focus on all the scary things – to obsess everyday over ticket sales and bottom lines, but actually it’s a month where I get to do the thing I love doing every day for an hour. I also get to hang out with my peers and see some great stuff. What’s not to love? Apart from the eternal hills, the rain, hours of thankless flyering, freezing to death and then boiling your eyeballs out, watching other people pile stars onto their posters and… it’s all fine. It’s really all great…
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
This year my show is about life as a step parent. Blended families are becoming the new norm now and my life has gone very quickly from gin and tonic to fish fingers and peas. It’s a learning curve. And for some step parents it can be hard to publicly admit that kids are hard work – it’s taboo to say that things aren’t 100% perfect; but for natural parents it’s fine to say your kids are draining sometimes.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Because the show is about my family, I’ve had to be really careful about what I put in it and how far I go with being rude about them! My partner doesn’t give a monkey if I slag him off in my shows but with the kids it’s a different matter. I’ve tried to be really open about what I’m writing about. I haven’t exactly given them veto rights, but I’ve been honest about the things I’m telling people about them.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
A bit, I guess. It’s just so expensive. I love it (despite all those things I said) because I love writing an hour – I love the chance to create a piece of work with a story arc – with heart and soul. But with the price of everything going up I’m not sure how many more years I will be able to do. Ticket prices are having to reflect the cost of doing the show and so it’s harder and harder to get the good folk of the fringe to part with more and more money to see a comic who hasn’t been on TV.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Loads! Sooz Kempner (who has written an AMAZING song for my show!), Myra Dubois, Grainne Maguire, Amy Howerska, Robyn Perkins are all fab comedians to see. Also, Peter Henderson’s Who Did I Think She Was? is going to be a great piece of theatre to see.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
I’d like to write a book. I feel like this show would make a great book or a fun sitcom. So I’d like to have turned it into one of those.
Where? Just The Tonic at The Mash House – Just the Bottle Room (Venue 288)
When? 16:50
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
Optimism and excitement, but also, for the first time, I don’t really care how it goes. When I say that, I don’t mean that I couldn’t give a shit, but I don’t have what I have had in previous years, which was a desperation of recognition and need for ‘this year to be THE year’. Now, I can honestly say, I’m happier with my show more than any other show I’ve done, it’s the closest to me that I’ve ever been and I’m looking forward to having fun exploring a new show in the greatest arts festival in the world.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
This year, the show is all about existence and reality. I think everyone comes to a point in their life when they begin to question the reality of their situation and life in general, they understand more, but with that extra knowledge, more things don’t make sense – that’s where I’m finding myself at the moment. Asking a lot of questions about the nature of existence, our place in the world, our arrogance as a culture… There’s a couple dick jokes in there too, I try to please the masses.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Making the darker stuff palatable (and funny without being mined for shock value) and pushing myself to explore things that I never thought about.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
Yeah – I’m not taking it as seriously as I have. In reality, it’s a privilege to be able to go up and bring a show and talk about literally whatever I want. Not everybody gets to do that. There’s a lot of stuff around the Fringe that I think can cloud the mind and bring on stress – sometimes it feels like an obligatory thing for comedians to do; it’s not. It is a luxury and a privilege and I think the less seriously we all take it, the more fun we will have.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Mine – and just go on a random one. Find something that looks absolute shit and see if you’re surprised or not.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Alive would be good, thriving would be great, relevant would be amazing.
Where? Underbelly, Bristo Square – The Dairy Room (Venue 302)
When? 16:15
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
Very excited to back with something a little different from my last excursion in 2010.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
It’s character based. Robert Lemon Alackadaddy is an alcoholic in denial, living in a fantasy world. He’s very happy about it. Reality, whatever they be, is not a country who’s border he will cross…. very often. It is very safe to say that he has issues.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
The wonderful and very helpful committee that lives in my head, that kindly tells me… ‘you don’t wanna do this piece you’ll make a holy show of yourself’ I wish them well and do it anyway. Because I know they’re just a bunch of liars.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
Yes. I’m less worried about outcomes now. I’m doing it purely to honour it as a piece. I’m not worrying too much about what people may or may not think of it. I realise now we only have a short span on this hurtling orb we call earth, so I may as well enjoy it.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
That’s a question I’ll probably be able to answer when I’ve been there a while.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
In a library whispering to myself saying…’I’m really glad I did Edinburgh 2019!’
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
Oh you know, the usual sense of trepidation and dread sugar-coated with a wild excitement! Like a knickerbocker glory sundae that overfloweth with wondrous treats, but also makes you feel slightly sick..! Honesty is the best policy… right?!
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
LOIS, my second character comedy show, was born out of me imagining my life if I had been called Lois (which Mummy Farrett wanted to call me but Daddy Farrett said no!). Lois is my alter-ego action hero that I take on a wild and very stupid journey to fight a baddie and I learn a little about how I feel about my own identity along the way. Lois’ sidekick is a crow named Colin – I reckon that’s reason enough to come right there!
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
I started to write the show not about an action hero, but about my perfect self. The character had a perfect face, a perfect body, a perfect brain. A little piece of advice: writing a show about your perfect self is one-way-ticket to feeling like absolute crap. I started to feel pretty sad and bad about myself, so I completely reworked the premise of the show in a short space of time earlier this year. So essentially, I self-therapised using this show and the result makes me feel like I’m putting a much more positive piece of fun into the world. Phew!
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
The Fringe has grown at an alarming rate since I started coming with Belt Up Theatre back in 2008, which is wonderful, but can feel overwhelming wowee because there are more venues and performers working their butts off than ever before. My attitude has sort of remained the same in all these years though – enjoy the ride, cause it will be both thrilling and bumpy baby!
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
TOO MANY! Werewolf: Live!, Holly Morgan: Is a Witch, Get Her!, The Wild Unfeeling World, Ryan Lane Will Be There Now in a Minute, Bobby & Amy, Georgie Morrell: Eyecon, Bryony Kimmings, Oh Yes Oh No from Louise Orwin, Paul Foxcroft, John-Luke Roberts, Faulty Towers Dining Experience, Confetti & Chaos, Pamela’s Palace, Mr. Thing and literally any other solo character comics cause we’re fun and reckless! More probably – call me!
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Uhhh… the moon?? We haven’t there in a while. Maybe I could help with that. Ambitious enough for ya?!